New or Used

[eggwards]

I 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.

Comments

[furfairy.livejournal.com]

Well, what do you use your car for? You say you like the size of a small/mid SUV. But do you haul stuff?

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

No, I don't haul stuff too much, but I do like having the extra room at times, especially when I'm traveling so much-back and forth to Dallas. Really, I think I've gotten used to the height of the vehicle and don't want to go back to a car, but don't find a truck a great solution, either.

Thanks for the Hummer link.

[furfairy.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe three to look at (at very different price points) are:

Scion xB
Honda Element
Subaru Outback

The Outback now stands a few inches higher than the Legacy. So you're not as low to the ground as you would be in most wagons.

[truckerbear.livejournal.com]

I say get a VW jetta turbo diesel almost 50 mpg and there is tons of room in them. Ask bigrock he has one.

If you need a SUV thou I would go for anything but the esacape there just cramped inside. Maybe a hybrid?

Dunno just my suggestions.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

That's a somewhat expensive car in my eyes. I do like VW's but I'd be more inclined to look at the Toureg - which is also too expensive. It's also looking like Diesel is more expensive than regular gas once again, so I'm not sure if the savings are all that consistent.

The Ford hybrid is the Escape, so that doesn't solve the room problem.

[hot4latin.livejournal.com]

I'm partial to the Toyota Highlander and Rav4. They're surprisingly roomy inside and are both available in a 4-cylinder which is great on the mileage.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

The Highlander seems like a good car, but I actually have never been a fan of the RAV4. Something just doesn't seem right about that one. Still their styling is better than the Honda cars, that's for sure.

[winbear.livejournal.com]

I sold the motorcycle this week and we went car shopping yesterday. I specifically wanted to get a car with high gas mileage. After banging my head getting into a Toyota Corolla and feeling a little cramped in a Dodge Neon, I tried a Honda Civic LX and it was quite roomy to me. It had a lot of get up and go and maneuvered well. Considering it was classified as a small car, it was surprisingly large.

I bought the Civic. I'm not exactly thrilled with the payments, but I'm definitely ready for a more comfortable and less exposed ride.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

The Civic is a good car. I owned one (well, my father bought it) fifteen-plus years ago, and that thing was small. They've done much better with it now. No one is thrilled with the payments, ever.

So there wasn't a way to keep the cycle and the car? Seems like a bad trade-off.

[rooooo.livejournal.com]

I sorta went through a similar situation with my truck...although,for me, i owed for 4 more years on it, i was getting ready to turn 90k miles, and it needed repairs from being hit AND other stuff....like a slow transmission.

After thinking about it and thinking about it and not really coming up with a good decision, i just started test driving SUV's and cars and stuff. it's not all that easy to find an SUV that big guys fit into and that get good mileage.

After driving a VW Toureage

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I sorta went through a similar situation with my truck...although,for me, i owed for 4 more years on it, i was getting ready to turn 90k miles, and it needed repairs from being hit AND other stuff....like a slow transmission.

After thinking about it and thinking about it and not really coming up with a good decision, i just started test driving SUV's and cars and stuff. it's not all that easy to find an SUV that big guys fit into and that get good mileage.

After driving a VW Toureage <sp?>, Toyota 4Runner and Highlander and Pilot, the Mitsubishi SUV's, and just a whole bunch of other stuff...i settled on the Chrysler Pacifica AWD. It's roomy, it's not huge, it's very nice inside, and it gets about 22mpg on the highway. I bought mine used...a year old, 28k miles, and saved a TON of cash buying it that way. And a month later, I'm still totally diggin' it. :)

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was upside down on the car before the XTerra, a horrible KIA that broke down after a couple of years and put a big burden on the purchase of the new car.

I do like the Toureg, but way out of my price range. I'm wary of the mini-van types, but I do hear you get a lot of extras for the money.

I have thought of looking for nicely used cars, but I'm also thinking I might get a deal on an '05 model they are looking to get rid of.

[treesatoast.livejournal.com]

I don't drive much, because I hate driving in the city, but my girlfriend belongs to Zipcar (www.zipcar.com) and is in love with the Escape. She likes SUV's in general but she says it's a great car to drive.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

I seem to be getting closer and closer to buying an Escape. It's really growing on me.

Zipcar is an interesting idea. I'm not sure how well it would do in a more spread out city where people don't walk as much, but I see the benefits in Boston, etc.

[rowgun.livejournal.com]

I've always been interested in getting a mini - nice mileage, most of the time i'm driving by myself anyways so room's not a problem, plus they're really fun to drive. And yes, I liked em even before "The Italian Job" and before they were hip.

Nice icon by the way - I don't think I've seen you use that before.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Mini's are pretty cool, and they are pretty roomy, but after talking to Jerry about his, I'm not sure I'd want one, especially here in Houston (floods, bad streets). It's also a problem to fix the engine and the tires cost $300 each. I need a car that's easy to maintain!

[garebear.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, increasing repair costs are part of owning an older car. You're probably going to have to have the XTerra (and it's a great car), but save on the side for a good used economy car... just for those longer trips when you need to economize on gas. Being single and having two cars isn't a bad thing.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Two cars? Oh no! That would be too much! Besides, don't you by the electric car for in-town driving?

[garebear.livejournal.com]

Insurance costs aren't that high if there's only one driver. Once you're comfortable with the new car... any major breakdown of the older car makes it easier to dump it.

I wish I could afford an electric car!