Help, My car is eating gas!

[swilshire]

If you're really leaning towards getting a new one and it's worth anything at all in the Kelly blue book, I'd say go for it.

I was trying to eek my way through the Spring (and maybe Summer) on my 145K mile Subaru. It was running absolutely fine -- slower on the pickup, maybe a little louder, but sound and safe.

A few weeks ago the headgasket blew -- it went from $2500 Kelly blue book to needing $2900 worth of repairs. They made a token offer for it, but had I turned it in the week before I would have made out at least a thousand ahead, and probably more towards the new car I was basically planning on soon anyway.

I'm not bitter -- if I'd gotten another 6 months out of it it would have been worth it, but...

I've BOUGHT Subarus with more miles on them than that. I drove my first one to 239,000 and it was still running good, but starting to get some mechanical things that needed to be replaced like the tie rods. I still regret getting rid of it because the gas mileage was better than on the ones I've had since. I now have a 92 Legacy that my son drives and a 97 Outback that I drive. Both are in the 170,000 range and doing great.

$2900 is WAY too much for a headgasket! Is that at a dealer? I've had them done and can't recall the exact amount, but it was nothing like that. I want to say in the $600 range. I have a terrific mechanic that I've used for years. He worked at a dealer when I met him and did other work in his garage at night and on weekends. I found him by asking around. He was recommended by someone I knew that worked at an auto parts store. Later on the dealership closed and he opened his own shop.

Sheila

 

[matt f]

If you're really leaning towards getting a new one and it's worth anything at all in the Kelly blue book, I'd say go for it.

I was trying to eek my way through the Spring (and maybe Summer) on my 145K mile Subaru. It was running absolutely fine -- slower on the pickup, maybe a little louder, but sound and safe.

A few weeks ago the headgasket blew -- it went from $2500 Kelly blue book to needing $2900 worth of repairs. They made a token offer for it, but had I turned it in the week before I would have made out at least a thousand ahead, and probably more towards the new car I was basically planning on soon anyway.

I'm not bitter -- if I'd gotten another 6 months out of it it would have been worth it, but...

Definitely a consideration. I had a Jetta worth $8k - went to trade it in and they offered $6500 so I said no, and a few months later it broke the timing chain which totaled the engine. $6500 - $7000 repair from the dealer, $5500 from a private shop.

I did sell the car on ebay for $4500 but it still would have been a lot better to have $6500 or better yet the $8 grand that it was worth just prior.

 

[nbodyhome]

A person is taking your gas.

Only if they are hanging onto the gas tank while I'm driving.

 

[nbodyhome]

Thanks - I didn't actually smell gas when I started it (or when I've driven it). Very odd. I don't mind a cheap fix, it just seems we are doing way too much fixing lately - and again, it's been several years since I felt safe driving it more than down to around Disney. I'm always worried about something failing in it!

I've never had a new car before, ever - so yes, I'm looking towards that now. I bought this one used, and it had problems from the get-go, I should have had it more fully checked out. I bought it from Saturn, and it started out with mismatched tires (I was told that by another Saturn dealer a couple of weeks later) and THAT Saturn dealer went over the list of things that the car needed. New brakes, new tires, etc. I didn't get any of that done until a year or so later.

No more used cars! We've had this one worked on a number of times in the past year, and it feels like a money pit at this point. It'd be nice to go for a few years and not have to worry about where I'll be stranded along the road, waiting for AAA because the engine or something else blew.

Anyway, thanks everyone. My husband was actually concerned with this car 3 years ago, enough to keep saying we should buy something else for me. I was like "no". Now we only have two payments on his truck, and I wanted to still wait - but I can't anymore!

 

[matt f]

Sounds like you're convinced on the new car - good luck and congratulations in advance. Hey, go to Edmunds.com for research and "request a qoute" from a dealership. It saved me over $500 last year when I bought my car, and even better it saved me from any haggling over price. The internet sales departments of a lot of dealerships is separate from the showroom floor and they give much better prices because they assume you know the invoice price.

 

[nbodyhome]

Thanks! I went to carsdirect.com to request a quote, I'll try Edmunds too if that is better? I just don't want to haggle either! I hate, HATE car dealerships, which is why I used to like Saturn.

The invoice and price are really close on the Elantra. That is definitely what I'd plan to get, it's inexpensive, has a looong warranty and good reviews and safety ratings. I have never owned anything with a warranty that I remember. What I am looking forward to, I'll be able to visit my family in the Tampa area (about 90 minutes from here) occasionally now. If I'd wanted to before, I'd have had to rent a car. Also, I've not felt comfortable lately driving down to Give Kids the World (almost 50 miles each way) for volunteering, so I'll be able to do that again on a regular basis.

I'm 40 and this would be my first NEW car. I've always driven hand-me-downs or used cars. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I'm really pretty frugal, and I could go with a subcompact car for a couple of thousand less, but $15k for all the features (including 6 airbags) on the Elantra is a good value.

 

[matt f]

Edmunds is my favorite for research but they're probably the same as far as getting a quote. In my case the savings came because they had a $1250 rebate through the internet sales office that the other dealership swore to me didn't exist. New cars are great!!!