Wisconsin Beth
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Sept 18, 2012 9:37:58 GMT -5
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 18, 2012 9:37:58 GMT -5
I hate all these car threads right now. I want a different car. I drive a 2006 Dodge Caravan. Don't know what the mileage is on it. We've had it about 3 years. It's making a high pitched sound (likely a belt, it's being looked at/fixed tomorrow); the door panel on the passenger side sliding door is popping off and I don't know how to fix it other than to smack it back into place. The sliding door on the driver's side (back seat) doesn't respond to the car locks anymore. I have no idea why. The cup holders are inconvenient; there's not enough legroom/car seat room. It takes forever for the heat to kick in. I hate the way the trip odometer has to be doubleclicked to reset it. There's a faulty wire in the headlights - sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, then you hit a bump and they work again. I'm stuck with this car until it dies. I know that. But damnit, I want a different minivan. I'm ok with driving a minivan. We paid for this car via HELOC, so there's about 3K still owed on it, in my mind. Anyway, I'm venting. I know there's no real solution beyond fixing the problem issues. But it's hard to read the threads about cars right now.
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bean29
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Sept 18, 2012 9:57:29 GMT -5
Post by bean29 on Sept 18, 2012 9:57:29 GMT -5
Beth, I have been kind of thinking I have set my sights too high for what I want in a car. While I really want the 2013 Escape, I have been driving a Truck without A/C through our hot summer and getting by driving my Son's 2006 Econobox (A car many here call an old person's car). In a way, I am happy just to have a car that will get me from Point A to Point B.
We had a Chrysler Van over the weekend and I did not like it, I wondered about the Heat Controls too.
I was thinking my kids should know what kind of cars we drove as teens and young adults. Did I ever get stranded somewhere? Yes. Did my parents feel they needed to provide me with a dependable car? Not really sure, because I don't think their finances would have allowed them to do much more. But boy my 15 year old really seems to feel entitled to dictate what kind of wheels she will have available when she gets her DL.
I think if you are going to be a YMer, you better not get distracted by what people are driving who are not following your financial plan. My frustration is its not that I can't afford the car I want. I just haven't decided that I want to spend that much $$ for transportation. Then in the meantime some other issue comes up and the $$ allocated for me to buy a car are technically available for some other purpose. That is OK as long as it is a financial or business deal with a profit incentive. If not, hey I don't go to work to make my money available for other people to spend.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Sept 18, 2012 14:51:47 GMT -5
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 18, 2012 14:51:47 GMT -5
I was thinking my kids should know what kind of cars we drove as teens and young adults. Did I ever get stranded somewhere? Yes. Did my parents feel they needed to provide me with a dependable car? Not really sure, because I don't think their finances would have allowed them to do much more. But boy my 15 year old really seems to feel entitled to dictate what kind of wheels she will have available when she gets her DL. Ain't that the truth. The first car I had regular use of was my brother's -- a Ford LTD sedan he bought for $100. The color was grey primer. There were no floor boards in the back seat. But, it ran. I often reminisce about the 70s when people (kids AND adults) drove whatever they could afford. It wasn't at all uncommon to drive a beater held together with Bondo and duct tape. No one cared. Your friends would just as willingly jump into an old jalopy to head out as they would a nicer car. Everyone just wanted to go...not go and "be seen" in the latest model. And, we did many of our own repairs then, remember? Meh, maybe I'm just cynical after driving too many of the kids' friends and hearing them speak about getting their father's BMW SUV when they get their license. Seriously. And, no doubt a gas card to go with it. Not my kids. They'll be driving my swagger wagon (read: 6 year old minivan) when it is convenient for me using gas they pay for. Cuz, I'm just that crappy of a parent ;D
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michelyn8
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Sept 18, 2012 15:07:01 GMT -5
Post by michelyn8 on Sept 18, 2012 15:07:01 GMT -5
My first car was a 1974 Pinto Runabout (one with hatchback that was 95% window). I had no AC, no rear defrost, and an AM radio. My parents bought it for me 2 weeks after I got my license in 1984. I think I was teased a few times about it but then that stopped as the other kids realized it was my car to drive whenever I needed versus having to rely on my parent's to let me use their car.
