Trading Up
The other day I noticed that my car was shaking quite badly as it went from 0 MPH to, uh, more than 0 MPH. Knowing this to be a bad sign, and remembering what the mechanic told me as I got my tires aligned a few weeks ago, I figured it was a bad axle.
Damage? Probably $250-$300. I'm okay with that, at least, I'm as okay with that as someone can be facing car repair.
So yesterday I hitch a ride with the boss to work and Ericka takes the car to the repair shop she frequents. They take a look and figure out that it's not a bad axle.
Instead it's a problem with the transmission. Ah...that's bad. The transmission, part of the "power train" of a car, is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment to repair.
However, I have a warranty on the car!
...that ran out last year. Damnit.
But wait, we have a warranty on the transmission! It turns out that we had to rebuild the transmission last August, a $1,500 repair (ouch) that only cost us $50 (woo!) thanks to the CarMax warranty...
...but the warranty on the transmission was for X miles (that we're past) and/or a year. Note I said we got this repair in August 2005. Damnit.
The mechanic told Ericka that the transmission was, basically, "loose" inside (oh, the Britney jokes that come to mind) and would need to be "tightened up."
The equivalent of transmission botox? Perhaps. Either way, I don't know how much it will cost. What I do know, however, is that I'd like to ditch this car for another, hopefully one that doesn't suck for a few years.
We've had our Bravada for two and a half years now, which is probably the shelf life of a used car that has since been discontinued (hell, Oldsmobiles period aren't made any longer).
Of course some of the stuff on it is busted (such as the driver's seat) or working in a half-ass way (air conditioner) and you wonder just how much of your initial investment you can get out of the thing.
So now I'm at an impass: Do I spend a few hundred dollars fixing the seat and whatever other cosmetic problems it has and try to get rid of it, or do I bite the bullet and see how much the transmission work will cost?
All I know is, most barometers of car worthiness include problems with the engine or tranny. They start going bad, you best jump ship or be prepared to pay quite a bit to keep it running.
Right now I'm not sure what to do, but options are being weighed. One jerk and shake at a time.
1 Comments:
Most mechanics will open 'em up for a quick peek for the cost of 1-2 hours of labor (at $45-100/hr), and give you an estimate.
If you decide not to go with them, you pay them just the diagnostic and walk away. Sure, you're $150-200 poorer, but you're armed with more info.
The only time I have ever gone ahead on transmission repairs, the car ended up back in the shop another couple of times before it was "fixed," by which I mean, "still a domestic car at the end of the regular life cycle."
The transmission lasted long enough for the car's overall condition to degrade to the point that it sucked to drive, at which point, it was totalled by some morons.
If I were doing it again, I absolutely and without fail would have applied the tranny repair cash to a used car found via AutoTrader.com or the Greensheet. We've gotten fantastic deals through private folks, and as long we get the car checked out by a mechanic, it's worked great.
Alternately, get it fixed, then list it on AutoTrader.com or your local equivalent and let someone else take the problem off your hands, preferably paying you too much money for it. DON'T just get it fixed and drive it around.
We're at that sweet spot right now where we aren't looking for a car. It's nice to be here, but I always wonder how long it will last...
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