Our Cooper Is Being a Dick

"Tripper" (tripe46) 08/21/2015 at 09:07 • Filed to: None

1

15

My Fiancee’s 05’ Cooper S has been a joy for 90% of the time that she has owned it. However, a month ago or so she decided to take care of a bunch of stuff that she has been putting off for a while. The car has just over 100k miles and needed a water pump, a motor mount, and a bunch of other things about $2200 all in. Right after we got it back from that service, it would not start...took it back, starter was shot another $800. A week later she hit a pothole on I-95 so hard that it tore the wheel... $275 for a refurbished wheel. Then to top that off the windows and sunroof were left open when we got something like 4 inches of rain within a few hours...the keyless entry no longer works, nor does the “auto” setting for the A/C.

It had been almost a month since all of that noise... were now around 104k miles and last night I started smelling coolant, then it misfired and went into limp mode:( Had it towed back to our inde shop, and now I’m waiting to hear what the verdict is.

Now were in one of those great situations where we decide if were going to keep throwing money at it or throw in the towel:( The problem is that both of us love the car. It’s a Finnish car (which is kind of cool), has the LSD, the gauge pack that eliminates the gigantic speedo in the center of the dash, and its a blast to drive.

She really does not want a new car, and I don’t want her to have to spend the money on one, but when do you say enough is enough?

My reaction right after the car began to smell like coolant and misfire:

Her reaction:

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:10

1

I'd throw in the towel. If it costs more to fix than it costs to buy a reliable used vehicle, I'd drop it like a bad habit.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:12

2

You say enough is enough when the repair bill is greater than the value of the car (or half the value)

Tripper > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 08/21/2015 at 09:13

0

That’s my gut feeling too, but it’s hard to swallow when we just dumped 3k into it. That could have been a down payment on a nice new car w/ a warranty. It’s not helpful to think about it that way though hindsight 20/20.

jkm7680 > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:13

1

You could always sell it and buy another one of a comparable model year and price since you both like it.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:15

0

It's only gonna cost you more money in the long run. Plus, waterlogged cars are permanently plagued with reliability issues. My advice: buy a decent used car that feels almost as good as the Cooper. What about an MS3, GTI, or WRX? Maybe even a C30 T5.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:19

2

Very sorry. Some of the most fun I ever had at the dealership was taking out a similar ‘05 Cooper S we had for about a month on the lot and tearing up this twisty cliffside road like a hillclimb. Mazdaspeed 3 maybe?

pip bip - choose Corrour > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:22

0

time for a newer car.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:27

0

Very glad my girlfriend decided on a Honda civic instead of a mini cooper! Sure the mini would have been more fun but she really needed a reliable car. Sorry for you unfortunate scenario though! I tend to follow the “it’s cheaper to maintain a car than it is for car payments” philosophy but I also do all my own work on cars when possible. Id say get it fixed up and sell it to the next victim, no point in being worried about the next $3k repair bill. Selling the car can certainly get you a nice down payment for something new!

jariten1781 > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:43

1

She really does not want a new car

Then keep it.

My normal ‘abandon ship’ moment is when unexpected repairs start regularly exceeding normal maintenance costs, but there’s a ton of time between then and terminal failure. If nothing else strikes y’all’s fancy just keep rolling.

Pick up a 1k$ corolla or something for backup if you’re worried about it being out of service too often.

Ash78, voting early and often > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 09:49

2

I absolutely do not subscribe to the fallacious, knee-jerk “$2 grand?! But the car is only worth $3 grand!” method of thinking about repairs. The car in my example maybe be worth only $3k on the open market, but if someone took your car and handed you $3k, would you be better off? If the answer is yes, then get rid of it. (hint: in most cases, you’re worse off and have to start shopping for a beater that will probably be in worse shape).

Sunk cost is a bitch, but I also wonder how much more could possibly go wrong here? And when you go to sell the car in, say, 5 years, it’s going to look great that you have had all this work done — professionally, no less.

The way I look at 100k cars is they either fall apart from neglect or they begin their second life as most major failures and maintenance items are taken care of. You’re in the second camp. HOLD.

Tripper > Ash78, voting early and often 08/21/2015 at 09:57

0

Yea I’m seeing both sides of the coin here. I even said to her last night “The cheapest way out is to fix the car.”

Ash78, voting early and often > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 10:01

1

And never forget that getting into a new (used) car brings at least as many unknowns as you’re facing now. As long as it meets your needs for utility and fun, the reliability thing can usually be handled. I’d only think about getting rid of it if there are other things at work, like it’s too small for you or the insurance is too expensive (etc).

