Stupid stupid car

[Trixie]

This is really the nicest thing I can say about my transportation situation right now. Just over six months ago my 20ish year old car died (head gasket blew not worth it to fix). Being on a tight budget I was able to just afford a 13 year old car that I was even getting deal on. And things were fine for the first month.

Let's see since November I've had to replace the water pump, the starter and the back brake rotors which had me putting give or take half of what I spent for the car. I tried to look at it's stuff that normally goes on a car and I know that it's new so yay good!

The brakes still didn't feel right but didn't feel it was something I could take to get fixed. Today I go to leave for work and the brake light comes on. I know that's not good so off to the garage it goes. Get a call back and not only are the brake lines rusted, for added fun the fuel lines are rusted. To replace the brake lines, $600 to replace both, $800. I could just replace the brake but the fuel lines are right there too and would probably just cause more problems. And really since they're both rusted might as well do both.

I don't know what to do though, this repair will pretty much wipe me out and I don't know for sure nothing else major won't go down the line. I'm losing time off of work and I don't really have anybody to ask for help. I have a stupid work schedule which makes it hard to get a ride.

Not to mention that the one person who could help me the most, my sister, starts chemo tomorrow. I mean I guess I can use her car, not like she's going to be using it much.

It's one thing when your problems are your own making and I have my share of those but when things happen that you have no control over it's like okay enough already. And lately it seems that I've had nothing but that. I try to take one step forward but get stuff thrown at me and end up taking three steps back.

To anybody who's read this far thanks. Not sure what I'm looking for, maybe advice, maybe some good thoughts. Maybe some virtual booze and the junkiest of junk food.

[bhskittykatt]

Here's some virtual wine and brownies, with a virtual bubble bath to enjoy them in.

You may see how much you can sell your car for scrap for and put that towards a new car. Anything in savings you could use?

I wish your sister luck on her treatments!

I do feel your pain. A few years ago the clutch went out on my car and a week later, two blocks from where mine died, the clutch on Hubby's car went out as well. (I discovered a mechanic who worked out payment plans that way.)

[protege]

Trixie, I feel your pain. I've had cars like that. The last year I had my Mazda...was an expensive one. It was only about 7 years old, but after 125,000 miles, was starting to show its age.

On the way home from work one night, the exhaust fell off. The cast iron manifold that attached to it had cracked. The exhaust itself could be repaired, but the manifold had to be replaced...at a huge cost. Then, about a month later, the car broke down across town. The timing belt's adjuster had failed, throwing said belt off its pulleys, not only lunching it, but leaving me stranded.

Then came inspection time. Had to get the muffler replaced (damn stone got kicked up and holed it), and figure why the "check engine" light wouldn't go out. Two oxygen sensors (don't buy Mazda parts from the dealer--get them online) and a couple hundred later, and the problem still wasn't fixed. Car failed its state inspection twice. Sick of this, it had to go. Some other sucker could fix it--I was done throwing money at it.
=========

3 weeks ago, my Corolla decided it wanted a brake job. I knew something was up when I was approaching a stop sign. As I was applying the brakes, felt the right front brake lock up...causing me to skid right through Luckily, nobody was coming.

Getting that sorted ran about $500. The hose leading to that caliper was slightly sludged up. When I tried to stop, the pressure change caused the brake to lock. As if that wasn't enough, the rear brakes weren't doing their share of the work. Expensive service, but well worth it. Even though I can handle fixing brakes (I rebuilt the fronts on my MG), I'd really rather leave it to a professional.

That $500 really came at a time when I could least afford it. It put a nice big dent in the finances for awhile. Cars seem to have a habit of doing that, it seems. But, where I live, I don't have an alternative. Public transit out in the 'burbs is spotty at times.

The only thing I can really suggest, is if you decide to get another vehicle, to let a mechanic look at it before you hand over the cash. Plus, you might want to look at services like Angie's List. She does have reviews for various auto-related services.

[Trixie]

Yeah, there's nothing bonding like car troubles. And it seems like it's going around. My sister's fiancé just put a bunch of money into his truck and his daughter's car. I still don't know what I'm going to do. Just going to sleep on it for now and hope that the New Car Fairy leaves me something to find in the morning. Maybe I'll leave some cookies out or something.

[Trixie]

So last night I had the brilliant idea to call the garage just to see if they could fix the leaking brake fluid but I could still drive the car. I mean chances are I've been driving the car with those lines rusted the entire time. Of course the answer was no the lines are too far gone for that.

But I talked to my sister and she's trying to get the number of a guy who works on cars as a side thing. Even my sister's fiancé said it could be done cheaper. Of course you get what you pay for wouldn't hurt to at least get a second opinion with such a big job. I truly expect to hear something along the lines of "Normally this is an easy job but on THIS kind of car, no way buddy."

At least I won't be losing another day from work. Getting a ride from a manager. Maybe I can use my vacations for something other than dealing with a crisis. Perhaps something fun.