by "bwp240" (bwp240)
Published 06/19/2017 at 13:13
by "bwp240" (bwp240)
Published 06/19/2017 at 13:13
Tags: high mileage old car philosophy
STARS: 1
Mr. Saturn decided it wanted to leave me hot and very wet for the summer, and now the decision has to be made whether to keep it alive or send it to help other Saturns live on their life.
Backstory: AC is nice in the summer, Mr. Saturn does not have AC at the moment. A systems check found holes in both the AC line and the condenser due to a screw being incorrectly inserted by a previous repair (unfortunately that was at minimum over 2 years ago and I cannot pinpoint exactly which part could have caused it). Both of those parts were replace and -$700 later...
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
What you are seeing there is the compressor end cap separating from the part just enough to evacuate all of the AC system. It happens at 2lb of refrigerant. The shop quoted me an asinine price (~$1000) to replace it to which I rejected.
This leaves me with a few options
Invest nearly $1k to professionally replace the compressor* (yuck)
Invest $250 and an afternoon sometime to replace the compressor myself*
Drive the remainder of the summer without AC (doable as I have a 10 min work commute, but anything longer distance will be unpleasant). It will go through winter just fine.
Buy new car
*It was noted by the AC tech that the compressor failed so hard they could not adequately check the remainder of the system. He did note that cold air came out the vents for the short time it was able to hold it.
Options 2 and 4 seem to be the most logical. Option 2 illicits the typical response of “is it worth putting money and time into.” Well it is a 17 year old car with 197000+ miles. It will be worth $2 trade regardless of how nice it is. Recent work I have done include replacing the windshield wiper mechanics, power steering rack, radiator, headlight, and all 4 struts. I hate to have all the work go to waste, but that is part of the risk. To be fair the most recent stuff I have done myself, and it has been fun turning a wrench and learning the mechanics of car parts, so putting the time hasn’t been wasteful for me. However, I could not do any of this alone, so idk if it was wasteful to my friends. Performance wise the engine has been indestructible, in the 9 years of ownership I have only had to do valve cover gaskets and a serpentine.
In an ideal world I would just buy a new car and keep this Saturn because trade-in is so low it barely makes a dent in the payments. I could just keep it and have it as my first piece in the barn collection my grandkids find when I am 80 (who knows, maybe Saturns will rise in value, haha, no they won’t who am I kidding). Unfortunately, my current living situation makes that very difficult as I do not have the physical space to keep it, not to mention the responsibilities/costs of holding it.
Option 4 seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I really was hoping to build up at least a years of real world job money before having to make such a decision, but alas things happen. I am perfectly capable of purchasing a new-to-me car, I just wanted some more money in the bank. Right now the leading contenders are the...
Buick Regal
and the Jetta GLI,
I have some others as cheaper “safe” cars (read as boring), but those two are ones I want, and are affordable.
Talking Pros and Cons...
If I were to repair the car it would be a total investment of ~$900 to $1500 in costs depending on how I do it. My new car searches have been for under 20k total and $350 a month (trying more toward 300). Using 300/month I would need to drive the Saturn for a minimum of 3-5 months just to match the repair, and 6- 10 months to recoup the cost. That is not a problem for me, but that is dependent on nothing else going wrong.
Surely nothing else will...
What are your thoughts Oppo? Also if you have any opinions/recommendations on Regals and GLIs I wouldn’t mind it either.
"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
06/19/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 0
How much is the Saturn worth to sell as is? (not traid in but if you sold it yourself) Compare that to the cost to repair it and you may have your answer. I think it starts to get dicey when you are putting more into something than it is worth because you could just spend the money on a different version of the same car instead that might not have the same problems.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/19/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 0
Sell Saturn to Canadian. Surprise profit!
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
06/19/2017 at 13:24, STARS: 1
Option 5: Don’t fix the A/C and keep yourself cool by investing in a solar-powered fan-hat!
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 13:26, STARS: 0
It is a fully loaded LS with the V6. Private party, KBB estimates 1200-1800. As it sits right now (AC, steering connection, and CEL for gas cap), probably $500 if I am lucky... but I am just guessing.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 13:28, STARS: 0
Go on...
