The Coffee House

[terri44 15]

Our low early this morning was 33, by Tuesday afternoon we'll hit 80... but I'll be working, so no boonie tromping with the camera. Weekend? Overcast with a possibility of rain... because I won't be working... our expense this month is the wife's dental bills...

Doesn't it always go that way? The weather gets in a cycle where it's guaranteed to e beautiful outside while you're looking out of a workplace window.. And the clouds start building on Friday afternoon!

Good luck with your wife's dental bills: we have insurance, but it's a fairly crappy policy and when we really need some work done, it's only there for about half the cost. Booooo!!!!

 

[wobe]

A week later the transmission in Princess’s car failed. it’s not worth the cost to fix it. So now I am car shopping…

Was the transmission a CVT by any chance?

 

[SquarePeg45 7]

Was the transmission a CVT by any chance?

No idea what that it. It’s an old 2011 Ford Escape. I’m extra annoyed that I just put new expensive tires on it less than a month ago! I. Doubt they even have 500 miles on them.

 

[smoke665]

No idea what that it. It’s an old 2011 Ford Escape. I’m extra annoyed that I just put new expensive tires on it less than a month ago! I. Doubt they even have 500 miles on them.

I think the CVT (continuously variable transmission) was only offered in the 2011 hybrid. The other options for that year were manual, 5 speed automatic, or 6 speed automatic.

You've got a tough decision to make. Blue Book value to a private party on a running car would be in the range $5500 (depending on condition & miles). The Salvage value on the car with a good engine and bad transmission likely less than $1k. Around here a rebuilt transmission installed would run in the $4k range. You could reduce that further with a used transmission. In the end you'd be close to the market value of the vehicle, but if everything else is good then at least you know what you have. You could buy another used vehicle and have a major repair with it. If you buy another Escape you'd have the option of switching tires, so you'd retain that value.

You didn't say exactly what it was doing? Have you had it checked out by a reliable shop? There are other less expensive repairs than an R&R that might be causing your issues.

 

[snowbear125 56]

Sorry, SHaron. Car shopping under those circumstances is not fun at all.

Our Camry was slipping/banging into second. What made it worse was the transmission was sealed, so there was no way fir us to add, or even check the fluid.

 

[SquarePeg45 7]

I think the CVT (continuously variable transmission) was only offered in the 2011 hybrid. The other options for that year were manual, 5 speed automatic, or 6 speed automatic.

You've got a tough decision to make. Blue Book value to a private party on a running car would be in the range $5500 (depending on condition & miles). The Salvage value on the car with a good engine and bad transmission likely less than $1k. Around here a rebuilt transmission installed would run in the $4k range. You could reduce that further with a used transmission. In the end you'd be close to the market value of the vehicle, but if everything else is good then at least you know what you have. You could buy another used vehicle and have a major repair with it. If you buy another Escape you'd have the option of switching tires, so you'd retain that value.

You didn't say exactly what it was doing? Have you had it checked out by a reliable shop? There are other less expensive repairs than an R&R that might be causing your issues.

Yes I had it confirmed and an estimate for repair. More than I’m willing to put into a 13 year old Ford gas guzzler with over 140k miles on it. The mechanic spotted a few other “future recommended repairs “ when he looked at it so it’s definitely not worth it. She needs something more reliable.

Sorry, SHaron. Car shopping under those circumstances is not fun at all.

Our Camry was slipping/banging into second. What made it worse was the transmission was sealed, so there was no way fir us to add, or even check the fluid.

Yes it stinks. If she didn’t have a good off campus job I’d wait until school was done for the year. But as it stands now if she can’t work that costs me even more $$$!!! And her boss will only hold the job so long…

 

[CherylL3 1]

Yes I had it confirmed and an estimate for repair. More than I’m willing to put into a 13 year old Ford gas guzzler with over 140k miles on it. The mechanic spotted a few other “future recommended repairs “ when he looked at it so it’s definitely not worth it. She needs something more reliable.



Yes it stinks. If she didn’t have a good off campus job I’d wait until school was done for the year. But as it stands now if she can’t work that costs me even more $$$!!! And her boss will only hold the job so long…

Tough going on the car for Princess. Been there with our 2 daughters in cars and college. Hope you find something good and used for her.

 

[limr39 8]

Hey hosers.

Mondays suck.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

 

[smoke665]

Yes I had it confirmed and an estimate for repair. More than I’m willing to put into a 13 year old Ford gas guzzler with over 140k miles on it. The mechanic spotted a few other “future recommended repairs “ when he looked at it so it’s definitely not worth it. She needs something more reliable.