Tripper > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 08/21/2015 at 10:05

0

If she has to get a new car shes leaning toward a Jeep Renegade (I’m not so hot on those). My intention is to steer her in the direction of Mazda. MS3, 6, or whatever they’re calling their competition to the renegade. CX3 maybe?

JGrabowMSt > Tripper 08/21/2015 at 10:07

0

I’m going to say what will likely be a very unpopular opinion, but you’ll probably understand it.

Do you have the means to continue fixing the car?

This is a bit of a loaded question. It’s not necessarily can you afford it, because credit cards allow you to spread the load out a little and keep it.

I bought my 2005 Dodge Magnum for $6300 (plus taxes, etc). It was great, I modified it a little, but didn’t sink too much money into it. I knew it needed plenty of work, and was attempting to pace myself. Then I had to replace the radiators, water pump, headlights, bumper, trans fluid, trans filter, trans pan gasket, rear diff fluid, recharge the AC, change the spark plugs, change the oil and filter, coolant, radiator hoses, tires and spark plug wires. I managed to pace myself decently well at this, kept the final cost below what I spent on the car, but effectively, I came close to doubling the cost of the car. On maintenance. Not fun stuff, maintenance.

Then disaster struck. One of the heads dropped the #1 cylinder exhaust valve seat. The damage was literally catastrophic. The motor was toast. The intake couldn’t be saved and needed to be replaced. The power steering pump got replaced, the motor mounts got replaced and a plethora of other parts that all made me feel like I was being nickel and dimed when it was really necessary to fix the car the right way. 4 months later, the car was on the road again, but some of the major stuff I still didn’t get to that I wanted to do was left on the to-do list because it was becoming a major financial burden.

I got a new job, started commuting nearly 50 miles one way, and as you could imagine, wear and tear accelerated accordingly. Bushings were shot, suspension was excessively worn. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I dropped it off at the shop again. Now being significantly financially invested into this car, 4 months later, I have a Magnum on coilovers, and my to-do list is still barely half-finished, and the deeper we dig, the more it’s apparent the car I bought was driven really hard. Down to the rear, the ring gear and pinion gear have significant signs of wear. It makes noise but it is fine to drive on, just no hard launches.

What’s the moral of the story? The return on my investment is above and beyond most other things I could be spending that money on. Taking the car out and having fun with it gives me more smiles per mile than just about every other car I’ve driven. The car is an extension of myself, and I just can’t bring myself to get rid of it, no matter what the grand total ends up being when I finally get to say I’ve reached my vision for it, and no longer am buying parts and stockpiling and modifying the car. It will certainly be new car money in the end, and probably really nice new car money, but the difference is no one else will have a wagon like mine.

Is your Cooper exactly the same? Not in the sense that it’s modified and unique to your car, but in the sense that you both really enjoy the car. If the return on your investment continues to give you seemingly boundless enjoyment, the decision I see at this point is whether you’re keeping that one, or replacing it with one just like it, but will you even be able to find one to replace it with? Maybe, maybe not. I may just be the sucker who becomes emotionally invested into the car that he bought himself as a graduation present, unable to accept that maybe it was a poor buy, but still willing to keep it because in the end, I own it outright and every day I get into it, I’m not just driving around. I’m driving my car, and there’s no other one like it.

So back to the original point, the question is whether the return on your investment is worth it to you. If you truly enjoy the car and have trouble convincing yourself to get rid of it, then maybe 1) find a shop that can do it for cheaper or 2) wrench on the more basic things yourself to keep the costs down. Maybe search for the modules yourself, see if you can find an indy shop that can make sure it will all work in the car, etc. It’s no walk in the park, but it can be done if you view the payoff as being in your favor in the end, but most importantly, I wouldn’t go broke over a car. If I can afford to do it without it being a major financial burden, that’s one thing. If it starts knocking on the doors of more important aspects of life, it’s time to nip it in the bud for sure and get something else, even if something else is just a replacement of the same or similar car.

Tripper > JGrabowMSt 08/21/2015 at 10:19

0

Thank you, I will have her read this! If we were talking about my E46 M3, then yes I love that car almost as much as my dog, I would do anything it needed to keep it going. However the cooper is not “mine” and has not be cared for as well as my cars have been, which is making me weary of problems to come. To answer your other question, we do have the means to keep fixing it, but were getting married in 10 months, and some of the work that has already been done is on a credit card, if there was a little more time in between all of this nonsense, I would be much more apt to keep the car and I still want to, as long as were not looking at $1500 or more to fix whatever just happened.