My car's busted- what's my next step?

[Klayfish]

Full disclosure: my husband and my dad are both mechanics. The only necessity I see in your list is the radiator. Possibly the exhaust, but aftermarket would probably be a better way to go. Your dealer won’t pffer that, but a muffler shop should.

Can the radiator be repaired? The dealer won’t offer to do that, but a radiator shop may be able to fix it depending on what is wrong.

Those two things should add up to $2000 in my opinion. The heat and air can be expensive repairs, but can you live without them while saving up for another vehicle? I don’t know the climate where you live.

A radiator for an Aveo is around $60 (just the part, not labor), it's probably cheaper to replace it than repair it anyway. I'd agree that if OP simply can't afford another car right now then have someone slap a radiator in it, mend the exhaust if possible and drive it for a little while longer. But if OP can afford to replace it, don't dump any more money into an Aveo.

 

[tvguy]

Oooh, I can help. Cars are what I do for a living.

That price tvguy quoted that CarMax is trying to sell one for is a pipe dream. In good shape, it's worth $3000 at best.
CERTAINLY COULD BE DIFFERENT WHERE YOU ARE PRICE WISE. BUT THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF AVEOs ON THE LOT OF THAT AGE HERE, AND CARMAX IS NO HAGGLE ON PRICING. I SUSPECT PEOPLE HERE MUST BE WILLING TO PAY THAT IF THEY ARE ALL PRICED THAT WAY.

As to what to buy, contrary to opinion, there's nothing wrong at all with buying a used rental car. Enterprise and the like actually maintain the cars far better than the majority of private owners. Yes, renters often use them hard, but cars today in general are pretty tough. The only downside is they tend to use a lot of cars that aren't tops in their class...things like the Malibu, Focus, etc...

AGREE TO ABOVE 100%. I BOUGHT MY KIDS USED TAURUSes FROM HERTZ. MY SON'S WAS A 2006 WITH 25,000 MILES ON IT, ONE YEAR OLD, COST $9,995. HE REAR ENDED SOMEONE IN NOVEMBER, AND EVEN WITH 160,000 MILES ON IT AN IT BEING ALMOST 12 YEARS OLD, THE INSURANCE DID OFFER TO FIX IT DESPITE $6,000 IN DAMAGE BECAUSE IT WAS STILL IN SUCH GOOD CONDITION. DD's IS A 2007, PAID $9,500 FOR IT WITH 29,000 MILES. IT ONLY HAD 88,000 MILES ON IT AND STILL GOING STRONG. I AM HORRIFIED HOWEVER THAT THEY REPLACED IT WITH A USED 2014 FIAT 500E. ALL ELECTRIC, 70 MILE RANGE, BUT THIS CAR SOLD FOR $34,000 NEW (BEFORE TAX CREDITS) AND SOLD USED WITH 25,000 MILES FOR $8900. TALK ABOUT DEPRECIATION. AT LEAST HERE, ELECTRIC CARS AND HYBRIDS LOSE A LOT MORE VALUE THAN GAS OR DIESEL VEHICLES.

Generally speaking, if you're looking for a solid family type car on a budget, your best bet is Japanese or Korean nameplates. Honda and Toyota (though the last generation Camry was as lame as they come) really are the top of the Japanese class. Nissan, Subaru are decent, not great. Hyundai/Kia are also fabulous values, especially used. Go look for a 2 or 3 year old low mileage Elantra, Sonata, Forte, Optima. Fantastic value for your money and they last forever. Stay away from the European, specifically German and Italian. On a lower budget, that would mean VW and Fiat. Don't even consider them, they are both absolutely horrid when it comes to reliability.

.
I AGREE WITH THE ABOVE TOO.

 

[kymom99]

I have been where you are and feel its not a good idea to throw money at a car that has other issues. For me I don't feel safe in a car that is not reliable, and you have a baby to consider. regardless of the statistics, etc. everyone has different needs and comfort levels. I had a car with about 115k on it and the transmission went out. I could have had it rebuilt for $2500, but I had been seeing other things that had me believing the electrical system was not going to hold up. I had also been stranded numerous times because of stalling. This was a really nice Mazda, but related to the Ford line I believe. Whatever the issues and the critics' opinions of the best thing to do, I opted to cut my losses and trade the car with no working transmission in for a certified used car. That was 6 years ago, the new car is paid off and has given me no problems. I have put 100k on it in 6 years, that's how much I rely on my car.

You have to take into account your financial situation. Only you know that. Don't get sucked into a high interest rate just because you are in a tight situation. Do you have to have a car right now, or can you wait a month? 2 months? Does a family member have an extra car you can use for a short time? My husband bought a used ford hastily and we had to put money into it right off the bat. He has had it for 3 years and we have had the transmission rebuilt at 120k. So don't rush yourself, but don't continue to drive something that leaves you feeling unsafe.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[tvguy]

Full disclosure: my husband and my dad are both mechanics. The only necessity I see in your list is the radiator. Possibly the exhaust, but aftermarket would probably be a better way to go. Your dealer won’t pffer that, but a muffler shop should.

Can the radiator be repaired? The dealer won’t offer to do that, but a radiator shop may be able to fix it depending on what is wrong.

Those two things should add up to $2000 in my opinion. The heat and air can be expensive repairs, but can you live without them while saving up for another vehicle? I don’t know the climate where you live.

