souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 10, 2017 17:06:51 GMT -5
I believe there was another thread like this not too long ago but I'm too lazy and gobsmacked right now to look. My 2004 car with under 108K miles on it started to leak oil and when shifting (stick) second and third gear would take a second for acceleration to kick in so I knew it wasn't good. Left it at the mechanics today and just got the call which I was kind of expecting because while I'm not a car guy I thought it would be transmission related. Said it's one of those instances where they won't know the full extent until they open the transmission but it's a $4,000-$5,400 estimate which includes a full rebuild if it goes that far along with the other issues - oil leaking onto spark plugs, clutch replace (original clutch) and a few others. I trust the mechanic as I've been going there since before I had this car. I knew at a point I'd have to get a new car because when we start trying to have a family I need something that has more room and is safer for kids but I was hoping getting that new to me car would be in ~2 years. The estimated cost to repair over the next 2 years might be cheaper than 24 monthly car payments but then I'd still need a new car eventually. I'll be honest it's the car I learned to drive stick on and hoped to keep as a daily driver when I didn't need to shuttle kids because I like driving stick and my next car has to be an automatic the wife can also drive. I know the smart answer and what I should do but this is never the type of financial news you want to hear especially when you're thinking about getting into a house in the next year. Basically can anyone make the case to repair? I've never leased a car, looked into the finances of it or considered it but I'm open to any options. I drive less than 7K miles a year now since I work 8 miles form my home.
Thanks.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Aug 10, 2017 17:09:20 GMT -5
Rebuilding a transmission is almost never cost effective, the labor charges will eat you alive. Could you have him quote what it would be to install a new/gently used one? Should save you a few K in labor.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 10, 2017 17:14:28 GMT -5
What type of car is it and other than the repairs listed in the OP, what condition is it in?
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 10, 2017 17:16:59 GMT -5
Rebuilding a transmission is almost never cost effective, the labor charges will eat you alive. Could you have him quote what it would be to install a new/gently used one? Should save you a few K in labor. Good question and I just called to ask and was told the quote they gave me to open it up and repair is the cheapest option but again they don't know if it's $4K or $5K+ until they open it up. He said when they drained the oil they only saw shavings and not chunks of metal which is good so it could just be a shredded gear but no way of knowing for sure. I'd like to trust my mechanic and I do but I don't know enough about cars let alone transmissions to really know if I'm ever being misled or if they're trying to get more labor charges out of it.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 10, 2017 17:20:37 GMT -5
What type of car is it and other than the repairs listed in the OP, what condition is it in? 2004 mitsbushi that otherwise is in good condition. There's definitely some cosmetic things like scratches due to rocks and whatnot from the road but there's no major dents or un-repaired damage. I've had every service needed done (oil, breaks, tire, tune up, etc) and have all the receipts. I tried to make sure I took care of it so I could get as many years as possible without a car payment and it's been over 6 now which is great but since it's only at 108K miles I hoped I had a few more years.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 10, 2017 17:29:41 GMT -5
Mitsubishi what? If you don't want to disclose that, it's fine but just do the work to look up the KBB value on it. I'm guessing even in excellent condition (and it's not - your description is more of good/fair), it's not worth much. If that's the case, might make more sense to put the $5k towards a new(er) car than into one that's not going to be worth much after the repair and isn't known for reliability.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 10, 2017 19:13:22 GMT -5
Board crash killed my reply - lancer ralliart. Looked up the KBB about 2.5 years ago and it was just under $3,500 in good condition while I'd say mine was in fair condition prior to the transmission issues. Just checked again and the value is estimated under 2K so definitely not worth fixing. Now I just have to try and figure out what car I want as I hadn't thought a lot about it. Thanks for the input.
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gambler
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Post by gambler on Aug 11, 2017 8:14:57 GMT -5
see if you can get one out of a junk yard, i have had good luck with them in several cars/trucks.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 11, 2017 10:13:27 GMT -5
To be honest I wouldn't even know where to start with that and whether or not what I'm getting is legit. Right now it's at a point that I need to have a car by this weekend and there's no way I can find a transmission and have it installed by Sunday.