I've never understood the need some parents have to give their kids more than just a reliable care. Especially since I knew a guy in high school who was given a Mercedes convertible when he turned 16 (both him and his twin sister were given one) and managed to total it within the first 30 days. His dad replaced it with a Nissan Pulsar - still nicer than what most of us drove but definately a step down from the Mercedes convertible.
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Peace Of Mind
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Sept 18, 2012 15:13:57 GMT -5
Post by Peace Of Mind on Sept 18, 2012 15:13:57 GMT -5
LOL! Mine was a brown Ford Pinto too with no a/c in Florida! I bought it when I was 15 and didn't even have my license yet. I wanted a muscle car and my parents were co-signing the loan and made me buy the Pinto. It was a POS but a fun one. They were so smart having me pay for it myself. I truly feel that was how I became financially stable and good with money as I grew up. Beth - Sell your car to Dark's brother or leave the keys in it!
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muttleynfelix
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Sept 18, 2012 15:15:25 GMT -5
Post by muttleynfelix on Sept 18, 2012 15:15:25 GMT -5
Awe Beth, I hear you. Most of the time I am happy to be driving my cruddy little car, but when it starts acting up I do get a case of I want a newer car now. It does help that we have a defined replacement schedule for it since it is a '98 and has 188k miles on it. So, the plan to replace it is 2 years max and 1 year at a minimum. Whenever I feel like I have the worst car in the parking lot (which is most of the time, but particularly at Yoga), I just remember that the car isn't costing me a whole lot to drive - liability only insurance, gas, and routine maintenance. By driving a dirt cheap car it is allowing my DH to stay home. Those things help get me through it and at some point we'll be able to get me a a little bit better car and hopefully pass this car on to my BIL since he is driving an '89 Chevy S-10 and '76 Audi. (Other BIL drives a '94 Camry and MIL drives a 2000 PLymouth Neon that is in horrible shape)
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Formerly SK
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Sept 18, 2012 15:52:01 GMT -5
Post by Formerly SK on Sept 18, 2012 15:52:01 GMT -5
I was thinking my kids should know what kind of cars we drove as teens and young adults. Did I ever get stranded somewhere? Yes. Did my parents feel they needed to provide me with a dependable car? Not really sure, because I don't think their finances would have allowed them to do much more. But boy my 15 year old really seems to feel entitled to dictate what kind of wheels she will have available when she gets her DL. Ain't that the truth. The first car I had regular use of was my brother's -- a Ford LTD sedan he bought for $100. The color was grey primer. There were no floor boards in the back seat. But, it ran. I often reminisce about the 70s when people (kids AND adults) drove whatever they could afford. It wasn't at all uncommon to drive a beater held together with Bondo and duct tape. No one cared. Your friends would just as willingly jump into an old jalopy to head out as they would a nicer car. Everyone just wanted to go...not go and "be seen" in the latest model. And, we did many of our own repairs then, remember? Meh, maybe I'm just cynical after driving too many of the kids' friends and hearing them speak about getting their father's BMW SUV when they get their license. Seriously. And, no doubt a gas card to go with it. Not my kids. They'll be driving my swagger wagon (read: 6 year old minivan) when it is convenient for me using gas they pay for. Cuz, I'm just that crappy of a parent ;D This is why I listen to Car Talk on NPR. It's so refreshing to hear people call up wanting to know how to duct tape repair their old car so they can get a few more miles out of it.
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tskeeter
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Sept 18, 2012 16:42:36 GMT -5
Post by tskeeter on Sept 18, 2012 16:42:36 GMT -5
Beth, my bet is that the high pitched whine you hear is the power steering pump that is low on fluid. The pitch and volume change with engine speed, right? In some cases, you'll first hear this when turning the wheels at a corner or when parking. As the fluid gets lower, the whine becomes a full time thing.
Loose door panel. The door panels are held on with ribbed plastic studs with large heads. The head slips into a pocket on the back of the door panel, and the ribbed shank of the stud pushes into a hole in the door to hold the panel in place. It sounds like one of the studs has broken, worn out, or has fallen out. You can get a small pack of these for a couple of bucks at any auto parts store. If you flirt with the counter guy, he might even put it in for you.
