by "Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
Published 11/21/2017 at 11:26
by "Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
Published 11/21/2017 at 11:26
Tags: OPPO HIVE MIND
; Saab
; saabanista
; 9-3
; saab 9-3
; Appliances
STARS: 1
For your time,
I seek wisdom from the hive mind of Oppo. When do you give up on a car? I don’t mean a project car you love dearly or have dreamed about since you were knee high to a grasshopper.
I’m talking about a car that gets you from A to B reliably but you don’t really care about it that much. It’s an appliance. When do you give up on an appliance?
Prompting this question is my Saab. I believe it has a valve seat issue that can be remedied for about 2K USD. It involves pulling the head, installing new valves and seat on the intake side, maching...... It is somewhat common for my car to develop this issue. Some say all will have it, others say it only happens to a small portion. Either case, once the mechanic does a cold compression test this morning I’ll know for sure.
The car is in a weird place. A hail storm messed up the body this spring but mechanically I’ve stayed on top of maintenance. If I do the valve job, I have no doubts I can get 4 more years out of it. At that point it will have roughly 200K miles on it and the truck will be paid off. I can get into a new (at least new to the missus and I) car payment without any budget shuffling. The car has been paid off for years, so the only costs are maintenance and other associated running costs.
I think if I were to sell it, I might get $2,500. But I’d have to do some budget ninja work to get a replacement.
Which leads back to my question, when do you call it quits on an appliance.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
11/21/2017 at 11:30, STARS: 4
Just because a maintenance job on a car might cost what the car is worth doesn’t always mean you should sell it. If it’s been reliable why sell it and get a car that might have expensive issues especially if it’d stretch your budget. If you’re thinking about replacing it anyways, then now might be time to part with it. I ditched my explorer after it died on the highway and got my 128i. It would have been cheaper to keep the Explorer, but I wanted to replace it anyways and it fit fine in my budget.
"Tripper" (tripe46)
11/21/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 3
I had a bad wheel bearing on one of my explorers it wasn’t an expensive fix but I was short on cash and wanted to go on a spontaneous snowboarding trip with some friends in VT. So I sold it for $400 in 20 minutes on craigslist lol. That trip was one of the best!
"Japandroids" (japandroids)
11/21/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 1
Ask yourself if you can get 4 reliable years out of something for the $4500 (repair and sale) you’d get by ditching the Saab, and if so proceed to the “better the devil you know” discussion with yourself. Then make an impulsive decision after 3 drinks ignoring any logical conclusions you may have drawn previously. Wait, that’s just what I always do, ignore that part. I’m about to winter in a Miata (specifically as a winter car) after selling the Corolla winter beater, so I’m not to be trusted
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
11/21/2017 at 11:39, STARS: 1
I put about 3k € in an A4 before selling it. I didn’t give up on it because it wasn’t worth the money, I gave up because the repeatitive failures made it go from a car I found boring to a car I deeply hated
"EL_ULY" (uly)
11/21/2017 at 11:42, STARS: 1
If the parts and time you need costs more than 75% of the car ( my cars have never been worth more than $5,000 )
Note: no half-ass jobs
Short block (all seals, gaskets, o-rings, fluids)
Transmission (all seals, axles,o-rings, lines, diff overhaul, etc)
Specific main Module(s) + software
Body panels + full respray and all weather seals
Flood
More than 1 main harness that can’t be repaired
anything else, LET’S GET WRENCHING!!!!
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/21/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 0
If I ditch the car, I’d get another midsize sedan with less than 60K miles on it with a small payment. I wouldn’t get into a sub $5,000 car.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
11/21/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 1
Mine died on me at like 75 mph on the highway. It eventually restarted, but I figured it was some electrical gremlin. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting it fixed and the issue reoccurring, so I ditched it.
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
11/21/2017 at 11:48, STARS: 1
When you post a photo of your car but not your actual car. That means you don’t like how it looks, so its time to go.
"boredalways" (boredalway666)
11/21/2017 at 11:59, STARS: 0
IMHO, I will never see a Saab* as an appliance. I guess if you can sell it for $2500, you should be able to find something reliable and more appliance-like such as a Honda for the same money.
