(no subject)

[ellid]

After much thought, a lot of numbers-crunching, and a long, thorough talk with my mechanic, another mechanic in his shop, and a couple of guys at work who restore cars on the side, I've decided that it's worth repairing Sapphy. All her other systems are sound, I have more than enough in my home equity line to handle the repair, and she only has 108,000 miles on her.

One more biggie and I'll have to replace her, but at this point in my life, it's worth fixing her. So that's what I'm going to tell my mechanic tomorrow. However...I'm going to keep an eye out for good deals and good financing, and start researching alternatives. Better to be safe than sorry!

Comments

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

It depends on if the heads are warped, if the rings are damaged, if the rods are stressed.
How long has the gasket been shot? How many miles since the issue became clear to you?

If you run a car with a blown gasket for long, it can be simpler and easier to get a rebuilt engine. That's simpler for the mechanic, not the driver.

The good news is that there are many cars just like her with low mileage which have been rear-ended, so a used engine might be available through the mechanic's network and word-of-mouth. Still talking a solid two grand though, which is the signing requirement for most newer cars.

I would ask, instead, if there is a local off-lease or if someone with a reliable car needs to unload it, you might get a second hand something for 5k with 50 thousand miles.

Frankly, the trade-in people expect to find something wrong. They know a car with 108k is showing stress. They have access to cheap engines and they have staff mechanics whom they need to keep busy.

I hate suggesting any of this, and I hate giving you more unpleasantness to think about today of all days, but unless you are a mechanic with ins, this is not the job to gamble on.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

When did this start? A couple of weeks ago. It's been intermittent, and I've driven a couple hundred miles.

50,000 miles used? That sounds like a lot of mileage for me to invest that much money in.