Sliding door problems are common with this series of Dodge vans. Without a detailed explanation of what is happening, I can't diagnose the problem. But, I have found a lot of very detailed, very useful information on the discussion forum at dodgeforum.com. Maybe you'll find, like I did, that all it takes is 15 minutes replacing a piece of the door wiring to fix the problem (My door would stop in the same spot when it was opening and closing. Broken wires in the tank track at the bottom of the door opening. Replace tank track wire assembly. All fixed.).
If the van is slow to heat up, I'd probably just replace the thermostat, betting that it has failed in the open position. The thermostat I bought when I replaced hoses and coolant a few weeks back was less that $10. Note that the rubber washer around the rim of the old thermostat gets moved to the new thermostat.
Since it sounds like your headlights both go out at the same time, I think there is a short in the headlight wiring. Start at the headlights and examine the wiring back through the engine bay of the car. You're looking for a small spot where the insulation has worn off a wire, causing the headlight to short out when the bare wire touches a metal surface on the car body or the engine. Most likely places are where the wiring goes through a hole, across the edge of another part, comes close to a metal surface, or where individual wires come out of a corrugated plastic wire protector tube. If you can find the bad spot, clean the wire, put on a couple of wraps of electrician's tape, and you're all set.
For about $225 and two or three hours under the hood, the van could be in pretty good shape again. The cup holders will still be inconvenient and the trip odometer will still need an annoying double click to reset (who uses the trip odometer anyway?), but the car will be more pleasant to drive.
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thyme4change
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Sept 18, 2012 16:49:18 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Sept 18, 2012 16:49:18 GMT -5
I've gotten stranded - and this was before cell phones! If my kids get stranded, they can call me. I remember once leaving my car at midnight on the side of the road and walking home 1.5 miles. These days, I would have called someone.
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susanb
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Sept 18, 2012 17:16:27 GMT -5
Post by susanb on Sept 18, 2012 17:16:27 GMT -5
I hear you, Beth. Most of the people around me have nicer and newer cars than I do (2003 Honda). Normally, I don't think twice about it, but every once in a while I get a case of new car craving. I start looking online and find something I really, really like. Then I think about how much I like my money. It will probably be another 5 years before I like a new car more than I like my money.
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thyme4change
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Sept 18, 2012 17:21:19 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Sept 18, 2012 17:21:19 GMT -5
I should have married a car guy. I would have happily lived a pauper's life if I could drive around in some crazy car. But, instead I drive a 2003 Accord. I was bored with it the day I bought it. My next car will be awesome. One day, I might go out and come home with a '62 corvette that barely runs.
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milee
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Sept 18, 2012 17:27:54 GMT -5
Post by milee on Sept 18, 2012 17:27:54 GMT -5
Beth, my bet is that the high pitched whine you hear is the power steering pump that is low on fluid. The pitch and volume change with engine speed, right? In some cases, you'll first hear this when turning the wheels at a corner or when parking. As the fluid gets lower, the whine becomes a full time thing. Loose door panel. The door panels are held on with ribbed plastic studs with large heads. The head slips into a pocket on the back of the door panel, and the ribbed shank of the stud pushes into a hole in the door to hold the panel in place. It sounds like one of the studs has broken, worn out, or has fallen out. You can get a small pack of these for a couple of bucks at any auto parts store. If you flirt with the counter guy, he might even put it in for you. Sliding door problems are common with this series of Dodge vans. Without a detailed explanation of what is happening, I can't diagnose the problem. But, I have found a lot of very detailed, very useful information on the discussion forum at dodgeforum.com. Maybe you'll find, like I did, that all it takes is 15 minutes replacing a piece of the door wiring to fix the problem (My door would stop in the same spot when it was opening and closing. Broken wires in the tank track at the bottom of the door opening. Replace tank track wire assembly. All fixed.). If the van is slow to heat up, I'd probably just replace the thermostat, betting that it has failed in the open position. The thermostat I bought when I replaced hoses and coolant a few weeks back was less that $10. Note that the rubber washer around the rim of the old thermostat gets moved to the new thermostat. Since it sounds like your headlights both go out at the same time, I think there is a short in the headlight wiring. Start at the headlights and examine the wiring back through the engine bay of the car. You're