Follow up question - has anyone ever leased a car for the 3 years then bought it at the end by paying it off or just financing the fair value? Obviously the dealership is always set up to come out ahead but I assume with a lease they're banking on people going over on the mileage. I drive less than 7K miles a year and right now there's no way I would go over 10K a year which is when the $0.15 per mile kicks in. I'm a numbers guy and if I had all the info I could figure it out but I've never leased and haven't talked to any of the finance people yet. In short does it ever make sense to lease and take the lower payment knowing that you intend to buy at the end while financing the fair value when the lease ends?
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Aug 11, 2017 10:47:42 GMT -5
Can you buy an off lease car from the dealer? Another option would be to buy a car from a car rental agency like Enterprise. I have a friend who did that and she's really happy with it.
I would rent a car for a few days or a couple of weeks before leasing so you can look around to see what you want for your budget. Dealers always seem to know if you're desperate to buy and will not give you as good a deal as you may get otherwise.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 11, 2017 11:00:58 GMT -5
Based on the carfax the 2014 certified pre-owned was a lease. They have other used cars on the lot but not all of them are certified pre-owned and the majority are sold as is which I'm hesitant about. I can take it to my mechanic and they can check it out and tell me it's good but if something goes wrong 6 months down the line I may have little or no recourse while being on the hook for a repair bill and still owing on the car. I like something new or certified because there's some coverage there. I think your advice about renting is good but truth be told I don't want to drag this out for a few weeks. I'm slammed at work and have an international trip in less than a month and while there's never a good time for your car to die this really wasn't a good one for me. I've heard too many mixed reviews about people who have dealt with rental agencies, carmax, etc and would prefer not to deal with them. I can afford a new car and at this point am just trying to decide the best move financially as far as what the monthly cost will be while deciding between certified pre-owned, leasing or just buying. Thanks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 11:07:34 GMT -5
If you can afford it, I would just buy, whether it be certified pre-owned or new. While I've never run the numbers myself, I've never heard of leasing and then buying at the end being a cheaper option, everything I've read has always said the contrary.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 11, 2017 11:10:36 GMT -5
I think that leasing only benefits you if you drive few miles AND turn your car over regularly. It does not sound like this is the case. Leasing then purchasing means that you are paying 7-8 years for a car.
If you want to drive a new car, what I would do is contact car buying services (TD used USAA) and go in this direction. Like you, he wanted to buy a car quickly and he did all negotiating over the phone and computer. He could have gotten a car faster had he not gotten one off the boat (the car was sitting in the harbor), it needed to be brought to the dealer and finished up. Even then, the whole process lasted less than a week.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 11, 2017 11:14:37 GMT -5
If you can afford it, I would just buy, whether it be certified pre-owned or new. While I've never run the numbers myself, I've never heard of leasing and then buying at the end being a cheaper option, everything I've read has always said the contrary. I figured as much as the dealer is going to come out ahead 99% of the time. I figure leasing is me paying a lower lease rate for 3 years then I'm financing the 3 year old 2017 model. Going certified pre-owned has me skipping 3 years of lease payments and buying a 3 year old 2014 model. Thanks.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 11, 2017 11:28:13 GMT -5
I think that leasing only benefits you if you drive few miles AND turn your car over regularly. It does not sound like this is the case. Leasing then purchasing means that you are paying 7-8 years for a car. If you want to drive a new car, what I would do is contact car buying services (TD used USAA) and go in this direction. Like you, he wanted to buy a car quickly and he did all negotiating over the phone and computer. He could have gotten a car faster had he not gotten one off the boat (the car was sitting in the harbor), it needed to be brought to the dealer and finished up. Even then, the whole process lasted less than a week. A quick search takes me to a page where I click USAA car buying on their site and it wants me to log in. I'm not a member nor did I serve and it takes me to a process where I have to see if I'm eligible so not sure if I am. I'll look into it more but I'm not a fan of signing up for anything I don't have to or putting my information out there when not necessary.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 11, 2017 11:31:50 GMT -5
