I'm *this close* to sending my car to the Mythbusters and asking them to blow it up

[jedimaster91]

Settle in, kids. This is a long one.

Not quite a year ago my beloved Nissan Altima bit the dust. It was quite spectacular with coolant spraying and smoke billowing everywhere. Fortunately, no one was harmed in its demise, but it did leave Mr Jedi and I with only one car and lots of schedule juggling. Which with our schedules sucked, so we immediately began the search for a replacement.

I'll preface this now with I did my research on each make/model car we were interested it. I spent weeks on Craigslist and dealership websites looking for cars in our price range that got good reviews. And I thought I found one. A 2000 VW Passat. I was thrilled. We test drove the car and it handled well. It needed some cosmetic repairs and as far as we could tell had one bad tire that needed replacing. Odd that only one was wacky, but hey, it happens.

I admit, we should have had a mechanic look at the car before we committed to the purchase. Honestly, we didn't think about it because as I said it handled well and a cursory once over didn't reveal any problems. And according to my research, VW makes a good, solid car--though reviews did say that repairs were expensive.

The other thing we didn't know at the time was this car was a repo. And the previous owner apparently hadn't done any maintenance on it. So what we thought was one bad tire and a headlight replacement turned into about $2500 worth of repairs: 4 new tires, all new shocks and struts, CV axle, and ball joint.

Our independent mechanic's son was a jerk. He spent half the time railing on how crappy VW's were and the other half telling us how stupid we were for buying it. His ranting made me suspicious of what he said was wrong with the car (which included a supposed transmission leak), so we went to a chain for a second opinion. I gotta hand it to the guys at the chain store; they took great care of us and have ever since. They got us all fixed up and said once we got all the repairs taken care of, we should have a good, reliable car. And we did. For awhile.

I'm starting to lose track of what all has been replaced on that stupid car. In addition to the initial repairs, I've had to replace 2 window regulators (on different windows), a window motor, a couple O2 sensors and other sensors buried in the bowels of the engine (I think the VW dealership did those--reviews did say Passats go through them like candy), air pump, oil pressure sensor, some belts, and most recently, the air compressor. We'll get back to the compressor in a moment. The parts typically have to be special ordered and of course, because it's a VW, the repairs cost a bazillion dollars.

And now we come to the saga of the air compressor. My AC went out a couple weeks ago. Which in Kentucky in August is not a good thing. We started with the simple, home repair option first: perhaps the system just needed to be recharged with more freon. Much frustration was had on trying to even find the recharge port only to find out that wasn't the problem anyway. Turns out there's a pulley mechanism in the AC system that busted and somehow pulled the collar of the compressor out of place and severed the wire that supplies it with electricity. They tried a couple different compressors they had in the shop, but none of them fit. So of course, they have to order the part. Joy.

Today the part came in. Except they got a bad compressor. It kept blowing the main fuse in the car's electrical system. Well, that's not good. Another store can have another compressor delivered in less than an hour. Oops, that one's no good either. Doesn't hook up right or something. So they put the car back together and sent me home since I'd been there all day. One of the desk guys is taking it upon himself to call every part store he can think of tonight to try to find me a working compressor.

I do have one advantage in all this: the shop guys know me (we're all on a first name basis now and I can tell when they've hired new people), like me, and feel bad for me. They're good about working with me on which expensive repairs I really need and what I can do without. I feel like I should bake them cookies or something. I'm starting to think that the best thing for this car would be to put it out of its misery and just pack it full of high explosives and blow it to bits. But Mr Jedi is insistent we drive it into the ground. Which at this rate may be sooner rather than later. And then I still might see if the Mythbusters can blow it up.

[protege]

VW does (usually) make good cars. Problem is, because of that reputation, some owners feel that they don't have to maintain them. Or if they do, they attempt to cut corners. What then happens, is the cars pass through other owners, and eventually someone gets stuck with a dud. The car might look nice on the outside, but could be a total mess underneath.