My C240 is an appliance and an expensive one at that. And I hate it.
*except for the 9-7x
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
11/21/2017 at 12:00, STARS: 0
This is why I won’t scrap my TL a when/if the trans grenades. Every other component is bulletproof so I can just slap a newer accord trans in and get another trouble free 140k miles
"E90M3" (e90m3)
11/21/2017 at 12:01, STARS: 2
What year TL? I had a friend with a 2000 that ate through 3 torque converters.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
11/21/2017 at 12:07, STARS: 0
In econ 101 they said you’re suppose to ignore sunk costs when making finical decisions. So I guess just think of it as buying this car for the repair cost (in current working condition) versus buying another car in mostly unknown condition.
I guess it really comes down to how reliable the car is outside of this issue. Because you can get a running car for at or under $2k. But it ain’t gonna be as nice as that.
Plus you could look into taking the head off yourself and save some money.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
11/21/2017 at 12:11, STARS: 1
2005. The 2nd gen went until 2003 and had absurdly bad transmission problems. The 3rd gen early models 04-06 have much less common problems but still fail, but my car at 140k is on its original. The late 3rd gens 07-08 have zero trans issues. Sadly, the 07-08 trans doesn’t bolt up, but the 07 accord does and also has no problems.
"Nibbles" (nibbles)
11/21/2017 at 12:20, STARS: 0
I’m finna diagnose the oil leak on the Eldo. One quart every few hundred miles is too much loss. If it’s the oil pan or half case those would be my deal sealer - I’m not spending that kind of time and cash on a Northstar.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
11/21/2017 at 12:28, STARS: 1
But in Craigslist 101, every penny you’ve ever spent on the car is an investment! [/sarcasm]
Seriously, that’s a good analysis. We spent around $2k on my wife’s car this spring on things are aren’t even related to “reliability” - small annoyances and driveline vibrations. But I’d spend $2k more tomorrow if we had to, without thinking of selling it - because her car is over 200k, 10 years old - find me a car like that, that you would trust handing over to your wife to commute 100 miles on the highway every day... this one we know and trust. That’s worth a lot.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/21/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 0
True but then no one could ever justify buying a new car. I don’t have the time to deal with it myself. If I took it off myself I would have to put it on myself. I have neither the proper tools, the ability to rent them, or the desire to deal with the tight engine bay.
"Dasupersprint - base trim is enough" (dasupersprint)
11/21/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 0
If you sell it for 2500$, is that with or wothout the repairs done?
I miss my 9-3. Even if I stopped caring about it when some valve broke in the turbo system, and it became a non turbo 2.0l constantly in limp mode. Then I drilled some holes in the bumper
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/21/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
Without.
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
11/21/2017 at 13:05, STARS: 2
Simple, you sell when it’s beyond economic repair. So when the repair is more than the worth
"Dasupersprint - base trim is enough" (dasupersprint)
11/21/2017 at 13:08, STARS: 0
Not a bad price if you can sell it.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/21/2017 at 13:10, STARS: 1
That’s one way to slice it.
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
11/21/2017 at 13:16, STARS: 0
Insurance companies never seem to lose out by doing it like that.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
11/21/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 0
When it’s costing enough each month that you could be making a payment on a brand new car
"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
11/21/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
Let me make up some numbers here: if I told you that you could get, say, 2 more years of Saab driving for $3,000 all in (maybe brakes, tires, small repairs) would you take it? Or 3 years? Or 4 years? Even if you put more into it than it’s “worth,” it’ll be worth more to you if you have the work done.
Does it need anything else?
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/21/2017 at 15:48, STARS: 0
Outside of the items it is being checked out for now, no. Just put new shocks and struts on it. New tires a year ago. Brakes are okay.
"nermal" (nermal)
11/21/2017 at 17:57, STARS: 0
I drive a lot for my job. My cars get one shot - First time I get stranded, they get traded.
I have zero tolerance for automotive incompetence.
"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
11/21/2017 at 19:23, STARS: 0
Then you know how much money it costs to drive it 3-4 more years, so weigh that against the cost of a new car. Probably best to keep it, but I love Saabs, so I’m someone you should probably ignore.