I think that leasing only benefits you if you drive few miles AND turn your car over regularly. It does not sound like this is the case. Leasing then purchasing means that you are paying 7-8 years for a car. If you want to drive a new car, what I would do is contact car buying services (TD used USAA) and go in this direction. Like you, he wanted to buy a car quickly and he did all negotiating over the phone and computer. He could have gotten a car faster had he not gotten one off the boat (the car was sitting in the harbor), it needed to be brought to the dealer and finished up. Even then, the whole process lasted less than a week. A quick search takes me to a page where I click USAA car buying on their site and it wants me to log in. I'm not a member nor did I serve and it takes me to a process where I have to see if I'm eligible so not sure if I am. I'll look into it more but I'm not a fan of signing up for anything I don't have to or putting my information out there when not necessary. You have to be a member, and unless you are or have a parent who is a military member, you aren't eligible. But other places like Costco have car buying services too.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Aug 11, 2017 12:01:45 GMT -5
I had the misfortune of owning a Dodge with a Mitsubishi engine. I was a lot younger (and had a lot less money) when the engine "chewed itself" up, & I replaced the engine, only to have THAT one die less than 2 years later. I vote to get a different car. JMHO.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 11, 2017 12:48:48 GMT -5
Thanks again for the responses. It's one of those situations where you more or less know what you should do but you still need to hear it from someone else.
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justme
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Post by justme on Aug 11, 2017 18:12:38 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure the buy value for a lease car is determined when you lease it. So it'd be based on the new price. So to pay what the fmv of it when you turn it in, you'd have to turn it in and then wait until they turn it around - hoping they don't get rid of it somewhere, and then buy. At least that's my understanding.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Aug 12, 2017 16:55:24 GMT -5
I ended up going with a 2014 certified pre-owned Honda CRV with less than 26K miles on it and compared to the 2017 CRV for the same model it was about 8.5K less. One previous owner who leased it and it had a spotless carfax history. I did check carmax online to see what they had in a 250 mile radius and for the same make/model they didn't have anything that would beat what the dealer wanted for this one. Thanks again for all of the responses.
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ZaireinHD
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Post by ZaireinHD on Aug 14, 2017 21:27:11 GMT -5
I believe there was another thread like this not too long ago but I'm too lazy and gobsmacked right now to look. My 2004 car with under 108K miles on it started to leak oil and when shifting (stick) second and third gear would take a second for acceleration to kick in so I knew it wasn't good. Left it at the mechanics today and just got the call which I was kind of expecting because while I'm not a car guy I thought it would be transmission related. Said it's one of those instances where they won't know the full extent until they open the transmission but it's a $4,000-$5,400 estimate which includes a full rebuild if it goes that far along with the other issues - oil leaking onto spark plugs, clutch replace (original clutch) and a few others. I trust the mechanic as I've been going there since before I had this car. I knew at a point I'd have to get a new car because when we start trying to have a family I need something that has more room and is safer for kids but I was hoping getting that new to me car would be in ~2 years. The estimated cost to repair over the next 2 years might be cheaper than 24 monthly car payments but then I'd still need a new car eventually. I'll be honest it's the car I learned to drive stick on and hoped to keep as a daily driver when I didn't need to shuttle kids because I like driving stick and my next car has to be an automatic the wife can also drive. I know the smart answer and what I should do but this is never the type of financial news you want to hear especially when you're thinking about getting into a house in the next year. Basically can anyone make the case to repair? I've never leased a car, looked into the finances of it or considered it but I'm open to any options. I drive less than 7K miles a year now since I work 8 miles form my home. Thanks. drive less than 7K a year!!! geez - LEASE!!! LEASE!! LEASE!!!
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 15, 2017 7:57:50 GMT -5
I don't know, my 2013 Cadillac SRX is going into the dealership again. I was saying not long ago how our cars have performed well, Second time in for check engine light, they found nothing last time, and now the in dash GPS is not working. Can't find my book on the QUE system, can't believe its not in the glove box so wondering if we just pushed some button making it sort of stuck.