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
06/19/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 0
Actually in the past, I got a great deal on a car that had no A/C (came like that from the factory) that I bought during a heat wave.
And if the Saturn is a Saturn Astra, I would buy it without A/C if it was cheap and in otherwise good condition.
And yup... I’m in Canada.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/19/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 4
Just load the CD changer with Rush and Barenaked Ladies, then rip out the A/C and claim the car never came so equipped. That’s the standard Canadian configuration for all cars sold up there. Might have to install a block heater or they’ll call you out...
"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
06/19/2017 at 13:31, STARS: 0
If it were me I’d probably dump it and move on. Maybe I’d try to trade it in for as much as possible if I didn’t think it was worth just selling. I know the Buick is supposed to be nice but the waterfall grille kills it for me. I’m not a big fan of VW either. I’m in Michigan so I would probably go for a base WRX for the money.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
06/19/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 0
Around here a stickered running car goes for at least $1k.
Get the next car and sell or fix the Saturn at your leisure.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 1
I would be all down for that, my problem is that I am only allowed to have 1 car as part of my apartment lease. So I have no place to put it.
"Gone" (goneforever1234567890)
06/19/2017 at 13:44, STARS: 0
Went through this last year. Wife’s ‘04 Malibu V6 w/244k needed a front cat and valvecover gaskets to pass emissions which is ~$1-1.5k in work. Honestly the car worked great except those two issues (only brakes and oil changes for over 150k usage). We weren’t willing to gamble as she drives 50mi/day, so bought a CPO Cruze LTZ. I’ll be going through this at some point with my truck as it is a 2001 w/191k.
I’d get the Regal (CPO if poss) and move on. The Malibu meant a lot to my wife and it was a difficult decision, so I know how you feel. We donated the ‘bu to a place that fixes cars for women in shelters though so helpfully it’s running around helping someone get back on their feet.
Cruze has been stellar so far - the PCV failed which is common, but that’s it. Also getting 31mpg overall in 50/50. I like the Regal too, but no personal experience.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 13:51, STARS: 0
Hmm, didn’t consider the charity option. Might get more of a tax write off than trade or private sale. Plus I know it is being used as a car and not a pile of parts for at least a short bit.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/19/2017 at 13:56, STARS: 0
It’s much better to sell a cheap old car yourself than trade it in to a dealer. I’d slap the Saturn on craigslist with a description like, “ac doesn’t work, but here’s this other stuff that’s been fixed recently.” Take good high quality pictures of all around the outside, inside, and engine bay. Once it sells you can either apply that money to your loan in the form of a principal payment. That won’t lower your monthly payments but it will effectively shorten the term of your loan.
More food for thought: a $20k loan at 3% for 60 months is $359 a month. A $15k loan at 3% for 48 months is $332 a month. Not a huge difference in monthly payment, but you’re done paying it sooner, and you’re out in front of the depreciation curve sooner if for some reason you decide to get rid of the car before it’s paid off. Especially if you use that money from selling the Saturn as a principal payment.
The car companies, dealers and banks keep pushing longer and longer loan terms because it makes people think they can afford ever more expensive cars. But taking out a longer term loan means you’re still spending more money, it’s just more manageable on your monthly budget. And if you finance close to (or all of) the purchase price of the car, you’re instantly upside down on the loan and it takes that much longer before you’re back to positive equity, which means if you want/need to get out of the car before you have positive equity, you’re stuck paying the difference or rolling it over into a new loan.
If you’re not paying on a loan right now, the best advice I can give you is to limit your loan term to 48 months.
"PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
06/19/2017 at 14:45, STARS: 0
AC compressor is a luxury. Car runs fine from what you’re saying. Think really hard and see if there are any other issues lurking in the car. Anything more important needs fixing?
If not, I would fix it. Even if you run it for just the summer, that’s probably one monthly payment on the above cars. So you win if you fix yourself.
