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New or Used
Nov. 5th, 2005 10:48 pmI did my best to get off my butt this morning to see what I could do about my somewhat ailing car. I've asked a couple of people about what could be causing my clutch problems, and they have all been saying that with the age of my car, it's likely that the clutch would need to be re-built. What I needed to do was see a mechanic who could work with transmissions.
So I got up early, since most times if you don't get up early on a Saturday, you can't get in to see a mechanic. Now I'm happy that I don't have to work mot weekends, and I'm not forcing to make others do so, heck I worked enough years in retail, but It's tough having to find time to get your car repaired. It's a bit maddening to be told that they will try to schedule you on Monday.
This is what happened this morning four times. Four times different places told be they wanted my business, but not today. One of them took an hour to look over my car, give me a, "yes, we can work on it, on Monday", and let me go. Thankfully they didn't charge me for it.
I did finally find a place to take a look and give me a good estimate...and that estimate was bad. It looks like the clutch, flywheel and transmission will have to be either rebuilt or replaced. This is a long laborious job where just to pay the labor costs will be $700. If I deal with the other problems the car has, the need to replace the shocks and the breaks, well, I'll be looking to find some credit to pay for it all.
The good thing is that I have paid off the car. This happened recently...in September. I've had one exciting month of being without a car payment, but look now, it's the truth of Murphy's Law, just when you think you're going to get a benefit. Now fixing the car is going to cost more than any of the monthly payments.
Now the car had just about 160,000 miles on it. More than most cars that are 5 and a half years old. I've tried to keep in in good shape, but bigger maintenance items...like the clutch, may have been looked over. The question right now is, how much longer can this car go, even with the repairs that are needed now? Is it something where the car is still strong, just some of the parts are going, or is it on a expensive downward spiral?
I'm sort of believing the latter, but then I may be biased.
So that brings me to the next question. Should I buy a new car? Is it really worth getting back into monthly payments again? I've wanted a new car for a while, but that's just because it would be new, not necessarily because it would be practical.
If I do buy a new car (still an if), I'm just wondering what I should buy. I've really liked my XTerra, and for form and factor, I'd buy one again, but the fact that it only gets 17 miles to the gallon has me thinking again. Still, I still want the size, and the height of a small SUV. I'm kind of leaning towards the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, which are technically the same car. The car is in the same price range, just a little bit smaller than the XTerra and gets about 22 mpg.
Stellar gas ratings, no, but better than most. The hybrids are very interesting, but so much more expensive...plus you have to be on a waiting list. I also wouldn't want to get caught in a few years having to fix something that suddenly becomes incredibly expensive because of the unusual engine. This has sort of been the case with the XTerra, where I've been finding out that having a 4 wheel drive has been more of a hassle than something I've actually used.
One of the reasons that the transmission is so expensive, everything with labor will likely cost over $2,000, is because of the 4 wheel drive. I think I've used it twice. I'm not sure if having a manual over an automatic transmission is a help or a hinderance right now, but after the stop and go traffic for the Hurricane Rita evacuation, I think I'd like to go with an automatic. I'm kind of sick of the clutch.
Of course, there's always all of those unsold Hummers that are sitting on those lots (hee). I could get a good deal, but they'd have to give the necessary gas away with it.
I was hoping to pay off some other bills, but dang it if the car didn't have other ideas. After I got the estimate, the shop said that they could start, but the new parts wouldn't be available until Monday, so there wasn't much chance to get started. That was fine, but I'm not sure what my decision will be, or when I'll take the time off to get it fixed. It's difficult to get your car fixed when your single, you know? Places don't drive you very far anymore. One place offered a rental car...for a fee.
No mater what, this is going to be a costly fall.
So I got up early, since most times if you don't get up early on a Saturday, you can't get in to see a mechanic. Now I'm happy that I don't have to work mot weekends, and I'm not forcing to make others do so, heck I worked enough years in retail, but It's tough having to find time to get your car repaired. It's a bit maddening to be told that they will try to schedule you on Monday.
This is what happened this morning four times. Four times different places told be they wanted my business, but not today. One of them took an hour to look over my car, give me a, "yes, we can work on it, on Monday", and let me go. Thankfully they didn't charge me for it.
I did finally find a place to take a look and give me a good estimate...and that estimate was bad. It looks like the clutch, flywheel and transmission will have to be either rebuilt or replaced. This is a long laborious job where just to pay the labor costs will be $700. If I deal with the other problems the car has, the need to replace the shocks and the breaks, well, I'll be looking to find some credit to pay for it all.
The good thing is that I have paid off the car. This happened recently...in September. I've had one exciting month of being without a car payment, but look now, it's the truth of Murphy's Law, just when you think you're going to get a benefit. Now fixing the car is going to cost more than any of the monthly payments.
Now the car had just about 160,000 miles on it. More than most cars that are 5 and a half years old. I've tried to keep in in good shape, but bigger maintenance items...like the clutch, may have been looked over. The question right now is, how much longer can this car go, even with the repairs that are needed now? Is it something where the car is still strong, just some of the parts are going, or is it on a expensive downward spiral?
I'm sort of believing the latter, but then I may be biased.
So that brings me to the next question. Should I buy a new car? Is it really worth getting back into monthly payments again? I've wanted a new car for a while, but that's just because it would be new, not necessarily because it would be practical.
If I do buy a new car (still an if), I'm just wondering what I should buy. I've really liked my XTerra, and for form and factor, I'd buy one again, but the fact that it only gets 17 miles to the gallon has me thinking again. Still, I still want the size, and the height of a small SUV. I'm kind of leaning towards the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, which are technically the same car. The car is in the same price range, just a little bit smaller than the XTerra and gets about 22 mpg.
Stellar gas ratings, no, but better than most. The hybrids are very interesting, but so much more expensive...plus you have to be on a waiting list. I also wouldn't want to get caught in a few years having to fix something that suddenly becomes incredibly expensive because of the unusual engine. This has sort of been the case with the XTerra, where I've been finding out that having a 4 wheel drive has been more of a hassle than something I've actually used.
One of the reasons that the transmission is so expensive, everything with labor will likely cost over $2,000, is because of the 4 wheel drive. I think I've used it twice. I'm not sure if having a manual over an automatic transmission is a help or a hinderance right now, but after the stop and go traffic for the Hurricane Rita evacuation, I think I'd like to go with an automatic. I'm kind of sick of the clutch.
Of course, there's always all of those unsold Hummers that are sitting on those lots (hee). I could get a good deal, but they'd have to give the necessary gas away with it.
I was hoping to pay off some other bills, but dang it if the car didn't have other ideas. After I got the estimate, the shop said that they could start, but the new parts wouldn't be available until Monday, so there wasn't much chance to get started. That was fine, but I'm not sure what my decision will be, or when I'll take the time off to get it fixed. It's difficult to get your car fixed when your single, you know? Places don't drive you very far anymore. One place offered a rental car...for a fee.
No mater what, this is going to be a costly fall.