looking for a small spot where the insulation has worn off a wire, causing the headlight to short out when the bare wire touches a metal surface on the car body or the engine. Most likely places are where the wiring goes through a hole, across the edge of another part, comes close to a metal surface, or where individual wires come out of a corrugated plastic wire protector tube. If you can find the bad spot, clean the wire, put on a couple of wraps of electrician's tape, and you're all set. For about $225 and two or three hours under the hood, the van could be in pretty good shape again. The cup holders will still be inconvenient and the trip odometer will still need an annoying double click to reset (who uses the trip odometer anyway?), but the car will be more pleasant to drive. This entire post is a good example of why certain people are very accepting of the small, inexpensive, but myriad problems with American cars. If it's not a big deal to you to spend 2-3 hours tracking stuff down, wiping it clean, wrapping it with electrical tape or pinning it with a plastic rivet, you think you've got a car in "pretty good shape" and if people ask you about your car, you'd say it's been great! And FWIW, I'm that way about sailboats. Don't mind putting in the time, doing my own fixes, etc to keep a fast, winning hull in top shape. But for cars, stuff like that would drive me nuts. Especially on a car that is only 6 years old. Even if they weren't expensive fixes, the sheer number of small annoyances would cause me to believe that the entire car was likely to quickly become a steaming pile of junk and I'd get rid of it for something I didn't have to mess so much with. The Japanese stuff isn't exciting, but it does seem to run forever if you just do routine oil changes and maintenance.
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Opti
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Sept 18, 2012 17:32:12 GMT -5
Post by Opti on Sept 18, 2012 17:32:12 GMT -5
Sorry Beth. I would like to refresh my car too.
Actually if I could afford to repair him I wouldn't mind hanging on a little longer but somewhere between now and last year my car was supposed to become my official race car and I was planning to get a cheaper more reliable daily driver. Life happens.
I got an oil change and attempted to head off the usual complimentary, i.e. you can't stop us from looking for future money from your vehicle, inspection at the dealer. Maybe I should have just gone with it but seeing a number greater than $5K in print would hurt my resolve. So I just asked for pricing on a subset of things I know should be done. Some more important than others. Only roughly $3700. ;D
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Phoenix84
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Sept 18, 2012 17:35:27 GMT -5
Post by Phoenix84 on Sept 18, 2012 17:35:27 GMT -5
I think I want a Ford Escape too. I'm tired of sedans but a SUV or Van is too big. Plus the 4 wheel drive would be great for the nasty winter weather we get here.
But I can't bring myself to buy a new car when my current one is working perfectly fine and paid off. Not to mention grad school is sucking up all my excess funds.
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Opti
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Sept 18, 2012 17:51:32 GMT -5
Post by Opti on Sept 18, 2012 17:51:32 GMT -5
Ya know they make 4 wheel drive for sedans. While they don't have the clearance my AWD Sedan with winter tires does better than most people who use all season tires on their SUVs.
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Sept 18, 2012 18:08:18 GMT -5
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Sept 18, 2012 18:08:18 GMT -5
Love my AWD Subaru Forester in the snow. It sits higher than a car, so better ground clearance. Mine is 2007 and it was redesigned a couple years after to a larger vehicle.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Sept 19, 2012 7:25:08 GMT -5
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 19, 2012 7:25:08 GMT -5
Karma tskeeter.
Thanks everyone.
I think what's going on is that I'm really tired of everything needing small, crappy repairs that I don't feel equipped to deal with. It's not just the car, it's the house and garage too. And I don't have time. I work fulltime, we have a 4+ year old and a not quite 3 year old. They want our time and attention. And really, they deserve it. The 4 year old is getting good at guilt tripping me with "Mommy, can you play with me?" What I need is a couple of weeks with no kids, no husband, no money concerns about how much a repair/part will cost and my sisters keeping me on track to get everything done!
ETA - Another part of the problem is that when we bought the minivan, we had 1 kid and didn't expect to have more. So we didn't even think about how 2 carseats fit, legroom for the kids, packing space would be. This minivan was a replacement for my Ford Ranger, which was so not child ok. My mechanic is still driving the Ranger, we were behind him a couple of days ago. It was fun to see it still on the road. ;D I like Fords. Prior to this Dodge, my last 4 cars/16+ years driving were Fords. DH got my Ford Focus when we got the minivan.
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Sept 19, 2012 8:04:58 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 8:04:58 GMT -5
DH uses it to check how many mpg's he gets out of a tank of gas. I loves me some nerd!!
