phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Jul 3, 2019 17:24:50 GMT -5
""Think replacing a transmission is NOT easy
Don’t want to spend money and time on used and amateur and end up still not working""
You need a transmission jack to properly hold a 200 pound tranny in place, line it up, get the bolts started. If you try bench pressing it, and having someone start the bolts for you, expect some mashed fingers, some blood, etc. A big problem with the two plans - in both cases you are replacing the failed transmission with another like-model.
I would suggest changing away from a Chrysler and buy a used Toyota or Honda minivan, something that has 200,000 miles trannies.
As for "tax refund time" - update your W4 so that you are getting that money now instead of in 2020.
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oped
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Post by oped on Jul 3, 2019 17:33:21 GMT -5
It’s not me Phil. I asked if they could adjust their withholding to get their money throughout the year instead of in a return and she looked confused and said husband does all that. I’ll ask him when I see him. I’m guessing they were brought up with this cycle of ‘tax returns’.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jul 3, 2019 17:41:25 GMT -5
If it's EIC or Child Tax Credit, that may not be a good idea. The places I worked did not advice people to take the EIC advance payment in to account because what happens if they end up not getting EIC.
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Deleted
Joined: May 4, 2024 8:29:28 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2019 18:25:32 GMT -5
If it's EIC or Child Tax Credit, that may not be a good idea. The places I worked did not advice people to take the EIC advance payment in to account because what happens if they end up not getting EIC. You can't get your credit ahead of time.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jul 3, 2019 18:47:23 GMT -5
I see the Advance EIC has been repealed. That was a good thing to happen.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Jul 3, 2019 18:51:41 GMT -5
You mean the new van also has these known issues? I don’t know anyth8ng about vans. What is a good one? CR has avoid model years 2005-2012. However, if you look at the problem section for this specific model, the problems crop up into 2013. I only have a 2016 buying guide, so can’t tell if 2014-2016 also has them. You didn’t mention what year Caravan they are looking at, and I don’t know how more recent models do......but I do know Caravan has had transmission problems forever. I know my inter put 3 transmissions in their’s (I think the first couple were under warranty) and this was in a 1990s model. Our family has driven Dodge minivans for decades. A total of nine of them, I think. No transmission problems with any of them. I don’t think any of them were sold with less than 130K miles on them. I got rid of my last one a couple of years ago at 180K miles to buy an AWD ski vehicle. The guy who got the Dodge is still running it, so I’d guess it now has almost 225K miles on it. While tranny’s are a reported weakness, failure isn’t a given.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jul 3, 2019 19:33:24 GMT -5
I agree with others. There are really more than 2 options here. That new used van has been driven a ton in it's short life. They could look for a cheaper alternative vehicle. If it's for the SAHM and kids, it really doesn't need to be a newer one.
If they want to care for 4/5 kids on a single (seems like) modest salary, they can't afford the luxury of things like cable. That is their choice.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Jul 3, 2019 20:23:36 GMT -5
I would find an independent mechanic and replace the transmission. They should be able to get another 100k miles out of the van, use 2k of their savings and either take out a small loan, or make payments on the balance. It happens all the time here in rural America, not sure about where you live. Stay away from the dealerships and name brand repair places and they should be OK.
I would never do a transmission replacement by myself (I have two brothers in law who would do it for me), but a small, independent shop would be the place to start.
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oped
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Post by oped on Jul 3, 2019 20:32:03 GMT -5
I agree with others. There are really more than 2 options here. That new used van has been driven a ton in it's short life. They could look for a cheaper alternative vehicle. If it's for the SAHM and kids, it really doesn't need to be a newer one. If they want to care for 4/5 kids on a single (seems like) modest salary, they can't afford the luxury of things like cable. That is their choice. I meant she pays for the mom in prisons cable and extras. I’m not sure what they run but I did ask if she thought her church might sponsor that. Yeah people don’t have to care for other people’s kids. I’m sure just her three would be cheaper. But where are we as a society then?
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jul 3, 2019 22:01:26 GMT -5
I agree with others. There are really more than 2 options here. That new used van has been driven a ton in it's short life. They could look for a cheaper alternative vehicle. If it's for the SAHM and kids, it really doesn't need to be a newer one. If they want to care for 4/5 kids on a single (seems like) modest salary, they can't afford the luxury of things like cable. That is their choice. I meant she pays for the mom in prisons cable and extras. I’m not sure what they run but I did ask if she thought her church might sponsor that. Yeah people don’t have to care for other people’s kids. I’m sure just her three would be cheaper. But where are we as a society then? I think that we have to be careful with our intentions. Should we help others? Yes. At the expense of ourselves and our nuclear family? Probably not. While not the same, Joann's has been have some wicked yarn sales lately. It takes me about 3 seconds to calculate how much the yarn to make a hat, cowl, scarf, etc to donate. If my price point is $1-2/item..then I'm like buy ALL the yarn. It's for taking care of others, and it's only a couple of bucks. And I do feel like this is sort of a calling to me. Super easy to justify. Now, what's the problem?
The problem is that I collected all of my yarn splurges when we had flooding and need to clear out the basement. They are sitting in two big totes, one tall kitchen sized trash bag that I can no longer close because it's stuffed, one small uhaul moving box, and god knows what else that stashed in other boxes that were catch alls.
