Stupid car

[Shangri-laschild]

I had finally gotten the hang of getting my car to let my keys out of the ignition. I just got a brand new battery and alternator on the 1st. On the way home my car starts making a horrible loud noise so I turn it around and take it in to my mechanic. Turns out I have a loose rod and need to either replace the engine or the car. This would be the second engine I've had to replace in this car and I'm tired of sinking money into this car at this point. I'm pissed that I'm going to have to replace it though. My roommate is supposed to be moving out this year which means rent will completely be on me. Car payments are going to make that tight.

[wolfie]

What car (model and year) is it, and what engine?

[Shangri-laschild]

2006 Ford Escape. I have no clue about the engine, I still need to find the paperwork for the one that got put in after the first one shot a rod because I can't even remember when that was. More than 2 years ago, less than 5? Not even positive where I got it done because the mechanic I went to yesterday is the place I usually use and the guy seemed to think that they don't usually do that kind of thing. Probably could have asked that he please check for sure but at that point I was overwhelmed and trying to not get too upset about the situation.

[wolfie]

Normally I'd advise checking online resources to see if it's a common problem for that model (IIRC, the Escape was offered with a choice of 2 engines - one was a 4 cylinder and the other was a 6 cylinder, so you should be able to tell which you have just by looking), but this vehicle is under 10 years old and has already "eaten" 2 engines.

Check how much it would cost to replace the engine, and how much to get an equivalent used vehicle (Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage is fairly close, Hyundai Santa Fe is a bit bigger). Haven't owned any of those 3, but I've had good luck with Hyundai products.

[Shangri-laschild]

Ah, that kind of type Was thinking you meant something more in depth than that. It's a 4 cylinder. I'm wary about putting another engine in at this point and sinking more money into a car I am increasingly liking less and less. My sister just mentioned my brother in law might be able to rebuild the engine or know someone who could do it very cheap. I might look into that as a stop gap while I save up more of a down payment. Just depends on what news she gets back to me with.

[wolfie]

Before you put ANY money into it, check online to see if your engine is known to have issues. If it is, replace the vehicle - no sense pouring money down a rathole.

If it's not known to have issues (i.e. there's a decent chance that you won't have a THIRD engine go bad), before spending any money find out how much BIL (or the guy he knows) would charge to rebuild the engine. Rebuild vs. used engine from a salvage yard is generally a tossup - more cost in rebuilding, but who knows what the history of the used engine is. Since your vehicle is almost 10 years old, I'd lean toward rebuilding (if you choose to fix your current vehicle).

Does your area have an online automotive classified (similar to TRADER.CA)? Look up prices on comparable vehicles. What sort of "mission profile" (e.g. what you need the vehicle to do) are you looking for? Do you need a SUV, or would a passenger car (possibly a station wagon) do the job? Do you need 4WD, and do you want manual or automatic transmission? Since you've got an Escape, a full-size spare probably isn't too high on your list of priorities (won't fit in the spare tire well). The reason I suggested the Tucson/Sportage and the Santa Fe is that they're fairly close to what you have now.

[Shangri-laschild]

Yeah, I have no intention on putting more money into it than I could get for it as a trade in. My brother in law verified that he can't do it so I'm thinking it's a lost cause at this point. It already has the issue with the ignition not letting go of the key and it's had a couple of weird moments this last winter of stuff freezing and for instance the gas petal wouldn't work at first till it broke free. Tired of a glitchy car. I want a similar vehicle with the same decent ground clearance and interior space. I would very much love a manual transmission but they seem to be much less common in the suv options. I actually don't tend to like the more suv/car hybrid styles like the Tuscon. I would almost like something like the Forester but I remember it being lower and a bit smaller. Somehow it manages to feel cramped where I need the space and roomy where I don't Luckily I got my motorcycle running and legal today so I can use that in the mean time. I think sometime this weekend I will go browse car lots and get an idea of what I'm looking for.

[wolfie]

From what you've posted, it sounds like you want another compact SUV. While the current Tucson is a "crossover" style, the 1st generation (introduction to 2009 model year) is more "sport-utish", and it was available with a manual transmission (4 cylinder only - all V6 models got the slushbox). It's got decent under-floor storage, and the rear seat backs fold down flat. Kia Sportage is its corporate twin. Can take a full-size spare tire (needs to go in "dish up", unlike the donut that fits "dish down", and need to put a collar around the hold-down so that it will hold the wheel - due to raised area with the nut, the stock hold-down will bottom out on the nut before it contacts the "dish down" full-size wheel).

The early (pre-merger) Sportage (has side-hinged tailgate - I believe 2002 was the last model year) is even less car-like, but it's getting a bit old.

Jeep Patriot is another option, and tends to turn up on the used market at a somewhat lower price than equivalent Tucsons. One drawback of this model is that heated mirrors were not offered, but on the other hand it's designed to take a full-size spare (low trim levels come with a "donut", but higher trim levels came with a full-size, and you can always get one through the parts department).

Mitsubishi Outlander, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV-4 are currently offered only with slushboxes, but older models (with Outlander, up to the 2006 model year) could be had with a manual. GM's compact SUVs were only offered with a slushbox.

As to the level of detail I've given regarding various vehicles, some of these were options I considered when replacing my previous vehicle. The more seriously I looked at a given model, the more information I dug up about it.