LOL. I know a lot of women who are married to mechanics, and they usually are stuck driving pretty junky cars! Their husbands won't even consider buying a car for more than $500 and with less than 200,000 miles on it.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

The heat and air can be expensive repairs, but can you live without them while saving up for another vehicle? I don’t know the climate where you live.

Yeah, they've been gone about 2 years and I havem't fixed them I live in the southeast US, so while the lack of heat isn't a problem, the lack of air is tough. I don't mind it personally and had originally just planned to never fix it, but I had a baby last month so now I'm not so sure how long i want to go without air in that car once summer comes. Then again, he's rarely in that car- only in urgent situations.

 

[dclpluto]

You said you want a used car for around 16k. Look at what the interest will be first. Than look at a new car for 0 percent interest than see the difference.

 

[runwad]

LOL. I know a lot of women who are married to mechanics, and they usually are stuck driving pretty junky cars! Their husbands won't even consider buying a car for more than $500 and with less than 200,000 miles on it.

Yep I've had good luck selling junk cars on craigslist and it's always mechanics who buy them, cause they can fix them cheap. One car head a busted head gasket, i just am honest and list everything that is wrong. Never had a problem selling. Got $800 for the one with the broken gasket, it had a lot of miles on it but the body was in great shape. Mechanic was gonna fix for someone he knew that lost their job and needed a car.

 

[dina444444]

You said you want a used car for around 16k. Look at what the interest will be first. Than look at a new car for 0 percent interest than see the difference.

The other thing to consider is cost of insurance. It may cost more to insure a new car.

 

[tvguy]

Yep I've had good luck selling junk cars on craigslist and it's always mechanics who buy them, cause they can fix them cheap. One car head a busted head gasket, i just am honest and list everything that is wrong. Never had a problem selling. Got $800 for the one with the broken gasket, it had a lot of miles on it but the body was in great shape. Mechanic was gonna fix for someone he knew that lost their job and needed a car.

My son's car got totaled. Retail cost to fix was going to be $6,000. While it has 160,000 miles on it, it was in otherwise great shape. The body shop is part of a program that uses down time and employee volunteer time to fix cars to give to single moms who need cars. His car will slowly be repaired and given away to someone in need.

 

[la79al]

If you can go without a car until you are ready to get a new-to-you one, then call someone to come get the car (look in the newspaper, you can usually get about $200 and gone within the week) and start researching cars. Keep in mind though, with a baby now, you will need a plan if you have an emergency. For example, if your DH has the only car at work and DS suddenly has to go to the doctor for some reason, is there a reliable way you can get there immediately? Also, I drive a minivan that was formerly a rental and we have had 0 problems with it in the 2.5 years we have had it so far. Good luck! We have been where you are, opted to put the crazy amount of money into the vehicle and it has been fine since but it was a backup vehicle, not a necessary vehicle.

 

[ajwolfe]

My DH is the manager of the rental department at a Toyota dealership - we have no issue buying the used rentals coming out of that fleet. For the most part they are taken care of better than a normal person's car because they are checked over each time they come back in from use. So I wouldn't totally discount buying a used rental.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

LOL. I know a lot of women who are married to mechanics, and they usually are stuck driving pretty junky cars! Their husbands won't even consider buying a car for more than $500 and with less than 200,000 miles on it.

My car is old! It’s a 16 year old Nissan Xterra. I got a deal 10 years ago because it has a manual transmission. It is approaching 200K miles, but it’s not there yet

 

[dclpluto]

The other thing to consider is cost of insurance. It may cost more to insure a new car.

Op said they were thinking about a car 2-3 years old. You are talking very little money difference for insurance.

 

[tvguy]

My car is old! It’s a 16 year old Nissan Xterra. I got a deal 10 years ago because it has a manual transmission. It is approaching 200K miles, but it’s not there yet

Well your miles are high, but my cars are 52, 30, 18 and 15 years old so 16 is new.

 

[SUSIEQ]

You said you want a used car for around 16k. Look at what the interest will be first. Than look at a new car for 0 percent interest than see the difference.

Great suggestion!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Well your miles are high, but my cars are 52, 30, 18 and 15 years old so 16 is new.

Nothing wrong with that! They don’t make them like the old ones anymore. My 1958 tractor is the bane of my husband’s existence though.

 

[Klayfish]

Nothing wrong with that! They don’t make them like the old ones anymore. My 1958 tractor is the bane of my husband’s existence though.

No, they don't make them like the old ones anymore...and thank heavens for that. New cars are so far superior to old ones in just about every possible way.

 

[MamaBelle4]

No, they don't make them like the old ones anymore...and thank heavens for that. New cars are so far superior to old ones in just about every possible way.

Except in style.

 

[Klayfish]

Except in style. View attachment 293728

Well played...

I love the design of pre-WWII cars (or cars produced just after WWII, still using pre-war design). As car obsessed as I am, I actually find the '60s muscle cars everyone covets to be fairly boring...just not my cup of tea. One of my favorite designs, '39 Lincoln...

 

[MamaBelle4]

Well played...

I love the design of pre-WWII cars (or cars produced just after WWII, still using pre-war design). As car obsessed as I am, I actually find the '60s muscle cars everyone covets to be fairly boring...just not my cup of tea. One of my favorite designs, '39 Lincoln...

Gorgeous. Old cars are works of art in motion. My grandpa had a truck like the one I posted. It was red and I always loved it.