It's not just VWs and imports either--I've seen it happen with Fords as well. My dad ended up with a similar mess some years ago. He'd bought a used Taurus. That looked OK, but electrically and mechanically, it was a piece of shit. That goddamn car was constantly breaking down, usually requiring various "fixes" in an effort to keep in running. When that heap finally went in '97...we beat the living shit out of it. So much, that one of the doors fell off when it was traded in

But, we're getting off topic. I do know what it's like to be constantly fixing an older vehicle. I own a 43-year-old MGB, in fact. Those cars have a reputation for oil leaks and electrical problems. Some of it is because of DPO (dreaded previous owner) "improvements" or simply because of age. Even though I tore out nearly all of the original wiring, I do get the occasional light not working. Usually, it's a simple fix--one of the connectors either isn't clean, or the joint came apart. Simple things like that, I don't mind. Hell, I didn't mind rebuilding the front suspension when the 43-year-old rubber bushes wouldn't pass inspection this past July.

What I *do* mind, is to be constantly dumping money into a car. That doesn't sit well with me. Some of our members might remember me ranting about the problems I had with my (now-gone) '00 Mazda Protege back in 2007.

I'd bought that car new, and things were OK the first couple of years. Sure, the CD player didn't always work, and the suspension sounded like it was falling off...but the car ran great. After multiple trips to the dealer to no avail, I fitted an aftermarket stereo and uprated front struts. Both problems went away.

By 2006, I'd racked up 127,000 miles, and the car was starting to show its age. On the way home from work one night, it lunched its timing belt. The belt's adjuster failed, threw it off the pulleys, trashing it...and leaving me stranded across town. About a month later, the exhaust fell off. The annoying trio was completed when both O2 sensors deciding to short out. Car still ran, but with the check engine light on...wouldn't pass state inspection. I was told the replacement O2 sensors were also faulty, which the shop replaced.

Car failed inspection again, and I was pissed. It was going to cost several hundred dollars *more,* and there was no guarantee that the stupid light wouldn't go off. Seeing red, I decided that the car had to go. Some other sucker could fix it. I'd had enough, and I wasn't dumping more cash into it.

Sometimes, you have to cut your losses, and preserve what's left of your sanity. I know that's hard for some people though...

[Maria]

And the previous owner apparently hadn't done any maintenance on it.

As my mother-in-law also finds maintenance to be some kind of mortal sin, I have learned (but she still has not) that any craftsmanship, no matter how good, can be "fixed" by driving 57,000 miles without so much as an oil change. One car lived only 11 months, from brand new to being a $200 trade-in. The current one has gone about 19 months but it has a wicked side-to-side shimmy when it's in park, the windshield wiper control died of cola overdose, and starting it is now a two-person affair as you have to remove the gas cap before turning the key, then slam it back on as soon as the engine catches.

After watching what she does to cars, I encourage everyone who asks for advice, to check with a trusted mechanic and get a vehicle history report before buying, and any other precautions they can think of. Nobody should have to get stuck with a pile of crap my in-laws used to own! Except maybe the Mythbusters, only because they'd know exactly what to do with it. And I bet the repair shop crew would love some cookies.

[jedimaster91]

Yeah, see, I'm not car people. My car knowledge boils down to as long as it has gas, it should go. But even I know that occasionally one needs to change the oil, check the fluids, replace tires, etc. Sometimes it's expensive and no fun. But it's certainly much less expensive than having to replace/repair major components because maintenance was ignored.

[dalesys]

... I own a 43-year-old MGB, in fact. Those cars have a reputation for oil leaks...

Criteria for excessive oil consumption in an MG: Much more than 1 pt oil per gallon of gas.
...They *claim* it isn't a 2-stroke...

[Andara Bledin]

Ah... car troubles.

We had what was a fairly serviceable Toyota that we ended up selling to a co-worker just because we couldn't take the time and effort to have it properly repaired, and it was a little too small for our needs, so we replaced it with something much nicer. A Nissan Altima, actually. We love that car.

My aunt had an MG. It never had any oil related troubles. But it ate through gearboxes like they were candy. >_<

^-.-^

[dalesys]

I've had the gas tank fall off of a '61 Ford Fairlane... in a snowstorm...

[protege]

My aunt had an MG. It never had any oil related troubles. But it ate through gearboxes like they were candy. >_<

When my MG was much younger, it had some oil-related issues. Mainly, because the cylinder head was cracked. If you tried to floor it, you'd end up fouling a plug. Not exactly what you wanted on the hills here--you'd be down on only 3 cylinders, and losing power sucks! Right now though, it does have some oil related issues. It's not burning it, but I do have to add a bit now and then. Could be that the rear main seal (between the engine and transmission) is on its way out. Or, it could be that one of the engine breathers is plugged, forcing some out through the dipstick tube. Either way, it's not excessive.