[Shangri-laschild]

I went car shopping the other day. Turns out an excited full of energy 5 year old is very handy to take with you when car shopping during the preliminary just looking stage. Gives me quick excuse to leave when I want and I think if I can, I will be buying from the one who gave my niece a fist bump when she requested that instead of a handshake and retrieved her hat after it flew off and under a car before I could even go after it. He also stayed in my price range better than the others when showing me cars.

I found a 2011 Kia Sportage that I don't mind the looks of and that is stick shift. It has higher miles (96,000) but is a decent price. Going to talk to the bank today to find out what kind of loan they will approve me for and then going to go back and take another look at the cars and do some test drives. Hoping I can have a vehicle by the end of the weekend. My roommate has been awesome and giving me rides to work when I need them which is helpful cause I got my motorcycle running and suddenly there have been wind advisories and frost advisories all over the place

[wolfie]

Don't know about spare tire capability on the 2nd generation (2010-2015 - the 2016 will be a new generation) Tucson/Sportage, so can't offer you advice there. 96,000 miles on a 2011? That's a LOT more than the industry "rule of thumb" of 1,000 miles/month, so it's probably got mostly highway miles - which is good. Try jacking it up using all 4 jack points - Hyundai (they own Kia) products tend to have the jack points rust out from the inside, but usually it takes more than that one's age. For any vehicle, have an impartial (i.e. not connected to the vendor) mechanic check it out before buying - should be around an hour of the shop's labour rate (no parts).

If you do get it, I'd suggest rustproofing (oil type, not wax - since it's already had a few years to get started), but I'd suggest that for any used vehicle. Check up time and mileage intervals for the timing belt (for my car, it's 4 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first) - it's around a $600 job. If the belt's been replaced already there should be a sticker on the timing cover showing the date and mileage at which it was done. If not (and you know that it's overdue due to mileage), that's a negotiating point (mechanic who checks it out would know where to look for sticker, and be able to look up the change interval).

Be sure to get both keys, and make sure both remotes work (you only have ONE exterior lock cylinder - on the driver's door) and that both keys will start the car. Transponder keys/remotes tend to be on the pricey side. Take a look at both keys with a critical eye toward wear. If one is in really good condition, set it aside and use the other - the one you set aside is ONLY for use as a master to cut new keys from. If both are worn, consider getting the key re-generated from the VIN(around $50 for my car, but it's a non-transponder key). If you're tight on cash, you might try getting it re-generated onto a non-transponder version of the blank - won't be able to start the car with it, but will still be usable as a master.

Get a service manual (for many vehicles, they're available for download) even if you don't do your own wrenching. Also, there are online tech forums for virtually any car (I tried an obscure one - 2nd generation Elantra - and found a couple) - Google "$make forums" to get a good start on tracking them down (and remember that Kia is owned by Hyundai). Got a post open in "bugs and questions", won't post actual links unless I get the OK from the mods.

ETA: I realize you haven't bought it yet (and therefore might buy a different model), and that it's a Kia (therefore a "corporate twin"), so things might be slightly different, but this is a good resource, and once a user has reached a given threshold of activity they can request an electronic-form service manual for their vehicle. Can't vouch for the quality of the manual - haven't requested one since I'm not yet 100% sure whether I'll be fixing up my current vehicle or replacing it. There's a term for people who request one manual and shortly afterward render it moot by replacing the vehicle (and then requesting another manual for the new vehicle) - or people who join a forum and immediately message "Hi, just bought a $year $model - please send me the service manual". I'm sure you've heard it used around here - it's "Sucky Customer".

[Shangri-laschild]

I was remembering wrong and it was actually a Sorento, not a Sportage. I test drove it last Friday. There were enough small things that I wasn't a fan of that made me hesitate about the whole thing.

I appreciate all the tips, I will definitely have to make sure to check that stuff out today as I am hopefully buying a car after work. It'll be nice to have one again, I hate car shopping and I've been so exhausted with all of it. I found a 2008 Mercury Mariner Premier. Slightly high on miles but I believe that the first owner was a rental company from the looks of it and it's a very reasonable price without being suspiciously low. It has extra bits like a tow package that I will find useful. And yes I'm aware that it's basically just about completely the same car as I had before But I like it and it has a different engine. It's even not a 4 cylinder like the previous one. I test drove it yesterday and have only been increasingly excited about it rather than the Sorento where the more I thought about it, the more and more I felt hesitant. My sister and I are researching the car online today before going but it would be nice to not have to keep driving the motorcycle into work. The very cold morning air on my knee has been aggravating it.

[Shangri-laschild]

It's very irritating how some car review sites seem to like bunching different types together. I mean sure there might be engine complaints but I have no way of telling if they are for the hybrid version or any of the other versions. It ought to section them out or at least label them but it doesn't. I'm not saying I wouldn't take into consideration hybrid engine issues but I'm also not buying a hybrid so they aren't quite as relevant as the non hybrid engine issues for the specific engine I'm looking at. *rolls eyes* One review seemed to go back and forth between types of engine during the whole review. Like performance would use one kind, interior would use another, etc. But then the car got an overall rating. I saw some complaints about a lack of features that I know the one I'm looking at has so clearly they are using a different version than I am. I will try to look at the forums like you suggested but I just found that odd that they do things like that on so far all of the review websites I've gone to.