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Wisconsin Beth
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No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
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Sept 19, 2012 8:11:06 GMT -5
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 19, 2012 8:11:06 GMT -5
DH uses it to check how many mpg's he gets out of a tank of gas. I loves me some nerd!! That's why I reset it. I don't usually do the math though. And we like to know how many miles we put on during a vacation.
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swamp
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Sept 19, 2012 8:11:38 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Sept 19, 2012 8:11:38 GMT -5
DH uses it to check how many mpg's he gets out of a tank of gas. I loves me some nerd!! I do that too...........
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Sept 19, 2012 8:15:25 GMT -5
I reset mine. It has settings for two different trips and it calculates mpg for me.
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Deleted
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Sept 19, 2012 8:16:33 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 8:16:33 GMT -5
DH uses it to check how many mpg's he gets out of a tank of gas. I loves me some nerd!! I do that too........... And that is why I you too! ;D
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giramomma
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Sept 19, 2012 9:48:24 GMT -5
Post by giramomma on Sept 19, 2012 9:48:24 GMT -5
I think what's going on is that I'm really tired of everything needing small, crappy repairs that I don't feel equipped to deal with. It's not just the car, it's the house and garage too. And I don't have time. I work fulltime, we have a 4+ year old and a not quite 3 year old. They want our time and attention. And really, they deserve it. The 4 year old is getting good at guilt tripping me with "Mommy, can you play with me?" What I need is a couple of weeks with no kids, no husband, no money concerns about how much a repair/part will cost and my sisters keeping me on track to get everything done! I know how you feel. Can you make a list and just try to get one thing done a week or month? We have three now, 8 years -4 months, plus I work 6 days a week. Our lawn and landcaping looks god-awful. We've lived in our house for 3 years and haven't really decorated. I'm way overdue for an oil change, and I need to get a rattle fixed on my car. I played football and baked with my kids over the weekend rather than weeding, trimming, digging, etc. And, it was glorious. My bar is set so low now, that it's hard for me to fail. I'm simply happy if I get three kids out the door fed, clothed, and smelling good and to their destinations on time. I suppose that I should be caring more about how well decorated our house is, rather than simply be satisfied that it's relatively clean. But, right now, my kids would rather have me be room mom and play a game with them. My 8 yo is already starting to not acknowledge me at school. This is such a short and fleeting season.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Sept 19, 2012 10:00:55 GMT -5
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 19, 2012 10:00:55 GMT -5
Part of the problem is that I make a list and get depressed looking at how long it is. I'm on the clutter thread on WIR and gave up listing projects because there's never any progress to report, just more things added to the list. At least that's what it feels like. I manage, barely, to keep up with the basics.
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Sept 19, 2012 10:03:37 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:03:37 GMT -5
when I recharge!!
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Sept 19, 2012 13:53:11 GMT -5
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 19, 2012 13:53:11 GMT -5
when I recharge!! Karma from me, too. Mine are 16.5 and 14. Intellectually I am okay with it. So far, (body parts crossed) I like them as teens. But there are days when the mere sight of a baby or toddler brings up all kinds of bittersweet feelings... I don't advocate that anyone live in filth, but we also aren't supposed to live in homes that look like a Martha Stewart Living magazine layout. Real life is cluttered, messy, and always, always, always unfinished. So, play football. Bake. Read with them. Do crafts. Act out a story. Play in a "rock band". Watch the squirrels. Do anything and everything WITH them. Obviously, if a maintenance issue raises safety or genuine health concerns, then get it done. But, the cosmetic stuff WILL get done when the time is right.
