Yeah, just noticed a few more problems in my car, so I need a new one

"dogisbadob" (dogisbadob) 01/01/2015 at 16:49 • Filed to: None

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so I'll be buying a new one sooner than I had thought! Probably in a month or two.

First, the air intake hose has a crack in it, and the wiring is totally fried in one of my headlights! This has been the case for awhile, but now it's even crazier. I tried to crimp them back together but it doesn't stay.

Plus the exhaust, brakes (including an ABS sensor), and the valve cover gasket leak (which takes days to do and all the other shit you have to buy/replace to get to the VCG's), and possibly a timing belt (no clue when it was done last). There are also some issues with the body and interior (it was crashed before I bought it) and some of the window regulators, and the driver's door only opens from the outside. basically the worst example of the best car ever made.

But honestly, I can't complain because it was bought for only $700 and I've never been stranded in the four years I've had it.

So yeah, I gotta get another car in a month or two, possibly when I get my tax refund. My budget will probably be about $2000 or so. I'm thinking a G20, protege5, V40, *maybe* a 96-98 TL. Manual transmission slightly preferred, but of course not required due to budgetary concerns. I do need a sunroof, and absolutely NO TRANSVERSE V6 allowed! (They are impossible to work on). Note that the TL's engines are longitudinal.

Brian Silvestro > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 16:54

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Miata.

 > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 16:54

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Sounds like your car lacked timely maintenance. Surely all those items didn't fail all at once. If they were repaired when they broke it wouldn't be such a big issue now.

A car that costs $2000 will likely have things that will need to be repaired and will have things that break down. Cars break down, there is nothing you can do to prevent that. The only solution is to stay on top of repairs and don't let them accumulate.

dogisbadob >  01/01/2015 at 16:59

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it's possibly that many of that stuff did fail at once—when it was crashed, and what ever shop it went to half-assed the repairs. That said, the PO probably didn't take care of it, but the car was cheap to buy and reliable.

Yeah I know a $2000 will need something, but it won;t need as much as my car needs, mostly due to the body work needed.

shop-teacher > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 17:11

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The TL's had longitudinal engines? Did not know that.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 17:38

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The Protege5 is a fun car to toss around. Based on the same architecture as the Gen 1 Focus. With a stick, that would be my choice in that price range.

You might even be able to hack-in the SVT Focus suspension. Would make it even better to throw into turns with no abandon.

dogisbadob > shop-teacher 01/01/2015 at 17:44

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Yes, the 96-98 2.5TL and 3.2TL did, just like the Vigor and Legend (and first-gen RL). The front ends of the 2.5 and 3.2 TL were totally different, body panels, suspension, etc.

shop-teacher > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 18:11

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Wow, didn't know any of that.

bryan40oop > dogisbadob 01/01/2015 at 18:44

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k