I have a 97 Chevrolet Lumina with 149, 000 miles. I have done EGR valve, O2 sensor, Fuel Pump, Intake Manifold Gasket, totaling about $2,700 dollars. My only income is $790 a month disability. My mechanic lets me stretch out the payments, but it hurts other basic life necessities. My car is my life line to the world at age 65. Any suggestions?
The time to change cars it when it is better to cut your losses and put your money into another one rather than fix the one you have.
Sounds like it would have been better to sell your Lumina for whatever it would bring and put the $2,700 toward something different. I would not have put that much money in that car with 150k miles. Since you have already spent it, might as well drive it for a while. Or, do you really need a car?
Twotone
Agreed. After putting that much work into your car, I think you should try to get your money’s worth from it, and then consider getting rid of it before you commit to spend more on repairs.
Regarding your next car, I recommend you look into programs where people donate their old cars, where they get fixed up and sold or donated to those in need. NPR has a vehicle donation program, but I don’t know where the cars end up. I once donated a car to the Miami Rescue Mission, but that probably isn’t helpful unless you live in South Florida. The point is, call around to the Salvation Army, the United Way, and maybe some local churches to see if they have such a program.
Keeping cars on the road is expensive. There’s just no way to get around it. I budget $1,000 to $1,200 per year, per car, for maintenance and repair. It doesn’t always cost this much, but some years it costs more, and it balances out.
Most of the things you replaced are normal maintenance items on a car this age and mileage. Ask yourself this question; “What kind of car could I have bought for $2,700?”
It’s almost always less expensive to maintain a car than to replace one. Since you’ve already spent the money I suggest driving the car as long as you can. Eventually it will have to be replaced, of course, but you might as well get as many miles as possible from it.
Keep up with the maintenance and good luck.
Thanks for the program information. I forgot to mention my A/C needs a $1,200 repair or try replacing only the Compressor, which I’m told will void a manufacturer’s Compressor warranty, unless I replace the other A/C parts at the same time = the $1,200. At my age and health I have to have A/C in car. So that’s m$2,700 plus $1,200 = $3,900. I agree I should keep the car. It drives good and is reliable. Catalytic Converter is coming up.
Thanks for the program information. I forgot to mention my A/C needs a $1,200 repair or try replacing only the Compressor, which I’m told will void a manufacturer’s Compressor warranty, unless I replace the other A/C parts at the same time = the $1,200. At my age and health I have to have A/C in car. So that’s m$2,700 plus $1,200 = $3,900. I agree I should keep the car. It drives good and is reliable. Catalytic Converter is coming up.
What do you mean, “catalytic converter is coming up?” No one can predict the failure of a catalytic converter.
I mean I smell rotten eggs sometimes and power is sluggish s’times. Right after oil change yesterday power is good.
STOP! Don’t continue to throw any more into this money pit. If the car was in good running condition and everything worked it would be worth $500 max. You just spent $2,700 and still have a $500 car. Well, not really – you need to spend another $1,200 on the A/C… then it will be a $500 car. Oh, then there is the catalytic converter that’s “coming up”.
Get my point?
Twotone
If you can afford another vehicle without straining your basic needs, then you should start looking.
Crown Victoria, Buick, and Taurus will all land you the newest vehicle for the money
Compare payments on a new or newer car to what you will need to put into your current car to keep it running. That should answer your question.
Remember that any used car you get, will be someone’s cast off, maybe because it has been costing them too much and will cost you that much as well as the payments on that car.
I don’t know your situation, but cars are expensive. Often it is possible to live without owning a car. Consider all your options. Maybe moving to a location where you can walk and maybe rent a car on occasion when needed. Consider all possibilities.