Problem of course is that compressor is probably around 250. AC recharge is another 100-150. So 350-400. Say two monthly payments... still a win in my book as I bet the car would run longer than just 3 months.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 14:45, STARS: 0
The 48 month load is exactly the game plan. I also plan on putting a significant portion down (much more than the 10% a dealer requested). Lucky for me both GLIs and Regals are doable in the 15k-20k range depending on year, mileage, and CPO.
I understand the thought process of selling it on CL, my only issue is A) it is my only mode of transport at the moment which leads to B) I am not allowed to have more than one car in the apartment complex. However, if I take it to my parents and let my dad deal with it (he is the titleholder anyway), then there should be no issue with that, just time invested.
Honestly I am not real sure. My dad is investigating compressor repair in Chicago where they live from our independent shop to see if it may be cheaper. I have my doubts, but we’ll see what happens.
"bwp240" (bwp240)
06/19/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 0
The car runs excellent mechanically, the problem is with no tinted windows and no ac the interior gets up to 130 degrees quite quickly and only can get cooled down to about 95 with 2-40 AC. For 5 min trips around town it is fine, but for longer ones it is going to be a pain (I am driving it to Chicago on Wednesday).
I have been working on the car myself for approximately 9 months since I moved for my job. The repairs done have been the following
1. Windshield wiper motor - $35 (replaced whole assembly)
2. Headlight replaced - $25, more of a personal desire than anything, not counting it
3. Power Steering rack - $120 (still a minor flaw in the lower shaft that needs to be re-aligned, user error)
4. AC hose and condenser - $700 (kinda got screwed on the hose, condenser was fairly priced)
so in 9 months it has had ~$855 of work invested, still that is <~100 /month, but that is /month lol. I know the car will run longer than 3 months, I know it will run longer than a year probably. It will run for as long as I keep trying.
The big uncertainty is that I do not know if the compressor is the final link. If I replace it and it fixes it great, if not I have $900 to $1500 invested, but it is not fixed. That is wear I am stuck.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/19/2017 at 15:15, STARS: 0
Do you think the parking situation is something you’d be able to manage until you sell the Saturn? When I lived in apartment there was an underground garage and plenty of outside lot parking. But they had a policy which they generally didn’t enforce where they considered any vehicle parked outside and not moved after 48 hours to be “stored” and was in violation.
I learned about this policy because the overly snotty property manager left a note on everyone’s door explaining it, snottily. I had 2 cars at the time, and one was my beater/comfy cruiser Grand Cherokee which sat in the same space outside a lot. I called her for clarification which turned into a needless argument and then her backtracking with an explanation that I didn’t really need to move the Jeep every other day and her snotty note was her way of trying to shut up annoying residents complaining about cars sitting in the same space in the outdoor lots for a long time, even though there were more than enough spaces.
All of which is to say if your “can’t have 2 cars” thing is something similar, maybe you could have 2 cars there in the short term.
"PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
06/20/2017 at 06:06, STARS: 0
Here is a thought... Go to a junk yard. Find an ac compressor that may be leaking, but not as busted as yours. Have it bolted on. Do a pressure test and make sure only the busted compressor is leaking. Then you will know if there are leaks elsewhere.
You can do the same with a new compressor, but then you will have spent a significant money on compressor.
Their machine can easily pump it up with air and pressurize system to know if it leaks from some other place with a bit of dye.
I ran into a bit of a same conundrum with my baby 1992 Park Ave. Somehow oil pan got punctured. No one carried a replacement oil pan and dealer wanted 800. By the time I noticed the hole, the engine was running dry for a while and started to knock so I knew I was in for more than just oil pan. Car had close to 200k miles on it. As sad as I was, I had to junk it.
In your case, it isn’t structural. Add a temp compressor and see if the leaks are happening else where. Dye should be fairly cheap to get.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/20/2017 at 08:27, STARS: 0
option 4 is the best option.
"RacinBob" (racinbob)
07/12/2017 at 19:15, STARS: 0
Why not get a junkyard compressor that works and charge it? If it leaks they give you a new one, if no leak, you probably have at least a year’s of AC if not longer. If you have a leak somewhere else, deal with it.