Yup, one of those "cut your losses" type of decisions.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Save the tires, ditch the vehicle?? I'm kidding but then again, there's some place around me that I think seriously buys old tires. Or you could make them into swings... (or not!)

I'm loopy today. Slept decent for a change, trying to get over bronchitis and not fall asleep in the chair.

In college I got to take a car to school my senior year for student teaching. It was - a Gremlin!!

What a fun ridiculous car, but enjoyed the hatchback, nice for camping. In the winter at school I could rock it and get it off ice and snow because it weighed nothing. Suited my style, my parents let my brother drive a silver Camaro. Sounds about right! lol

 

[smoke665]

@vintagesnaps I started college with a brand new car. The last 4 months of my senior year in HS through August of that year, I worked the midnight to 7 am shift. I special ordered the car for delivery in August, cost me $2800 in 1968 dollars. I was able to pay cash and still had enough to get me through the first semester. Now that same car with the same specs would run $50k.

 

[limr39 8]

Save the tires, ditch the vehicle?? I'm kidding but then again, there's some place around me that I think seriously buys old tires. Or you could make them into swings... (or not!)

I'm loopy today. Slept decent for a change, trying to get over bronchitis and not fall asleep in the chair.

In college I got to take a car to school my senior year for student teaching. It was - a Gremlin!!

What a fun ridiculous car, but enjoyed the hatchback, nice for camping. In the winter at school I could rock it and get it off ice and snow because it weighed nothing. Suited my style, my parents let my brother drive a silver Camaro. Sounds about right! lol

I inherited a 10-year old Chevy Chevette for college. My father had gotten it from a junk yard and fixed it up for my older sister. She eventually bought herself a new car a year or so before I graduated, so my father kept the car so I could take it to college. It needed repairs, so I didn't get to drive it until a couple of months before I left.

Tan exterior, dark blue vinyl interior with no air conditioning and I was moving to Florida for college. Within the first few months after I moved, the tailpipe broke and I wired it up myself until I could get it fixed. Windshield cracked, instrument panel stopped working one gauge at a time until they were all gone, rusted out hole on the driver-side floorboard that was covered up with an old license plate (I am told this is basically standard equipment in Chevettes ). One day, the clutch started slipping, but only once in a while and never for more than a second or two. Then it started slipping more often, including when I was trying to make a left turn across three lanes of traffic (there was a stop light and oncoming traffic was still far enough away that I probably would not have been t-boned, but it was still scary!) That's when I finally got to get rid of that Chevette!

When I was growing up, everyone's first car was a total hooptie.

 

[terri44 15]

I inherited a 10-year old Chevy Chevette for college. My father had gotten it from a junk yard and fixed it up for my older sister. She eventually bought herself a new car a year or so before I graduated, so my father kept the car so I could take it to college. It needed repairs, so I didn't get to drive it until a couple of months before I left.

Tan exterior, dark blue vinyl interior with no air conditioning and I was moving to Florida for college. Within the first few months after I moved, the tailpipe broke and I wired it up myself until I could get it fixed. Windshield cracked, instrument panel stopped working one gauge at a time until they were all gone, rusted out hole on the driver-side floorboard that was covered up with an old license plate (I am told this is basically standard equipment in Chevettes ). One day, the clutch started slipping, but only once in a while and never for more than a second or two. Then it started slipping more often, including when I was trying to make a left turn across three lanes of traffic (there was a stop light and oncoming traffic was still far enough away that I probably would not have been t-boned, but it was still scary!) That's when I finally got to get rid of that Chevette!

When I was growing up, everyone's first car was a total hooptie.

Holy crap! That probably kept you up that night. Well, you certainly "got the goody" out of that thing and lived to tell the tale!

Has the used car market gotten any better in recent months? It was terrible a while back, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that there's more inventory on lots now.

 

[cgw126 152]

Maybe not a reliable index of used car scarcity but my VW dealer sends me regular e-mails with $$$ offers to buy my 5 year-old Golf. Their showroom is full of mostly off-lease upmarket Audis.

 

[jeffashman19 4]

I had to walk in college... I ended up enlisting in the Air Force and went to Germany, where my first car was a 10 YO Citroen 2CV complete with rag top and a hand crank for emergency starts. Did a blazing 0-60 in never, because it's top speed was 55, and that took several minutes on a downhill to achieve. It was a fun car though. We were in Frankfurt and couldn't find a place to park, until we found a space just big enough. We picked it up and shimmied sideways with it and set it down in the spot. Fun times!