Long story short, my chevy cruze is leaking oil and coolant and needs a new cat and i think its gonna be 1200$ for repairs, however my mom recently gave me her 07 jeep grand cherokee v6 for free. Her jeep just needs new tires, coolant flush, new oil, and new filters. Would i just be wise to put the money into her car for repair and get rid of my chevy cruze 2013? my cruze has 100k on it and her jeep has almost 130k.
Exactly what is leaking oil on the Chevy Cruz . . . ?!
While it’s quite likely the car really does need a catalytic converter . . . assuming you’ve got a P0420 fault code . . . there’s a chance it’s something else. This is where proper diagnosis comes into play
As for the Jeep . . . it’s several years older than the Cruz and has a few miles more. Not to mention it will probably use a lot more fuel. Is fuel economy going to be an issue? We don’t know how much driving you do.
A set of new tires for the Grand Cherokee could set you back a pretty penny.
The Grand Cherokee might be a nicer vehicle to drive and might be better equipped, but then again, the Cruz is several years newer and might have a few features the Grand Cherokee doesn’t, safety and otherwise.
Do you care about pairing your phone with the car . . . ?!
because that’s probably going to be easier with the Cruze
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This is one of those where you just have to make a decision and hope it is not a mistake. I might fix the Cruze and sell it at the low end of a Kelly Blue Book price . Do what is needed for the Jeep as cheap as you can and start saving money to replace it in the near future providing that will not irritate your mother.
You might want to call your insurance company, I have a feeling the Jeep will cost more for insurance.
Sell the Jeep. Fix the Cruze. Will mom be upset? It is a gift. So maybe not.
If there’s a family, kids and a dog involved . . . the Grand Cherokee might be more practical
Get at least one shop estimate for what it costs to fix the Cruze problems, then decide if you want to fix it. How often do you add a quart of oil? If it’s a quart every couple thousand miles, it might not be worth fixing. Also, if you sell the Cruze, the next owner will have to fix those things. This will reduce the price you will sell it for. I’d tell a private buyer about anything the car needs, but not a dealer if you go that route. Dealers are experts and will send it through their shop before they give you an offer. We sold four of our last five cars to dealers. I got more than I expected for three of them.
And get the Jeep checked out. It might take some $$ to get it in shape.
Has either vehicle or both vehicles been driven where road salt is applied to roads during the winter?
If so, that extra 5 or 6 years of a salt bath for the Jeep is not a good thing.
CSA
I think it’s going to be a lot more than $1200 for repairs, unless you DIY. Even if the coolant leak is nothing but a hose, and the oil leak is nothing but a valve cover gasket or oil pan gasket. In fact, I suspect that having the catalytic converter(s) replaced by a shop will be way more than $1200.
It seems the cat on this car is an assembly, which combines cat and exhaust manifold
I’m seeing $300 give or take . . . on Rockauto . . . for a 49-state assembly. If op needs a CA-compliant assembly, for whatever reason, it’s probably more expensive.
It looks like a direct-fit . . . but if the exhaust is very rusty and the torch has to come out, it might be a little more work to replace
But even with fair mark-up, I think it might be possible for op to get that cat done for $600 or less