But in she goes again.
I'm not going to keep putting up with this over and over.
In your case I would have bought another either used or new your choice.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 16, 2017 22:02:46 GMT -5
Well it was a cam shaft sensor covered by warranty.
But my gps has a dead spot on the key pad and $1433 to put on a new screen. Not going to happen, but I need them to turn off the damn voice telling me to turn now, ugh.
Looking at a new 2017 Silverado, may just trade it in. It's a gorgeous blue, 4 door, 4 X 4 and short bed, I like trucks anyway, had one for a long time. May just do it. And I know hubby likes it, they shot us a price today of $20,900, but their ad for one similar is misleading and they even admit it so might get one for much less. Have to think on it a bit.
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vetswife
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Post by vetswife on Aug 17, 2017 12:46:11 GMT -5
DS1 apparently has had great luck with his Accord. He has over 300,000 miles and it's still going strong. He's had to have minimal repair work done on it over the years too. I've never had one that good myself.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 17, 2017 16:09:00 GMT -5
I ended up going with a 2014 certified pre-owned Honda CRV with less than 26K miles on it and compared to the 2017 CRV for the same model it was about 8.5K less. One previous owner who leased it and it had a spotless carfax history. I did check carmax online to see what they had in a 250 mile radius and for the same make/model they didn't have anything that would beat what the dealer wanted for this one. Thanks again for all of the responses. A caution about carfax types of reports. They are often pretty incomplete. Looked at the carfax for our minivan before we sold it. Basically, the carfax showed that the spark plugs had been replaced. It didn't show the two trips to the body shop to repair minor accident damage. It didn't show the three EGR valve replacements. Or the tie rod ends, two radiators, alternator, shocks, struts, sway bar end links, two sets of sway bar bushings, or power sliding door wiring harnesses. According to carfax, I drove an indestructible super car. In reality, I drove the typical high maintenance Chrysler product.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 17, 2017 16:30:34 GMT -5
I don't know, my 2013 Cadillac SRX is going into the dealership again. I was saying not long ago how our cars have performed well, Second time in for check engine light, they found nothing last time, and now the in dash GPS is not working. Can't find my book on the QUE system, can't believe its not in the glove box so wondering if we just pushed some button making it sort of stuck.
But in she goes again.
I'm not going to keep putting up with this over and over.
In your case I would have bought another either used or new your choice. Before you take the Caddy to the dealer for the GPS, look for the QUE manual on line. Many are there. If you can't find the manual, try searching for help with your GPS on line. There are tons of YouTube videos on all kinds of things. I've found videos or instructions for replacing tie rod ends, auto wiring harness sections, trouble shooting steering systems, and a bunch of other topics. If you're going to have to pay the dealer about $140 an hour for a mechanic's time, it's worth it to do a little leg work of your own first.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 17, 2017 16:49:30 GMT -5
I may just buy the new truck, its a beauty. We need a 4 wheel drive something for snowy winters, and we are going to give son our old truck we bought to use with a snow plow so it will be useful.
I hate to give up my little caddy, its a beauty but so is the truck and I know hubby would love it. Also it will seat 6 and my car will not.
They are getting together tax, fees, and license now for me.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 17, 2017 17:56:24 GMT -5
I have had great luck with 3 Hondas and 1 Toyota. I currently have a Honda Fit.
I drove the other 3 cars all well over 150K. No major problems other than regular maintenance.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 17, 2017 19:07:50 GMT -5
I am buying the Silverado, its a very nice truck, husband likes it too,lots of incentives off on 2017, but man are new trucks expensive.
The sales lady said until they started offering incentives they just weren't selling anything, they have priced people out of the market and I believe that.
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jd2005
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Post by jd2005 on Aug 18, 2017 10:11:25 GMT -5
My car is reaching that same tipping point. 2008, worth about $5k. Just got a $2k bill for replacing odometer cluster and accelerator something-or-other. Don't want a car payment. Time to start saving for a new car...and add this to my other "saving for" accounts.
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