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tskeeter
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Sept 19, 2012 17:05:42 GMT -5
Post by tskeeter on Sept 19, 2012 17:05:42 GMT -5
Beth, my bet is that the high pitched whine you hear is the power steering pump that is low on fluid. The pitch and volume change with engine speed, right? In some cases, you'll first hear this when turning the wheels at a corner or when parking. As the fluid gets lower, the whine becomes a full time thing. Loose door panel. The door panels are held on with ribbed plastic studs with large heads. The head slips into a pocket on the back of the door panel, and the ribbed shank of the stud pushes into a hole in the door to hold the panel in place. It sounds like one of the studs has broken, worn out, or has fallen out. You can get a small pack of these for a couple of bucks at any auto parts store. If you flirt with the counter guy, he might even put it in for you. Sliding door problems are common with this series of Dodge vans. Without a detailed explanation of what is happening, I can't diagnose the problem. But, I have found a lot of very detailed, very useful information on the discussion forum at dodgeforum.com. Maybe you'll find, like I did, that all it takes is 15 minutes replacing a piece of the door wiring to fix the problem (My door would stop in the same spot when it was opening and closing. Broken wires in the tank track at the bottom of the door opening. Replace tank track wire assembly. All fixed.). If the van is slow to heat up, I'd probably just replace the thermostat, betting that it has failed in the open position. The thermostat I bought when I replaced hoses and coolant a few weeks back was less that $10. Note that the rubber washer around the rim of the old thermostat gets moved to the new thermostat. Since it sounds like your headlights both go out at the same time, I think there is a short in the headlight wiring. Start at the headlights and examine the wiring back through the engine bay of the car. You're looking for a small spot where the insulation has worn off a wire, causing the headlight to short out when the bare wire touches a metal surface on the car body or the engine. Most likely places are where the wiring goes through a hole, across the edge of another part, comes close to a metal surface, or where individual wires come out of a corrugated plastic wire protector tube. If you can find the bad spot, clean the wire, put on a couple of wraps of electrician's tape, and you're all set. For about $225 and two or three hours under the hood, the van could be in pretty good shape again. The cup holders will still be inconvenient and the trip odometer will still need an annoying double click to reset (who uses the trip odometer anyway?), but the car will be more pleasant to drive. This entire post is a good example of why certain people are very accepting of the small, inexpensive, but myriad problems with American cars. If it's not a big deal to you to spend 2-3 hours tracking stuff down, wiping it clean, wrapping it with electrical tape or pinning it with a plastic rivet, you think you've got a car in "pretty good shape" and if people ask you about your car, you'd say it's been great! And FWIW, I'm that way about sailboats. Don't mind putting in the time, doing my own fixes, etc to keep a fast, winning hull in top shape. But for cars, stuff like that would drive me nuts. Especially on a car that is only 6 years old. Even if they weren't expensive fixes, the sheer number of small annoyances would cause me to believe that the entire car was likely to quickly become a steaming pile of junk and I'd get rid of it for something I didn't have to mess so much with. The Japanese stuff isn't exciting, but it does seem to run forever if you just do routine oil changes and maintenance. Milee, just because I know how to fix simple problems doesn't mean I willingly accept a that a Chrysler product isn't as reliable as a Honda or Toyota. I drove Mazda's and Toyotas for several years because they were much, much more reliable than the domestic brands. It's just that Honda or Toyota don't make a minivan long enough for the tandem to fit inside and the Dodge was $10K cheaper than a Honda. So we drive a Dodge and I complain about how much more maintenance it takes than the Toyotas. I figure that by the time the Dodge has 500K miles on it, the repairs might have eaten up the $10K I didn't pay when we bought it. What I refuse to accept is a car that doesn't work the way it is supposed to. So I perform service work, like filling the power steering pump, and fix things that break, so that I'm not driving around at night listening to the door panel flap and wondering how much longer the headlights are going to be on. Hey, I even fixed the broken console cover on one of the Camrys. Even the rice wagons need a little TLC once in a while.
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tskeeter
Junior Associate
Joined: Mar 20, 2011 19:37:45 GMT -5
Posts: 6,831
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Grrr.
