Repair the old car or get a used car?

All, thank you so much for the input.
@UncleTurbo - I’m guessing $1400 was too much, I was told it was cheap because it could cost up to $2500!
@“the same mountainbike” That was a large national box store for us poor people. They did not put the plug back in correctly, causing it to leak and no one else would touch it. They denied doing it even tho’ I had several years of paperwork and I was almost assaulted by a manager. The shop that replaced the pan told me that if it could be fixed w/out replacement they would do that, but then it turned out to need full replacement. Funny, that.

O.k., having read all the comments, wow, what a lot of good people there are to respond to me!

Here’s the thing. I’m supporting 2 people on a crap salary. I have my car/emergency fund, which I’ve been building up for 2 years, since my husband quit drinking.

I understand cars, but at the same time, I’m running this huge risk either way. I live in western WA and while I take a bus to work, I need the car just to get to the bus. Then there is the fact that nothing is close so I need the car to get groceries, take my husband to medical appts, take our pets to the vet. And on and on. Sorry for whinging, but this is really scaring me because of the dependence on the car, the lack of money, and what happens if I mess this up.

@Cavell this is not about values unless you count someone who is exhausted from spending 13+ hrs a day commuting and working, with no one to help me make this decision. I hoped that the replacement decision was correct, and I likely should have come here first, but I’m trying to get around a world that has very little esteem for women with cars and having had MANY bad experiences with mechanics, have to try to trust someone (which was unfounded once again).

If I fix the two that seem to be the most recommended by all of you, the alternator & (highest on my list) brakes (the list of lights, except check engine, only come on when I start the car, do not stay on), and nothing changes, how much money am I out, considering $1400 for an oil pan. The place I went was recommended by AAA, people on this site, has a BBB A+ rating and @“oldtimer 11” everything you indicated to look for in a mechanic, but they still nailed me.

I’ve become a deer in the headlights, every possible move a disaster. Sure, if I had a trustworthy mechanic to take a used car to for pre-check, that would be great. Sure, if I had a trustworthy mechanic to look at the car as a whole and tell me what’s better, fix-it or replace it, that would be great. What I have is a few hard earned dollars, no friends who know cars, no long time mechanic, just a need for help and so I’ve come to the car place.

I apologize for this massive rant, but it’s a huge weight, and guess I’m pretty tired.

Thank you all again for taking the time to respond and to share your knowledge with me. I guess I’ll look at used cars again and figure out if I can at least use this mechanic for a possible pre-check. Or maybe I’ll go to another mechanic with perfect ratings and see if they can look at the car…

Why on earth is a pan drop/replace $1.4 large?!?

If this is a “stripped threads” situ, either a self-tapping oversize, or a rubber plug, is readily available from any auto parts store, can be installed in a few minutes, and save $1,375.

One of my idiot sisters ran over something a cracked her oil pan. A local salvage yard used their locator service to find a used one and installed it for $375. It was a 98 Chrysler Concorde, I also wonder about $1400 price.

I can’t blame you for being a bit miffed about the oil pan replacement price. Granted, I haven’t seen the damage but unless the pan has been cratered due to road debris or accident they’re almost always fixable for for far less or even dirt cheap.

A word about the BBB and AAA. The former cannot do anything other than maintain a log of complaints and the business response to the complaint. If the business chooses to tell the customer to kiss off that’s shown as a response and effort on their part.

AAA means someone paid a fee to AAA for being allowed to have a sign and listing. There’s one near where my youngest son lives that has been AAA rated for years.
It’s a fast lube next to Wal Mart and they’re notorious at charging for filter changes (various ones…) and not changing them along with flushing everything in the alphabet from Automatic trans fluid to Wallets…

A “well respected” AAA shop near me attempts to sell everyone who comes through the door a full BG product service no matter the repair need or mileage. Harmful to the car? No. Helpful? Maybe in some cases. Necessary? Often not.

As long as the shop ponies up the AAA fee and doesn’t use a machete on the customers or spend half their life in court the sign and listing remain…

So it’s clear that I’ve once again been taken advantage of by a mechanic. You’d think one this highly recommended… I have yet to not be cheated or patronized or both by a mechanic. Now you can see why I feel so frozen. It’ll be no better than roulette to move one way or the other.

@ok4450 My head really hurts now. Guess I thought I could trust AAA also, but now I see in the car game, it’s a free-for-all. Apparently 50 years on the earth means you still know nothing about the automotive world.

So how does someone find a good mechanic? If recommendations from AAA, BBB and CarTalk are no good, do you just choose randomly and hope for the best? I’ve been through 3 so far, not counting the nameless big box store, and buying tires and various oil change places and I’ll tell you, the only people who’ve actually did what they said they would do and charged me what they said they would was Jiffy Lube. Too bad they were too expensive in the end.

Step #1: Go to Autozone,AdvanceAuto, or O’Reilly’s and ask them to check your battery and alternator.

Thank you! I have an O’Reilly’s on my way home!

So how does someone find a good mechanic?

This website has a section called Mechanics Files, might be worth a look see there anyway.

I think the best way to find a good shop is to ask friends, co-workers, relatives, fellow church goers, anybody you have a personal trusted relationship with who they use. From that list, choose a shop that specializes in your make of car. And be sure to tell the shop owner who it was that recommended you to them. That gives you some leverage, and the owner will know if he doesn’t do good by you, you’ll inform the recommender, and the shop owner will likely loose their business as well as yours. Leverage in a business relationship is a good thing to have.

I would not be looking at a replacement just yet. To find a reasonable vehicle in WA to swap for the Acura, you are going to spend close to $10k. That would get you a mostly no issues car. Not of the ride quality of the Acura, but safe and reliable.

Learn how to work on the car and do regular maintenance, so you can save cash for the big repairs. The oil pan should have been a $100 fix. Pan gasket and new pan can not be more than that, and you could have swung a wrench yourself.

The dashboard light show, to me, says there is an electrical issue or computer failure. These systems do not normally all fail unless there is something giant happening. The ABS, and your brake story tell me that you need to have your brakes checked. Maybe you are low on fluid, or pads are worn. IT would not kill you to get that dealt with. It will kill you if you do not.

Have a reputable shop hook the car to an OBD scanner to see what codes it throws out.

OP said somebody buggered up the threads on the pan, but wouldn’t fess up to it

They also said the shop that installed the new pan refused to attempt a helicoil repair

i wouldn’t return to that shop, since they clearly want to go for blood, versus attempting to actually repair components

@honored, to find a good mechanic, as everyone you know for a recommendation. Ask friends, neighbors, coworkers, people you go to church with - everyone. Eventually, you will have a few names pop up several times. Those are worth a try.