Budget Buster-Car repairs

[scrapgal123]

I am totally stressed out.

My minivan has been running weird for a while and finally took it to the mechanic. They did some basic maintenance stuff (brakes, oil change, belt change, transmission service) for $650 but the reason that my car is running weird is that the ABS computer module needs to be repaired and it costs $2,200 plus labor.

I don't know what to do. I don't have the $2,200 right now and I don't know if it is worth fixing. I still owe on it for about 18 more months.

I don't know if to fix it once I get the $ or to start looking for a new car.

If I start looking for a new car, should I try to apply for a loan first before going to the dealer? Anyone have any recent experience they could share?

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Man, that sucks.

If you are going out to look for something used, definitely line up some financing ahead of time. I almost always make out better with one of our 2 credits unions than I would if I financed on the lot.

When they ask if you are going to finance, say "yes" and don't let on that you already have financing. They are going to give you a better deal if they think they will finance with them. Don't lie, but don't offer anything they don't ask. Then, when you have the deal you want (based on price, NOT payment), ask if they can beat your interest rate. If they can, that's great, but if not, you will save yourself some money.

Before you go out to test drive, check online. Prices listed online are often well below what's on the lot. The Saturn I bought last summer had a window sticker of $15,995, but was on the internet for $14,995. I brought in the internet ad and then offered $14,500. They accepted, thinking I would finance with them, but they couldn't touch the rate I already had locked in.

Once you know which cars you want to look at, go to Edmunds.com and find out how much you should pay for it. I won't pay more than Edmunds price, and prefer to pay lower.


And with your existing van, before you write it off, ask if they have priced the part off a junked car. A car that's been totaled from a rear end crash probably won't have any problems with its computer unit. You can buy the part from the junk yard for less than new, and then you only have to worry about installation. A good mechanic can probably do for less than a dealer.

Good luck to you.

 

[Darcy03231]

See if they can find a used computer. This happened to me and my garage was able to find one used (I did have to wait a bit for them to find it - around a week). Total for costs and labor went from over $2000 to $800.

 

[GoofyMomInOhio]

Can I ask what kind of minivan it is? We had a similar issue with our Ford Freestar last summer and ended up trading it in for a new car. We qualified for 0% financing through the dealership so we went that route. Good luck with everything!

 

[scrapgal123]

Can I ask what kind of minivan it is? We had a similar issue with our Ford Freestar last summer and ended up trading it in for a new car. We qualified for 0% financing through the dealership so we went that route. Good luck with everything!

2002 Toyota Sienna. According to the mechanic, it happens often in these vans....