Have You Been 'stuck' with a Car?

Euphemistic on 30/07/2016 - 20:48

Bloke at work has a nice car, but it's given him a fair bit of grief and turned into a money pit. While he still likes it he would rather be rid of it so it doesn't cost him more and more. It seems the car is cursed as lots of stupid things seem to happen to it. Flat tyres, flat battery, branch fell on it and damaged it, as well as more serious breakdowns. He's also got a cheap runaround that hasn't had any dramas. The nice car isn't worth anything much to sell, and he's put a lot of money into it so can't bear to part with it.

I'd been contemplating upgrading my car as the kids are outgrowing the back seat and it felt like time for a change, even more so since the mechanic told me the clutch was on the way out. Haven't got around to it and now the drivetrain is clunking, the power steering is playing up and to top it off this arvo while repairing some stuff busted a bracket. I can see it's going to start costing money, despite having been very reliable to date. Shouod have sold it earlier this year when it had more rego and less wrong! Now I need to know whether I should repair and sell, sell for less, or repair and keep. It'd be worth about $4k fixed and cost up to $1500 to fix it. I was told it was worth about $2k as a trade in a while ago.

Have you had the same trouble with a car? Did you repair it and hope nothing else went wrong or cut your losses?

Automotive

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 30/07/2016 - 21:14
    +10

    I'm stuck with no car.

    • mrluke on 30/07/2016 - 22:55
      +6

      parents wont get me a new car… buy your own car mate

    • outlander on 31/07/2016 - 10:46
      +1

      Fix it? Strange idea I know…

    • Windows7forever on 31/07/2016 - 13:27

      Your car is 10 years newer than mine(a 2003 model sedan I drive), that you got for FREE and yet you still complain.

      • Findo on 31/07/2016 - 16:08
        -2

        I've got turd (2001 Camry). Parents refuse to buy me a car I want and say I should just drive mum's, since she catches the train to work.

        • Some Human on 31/07/2016 - 18:42
          +1

          1st world problems…

        • Adz81 on 02/08/2016 - 14:15
          -1

          "…Parents refuse to buy me a car I want…"

          Says the same person that asked Why Centrelink encourages laziness:
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/247846

        • ykwon10 on 02/08/2016 - 14:22

          @Adz81: LOL!! Ironic isn't it?

        • Findo on 02/08/2016 - 14:42

          @Adz81: they have the means and are happy to provide a car, why can't I have any say in asking for one I like? $20k is a drop in the ocean for them. $20k is a lot more for me than it is for them.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/07/2016 - 22:21

    I feel stuck as I service the car, repair a problem here and there and leave it a few months to get value out of the repairs that are made then the next service comes around along with insurance/rego and another year rolls around. I also can't seem to settle on a car to upgrade to and the whole trying to deal with a dodgy car dealer puts me right off.

  • isthisreally_me on 30/07/2016 - 22:54
    +3

    "Flat tyres, flat battery, branch fell on it and damaged it" - none of these things seem like a fault of the car per se.

    • Euphemistic on 31/07/2016 - 07:34

      But these things happen to his nice car, not his rough old beater for some reason.

      • outlander on 31/07/2016 - 17:37

        older cars have higher engineering tolerances, but tend to be less efficient because of that.

  • mrluke on 30/07/2016 - 22:56
    +1

    people just think you buy a car and put petrol in it and pay rego and thats it.. its not the case, you will always have to replace components of a car…

    • Euphemistic on 31/07/2016 - 07:39

      This is true, and there comes a point in the life of a car when you need to decide wether to keep it or get rid of it because it is going to cost more int eh future. Occasionally you get stuck having to make a repair when you could have got rid of the car before it happened.

      Friends had a car that they were considering to get rid of, but couldn't afford a new one. Spent a fair bit on the transmission, only to have the car written off in a crash a few weeks later. Transmission repair cost effectively wasted.

      • nephilim on 31/07/2016 - 12:38

        Similar thing happened to myself, Coil went, was all fixed up, went in to change belts and they found damage from it, $1500 later.. car is back, 1month later, P plater hit me. Lost 2grand just before it was written off. Thank god that market value was twice I paid for it.

  • captobvious on 31/07/2016 - 00:42

    Even some of the most reliable brands in the past are not that reliable anymore.
    To a point it would be worthwhile holding onto something that you have history with. I've owned most of my cars from new and I have sold a few when they starting being unreliable but in my opinion depending what is wrong as long as its not catastrophic like engine issues or major electronic issues it would still be worthwhile keeping and maintaining.

    The tree falling on it, flat tyres battery is just bad luck, not something i would get rid of for those reasons.