Sept 19, 2012 17:29:14 GMT -5
Post by tskeeter on Sept 19, 2012 17:29:14 GMT -5
I think what's going on is that I'm really tired of everything needing small, crappy repairs that I don't feel equipped to deal with. It's not just the car, it's the house and garage too. And I don't have time. I work fulltime, we have a 4+ year old and a not quite 3 year old. They want our time and attention. And really, they deserve it. The 4 year old is getting good at guilt tripping me with "Mommy, can you play with me?" What I need is a couple of weeks with no kids, no husband, no money concerns about how much a repair/part will cost and my sisters keeping me on track to get everything done! I know how you feel. Can you make a list and just try to get one thing done a week or month? We have three now, 8 years -4 months, plus I work 6 days a week. Our lawn and landcaping looks god-awful. We've lived in our house for 3 years and haven't really decorated. I'm way overdue for an oil change, and I need to get a rattle fixed on my car. I played football and baked with my kids over the weekend rather than weeding, trimming, digging, etc. And, it was glorious. My bar is set so low now, that it's hard for me to fail. I'm simply happy if I get three kids out the door fed, clothed, and smelling good and to their destinations on time. I suppose that I should be caring more about how well decorated our house is, rather than simply be satisfied that it's relatively clean. But, right now, my kids would rather have me be room mom and play a game with them. My 8 yo is already starting to not acknowledge me at school. This is such a short and fleeting season. I think Beth's automotive challenges come from two sources. First, she doesn't understand what is going on with her car. She's like most drivers. If something sounds funny, spend an hour taking the car to the garage and at least $100 on repairs. I keep a $3 bottle of power steering fluid on a shelf in the garage, and if the power steering pump starts to whine, I take three minutes when I get home and top off the fluid level. Second, because of the cost, time, and hassle involved with every trip to the shop, many drivers just let little things accumulate, rather than taking five minutes to replace the broken anchor on the door panel. Using this approach, my in-laws could turn a nice new car into a pile of junk leaving a trail of parts on the road behind them in 30K miles. I think that all the little broken items makes a car a pain to drive. Easier to fix them as they come up than put up with them for the next five years. Obviously I'm an advocate of all drivers knowing enough about their cars to make some small repairs on their own. But I don't think people need to make a part time job out of keeping their cars operating correctly. Beth has about a three year accumulation of minor repairs. I don't think that an hour or so a year to maintain a car is too much for a car that I bet has over 100K miles on it.
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kittensaver
Junior Associate
We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. - Mother Teresa
Joined: Nov 22, 2011 16:16:36 GMT -5
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Grrr.
Sept 19, 2012 17:40:21 GMT -5
Post by kittensaver on Sept 19, 2012 17:40:21 GMT -5
Well FWIW, count me in as another voice to get yourself a Ford Escape (when you can, of course - - this IS YM after all :-)). I just hit 153,000 miles and it's still going strong. My goal is 250,000. I think it's doing so well because I've been fanatical about all of its servicing at the recommended intervals. It sits "tall" enough on the road so that you get a great visual of everything around and ahead of you and is big enough that other larger trucks don't cut you off or otherwise mess with you, but it's not so big as to be unwieldy or a PITA to maneuver and park (or to break your pocketbook when you put gas in it). You can comfortably sit two large adults or three smaller people in the back seat (yes, mine has 3 sets of seatbelts). It's a great "girl truck."
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Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
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Grrr.
Sept 20, 2012 8:17:24 GMT -5
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 20, 2012 8:17:24 GMT -5
I think Beth's automotive challenges come from two sources. First, she doesn't understand what is going on with her car. She's like most drivers. If something sounds funny, spend an hour taking the car to the garage and at least $100 on repairs. I keep a $3 bottle of power steering fluid on a shelf in the garage, and if the power steering pump starts to whine, I take three minutes when I get home and top off the fluid level. Second, because of the cost, time, and hassle involved with every trip to the shop, many drivers just let little things accumulate, rather than taking five minutes to replace the broken anchor on the door panel. Using this approach, my in-laws could turn a nice new car into a pile of junk leaving a trail of parts on the road behind them in 30K miles. I think that all the little broken items makes a car a pain to drive. Easier to fix them as they come up than put up with them for the next five years. Obviously I'm an advocate of all drivers knowing enough about their cars to make some small repairs on their own. But I don't think people need to make a part time job out of keeping their cars operating correctly. Beth has about a three year accumulation of minor repairs. I don't think that an hour or so a year to maintain a car is too much for a car that I bet has over 100K miles on it. Ding ding ding. We have a winner. I know how to put gas, oil and air in my cars. I can changes a tire if necessary. And I can pop a butterfly value to make a car start (now a useless trick) When I find a screw floating around the floor by the door, I check for any visible open screw holes. When I don't find them, I figure the screw came from inside the car somewhere that I can't see and don't know how to get to so I can put it back in. And it goes in the cupholder in the back to rattle around until it falls out and/or the kids find it and take it out to play with.
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