The problem is that since I got my last round of raises 9% in the last year or so...I'm nickling and diming our budget, spending unnecessarily on crafts....even for a good cause..Last Christmas I adopted two babies off Christmas trees. Made them hats in a couple different sizes to get through the winter..I think that's a good cause...Did it at a great price point at $1/hat, which made it possible for me to still do more on a budget.
I have to stop, because it's negatively affecting our budget. Not hugely, but it is. "Treating" myself to $10-20/month in hobbies leads to more routine spending of $15 or $20 here and there because it's a little bit...and why not. But then it's like "shit, I just pissed away $100 without even thinking about it." We can't afford that.
If that isn't enough of a problem, the sheer amount of (my) crap in our basement is. No one is suggesting that this family stop caring for other kids. But, may their efforts need to be changed a for awhile until they get back on track.
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oped
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Post by oped on Jul 3, 2019 22:23:14 GMT -5
I’m sorry. Are you comparing buying yarn to caring for a child? Yeah. I’m not going to suggest she give the baby to someone else so she can afford a better vehicle. She only had 3 biological children because she feels drawn to help so many of the kids already here who are without homes. I’m frankly too selfish to be doing the same at the moment even though I know the county has had a 30% increase in need the past few years and there are hundreds of kids in need of homes. Thanks all for the help. Just thought I’d put it out there as it seemed like the kind of scenarios we used to consider
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jul 3, 2019 22:43:48 GMT -5
I agree with others. There are really more than 2 options here. That new used van has been driven a ton in it's short life. They could look for a cheaper alternative vehicle. If it's for the SAHM and kids, it really doesn't need to be a newer one. If they want to care for 4/5 kids on a single (seems like) modest salary, they can't afford the luxury of things like cable. That is their choice. I meant she pays for the mom in prisons cable and extras. I’m not sure what they run but I did ask if she thought her church might sponsor that. Yeah people don’t have to care for other people’s kids. I’m sure just her three would be cheaper. But where are we as a society then? Oh, I misunderstood and thought they'd have to cut their own cable. It's nice to try to help people, but there is a balance there between looking out for your own needs and helping others.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jul 3, 2019 22:54:37 GMT -5
I try to help also. Walmart had some nice $16 tennis shoes, I know not that great but if you had no shoes better then nothing. They had them marked down to $3 a pair at our local Walmart, most were bigger mens sizes. I bought 9 pair and donated them to our local place that helps people. They give them do not charge. I pick up things like that or socks, underwear. Kids shoes are seldom below $5 or $9 or I would donate those for sure. I just can't take kids into our home, just to old but I do try to help with things like this.
It's commendable folks try to help others, but I agree help your own first.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Jul 4, 2019 1:17:37 GMT -5
They are in a bad situation on the vehicle because of what they owe on it. They need to figure out a way to make the repair. Vehicles should last for 200k miles.
I have had a lot of recent experience with high mileage vehicles, though mostly smaller cars and not Chrysler or Dodge. It is good way to save money on transportation costs if you can deal with having a not perfect car. I have purchased several cars with 130k miles (Kia, Honda and Pontiac) and never had one fail on me. A couple got wrecked. One Kia lasted 6 years between 2 kids. It was given back to me by my daughter when she moved to Germany with her husband for 3 years. We sold it rather than pay for insurance and registration for a spare car. We also have a Ford truck with 215k miles on it that won’t die. It gets used occasionally. It is not in best shape, but it runs.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 4, 2019 4:20:33 GMT -5
Is there no chance at all the transmission can be repaired rather than replaced? Can it be rebuilt or repaired for less? I'd get estimates from 3 or 4 shops, not just one. We've had mechanics tell us our transmission needed replaced, then found another shop that could repair it for $600.
If they go with the mechanic replacement, what kind of warranty will they get?
I, too, don't think replacing a transmission is a do-it-yourself job unless you have the proper equipment and experience.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 5, 2019 16:35:11 GMT -5
I'm way too late to give any advice ... so what happened? What did they decide?
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schildi
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Post by schildi on Jul 5, 2019 17:09:11 GMT -5
They could get a new one (i'm not sure what is the make) with 35K miles for 18K but then rolling in the old loan makes it over 25K. This means a 7 YEAR loan would still add 120-140 a month to their current budget. She said she can find it, but it makes it tight. How can a $25K (or even $19K) loan over 7 years be only $140 a month?
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oped
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Post by oped on Jul 5, 2019 17:22:17 GMT -5
It isn't just $140. The new loan would have been that much MORE than the current auto loan.
But. The salesperson who was showing them the new vehicle called back to say they couldn't give them the loan with the old amount also rolled in because it was too much over the cost of the vehicle. So that is not an option. I don't think they know yet what they are going to do. They are borrowing a van from a family member at the moment.
She had said that if she got the loan she was going to try to get some weekend hours waitress-ing where another friend of ours works on the weekends, doing special events and such. I'm going to ask but maybe she can do that regardless and help pay down the existing loan.
Her husband was here today picking up their son who was weed whacking for me (entrepreneurial 12 year old who bought his own machine to start a business...) but i honestly forgot to ask for an update...
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