    • robertbruce on 31/07/2016 - 08:34

      Fix your existing car and keep it fixed - what makes you think you can buy another used secondhand car that is not going to have issues?

      • captobvious on 01/08/2016 - 10:35

        Where did I mention to buy a 2nd hand car? you just reiterated what I said. Thanks.

  • RobMel on 31/07/2016 - 09:05

    Had a money pit. Sunk in $10k then the motor started playing up and mechanic gave me subtle hints like "Sell it NOW".
    Was beautiful to drive when all was working, but definitely should have sold it earlier or not bought it at all.
    Now have a nicer car, all works no major repairs… touch wood.
    When it shows signs of trouble it will be on the market.

  • ihbh on 31/07/2016 - 12:14

    I'm happily stuck with a 10 year old Toyota Camry that I bought new because it was cheaper than a 1 year used car and over that time I haven't had to do anything apart from change the wipers and a break light (I wouldn't have changed this had the servicing guy not threaten to fail me for my pink slip).

  • Mumbles on 31/07/2016 - 13:25

    My brother owns a 1994 Ford Falcon EF Series 2. Each time something broke he would sigh, have doubts, ask me for my opinion on whether to fix or sell since he's already sunk so many previous dollars.

    Mechanically the things I remember that each cost him hundreds into the thousands:
    - worn out braking system ($800)
    - worn out exhaust ($1600 for brand new including installion)
    - worn out suspsension (>$2000. mechanic gave him the works. 4x suspension struts, suspension links, bushes)
    - engine harmonic balancer needed replacement ($1500 required mechanics with experience, removal of bumper+radiator).
    - engine blew up. Engine wall corroded away and leaked coolant. ($2500 for mechanic to weld repairs to corroded internal walls + install new coil pack)

    Problem is that he's not a car guy and relies on mechanics. Cares only that his car provides reliable A-to-B transport. Shy's away from expecting the future car expenses. He's had the inconveniences of several break downs, waiting for NRMA roadside assistance, towing, hunting for specialist mechanics, spending days without his car and having to find alternate transport to work.

    He's regretfully sunk too much money refreshing his car with new parts so its even harder to pull out. Yet his car still keeps making him want to sell it with each new problem.

    Its much easier if you are a car enthusiast. Car enthusiasts usually get bored and want to change cars. For commuters who want reliable A-to-B transport its a lot harder to decide and they tend to act after something bad has already happened.

    My advice for non-car enthusiasts is to put a dollar value on your time and frustration.

    • Windows7forever on 31/07/2016 - 13:42
      +1

      Your brother should have sold off that old 'junk box' ages ago. Sorry to be so harsh but according to your calculations he has spent over $8500 in major repairs for a car that I doubt would be worth anymore than $1000.
      Once the repairs of my car start to cost anything over 50% of its current market value(not what I paid for it years ago) I know that it is time to get rid of it as soon as possible. You gotta know when to fold your hand and cut your losses. I hope he gets rid of before the next costly mechanical breakdown. I treat cars like an expensive, depreciating and costly to repair consumer product, with a potential bottomless money sink attached to it, if you aren't careful.

      • Mumbles on 31/07/2016 - 15:24

        It's not harsh. I'm with you. Its a petrol guzzling barge that has little market value. I used to recommend my brother to consider buying a safer medium sized car. My brother had never previously looked after his own car before as he's the youngest and lived at home the longest, kept saying he's too lazy and busy to give up weekends to show strangers his car.

        Since I'm the brother I felt I was sounding repetitive and nagging about upgrading the Falcon with a newer car. He lacked interest so I just let him be and the Falcon just aged its way into more and more problems.

  • Windows7forever on 31/07/2016 - 13:26

    Trade it in for $2k and make $500 profit, based on the estimated cost of repairs which is $1500. Don't hold onto old cars for too long. It will become a money sink in the long term.

  • rgr on 31/07/2016 - 13:32

    id love to buy a nice BMW M3 or something but I know that i'll only be happy for a month, and eventually ill realise that i burnt up all that money just for 4 weeks of material joy. glad im not that bloke. sometimes people dont see that there's more to money as a cost when it comes to these kinds of things.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/08/2016 - 14:10
    +1

    I had a lovely Porsche many years ago and it was a money pit, awesome to look at and drive but it just wasted too much money unfortunately. Then I discovered motorbikes are much cheaper and much faster :-)

  • Matt P on 02/08/2016 - 21:48

    I have some advice for non-car people. If you don't know much, go buy the cheapest kia with 7 year new car warranty that you can find.

    Once warranty is up. Sell and buy another.

    You will lose a lot on depreciation but not far off what you would have spent fixing random things over the course of the years with a cheap second hand car.

    On the upside, every 7 years you will get a car that conforms well to crash testing etc..

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