WWMMD Car dilema

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

@maple2, thanks for the suggestion...looks like a decent option.

@Xstatic3333, we don't have a job lot anywhere near us. the crate the dogs use is a ~$50 crate from amazon, so not terribly expensive as far as dog crates go. we actually have enough LLBean dollars to get another dog bed...so that wouldn't "cost" us anything. we are finishing the basement, and my parents would come to us for a while. we do like to go to the beach at their house in the summer (they live about 5 minutes from the shoreline), so I can see our first trip there being about 6 months after LO arrives, so dog stuff wouldn't be necessary until then.

the big problem now, i guess is that the car is registered under our names, but after 9/24 will be illegal to drive if it doesn't pass inspection. it will take 3-4 weeks before we have the title back from the state to be able to sign over to anyone else. I've got no idea what any of that means.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

I was finally able to talk to my mom last night (moms make everything better!). She wants us to take the car to the shop and get it critically evaluated(she'll pay)...ie. ask the shop (and our fantastic neighbor mechaninc) to try to answer the questions:

1. if we make these repairs will the car at least be worth the money we put into it?

2. if we make these repairs, how likely is it that the car will make it to 150K or 180K miles (like most the other cars of this make and model that I'm seeing out for sale in very good condition for $8000-10000)?

if the answer to those questions are yes, and very likely we'll get it repaired and sell the mazda and pocket the difference (keeping a good chunk of it in an account earmarked for future minor repairs and a downpayment on something else in a few years). if the answer is anything but that, we're going to ask for a referral to a salvage yard and try to make what we've got work.

My parents, prior to giving us the car, had taken it in to have it evaluated (in a different state with different inspection requirements), that shop said that the car was in really good shape, the engine was in great shape, all the critical equipment should be expected to run for a while.

The reason for all the rust on the bottom, that's causing us to have issues with inspection, is because this has not been a primary vehicle for my parents for the last ~3 years, so it's spent decent amounts of time just parked in the driveway, only getting driven when my brother needed to move in or out of school, when a larger group of people were off to an event, or when my parents were watching our dog while we were on vacation. so theoretically if the rust is from just sitting and not being driven enough, and that would no longer be the case.

brij2006 · September 2015

The vehicle probably seriously has no problems with it to be able to get in and drive for a long time.

That's where I'm so glad we no longer live in an area where there are vehicle inspections. I understand it's for smog purposes in larger cities, but it makes it so people think they need expensive vehicles in order to drive where they live.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

The vehicle probably seriously has no problems with it to be able to get in and drive for a long time.

That's where I'm so glad we no longer live in an area where there are vehicle inspections. I understand it's for smog purposes in larger cities, but it makes it so people think they need expensive vehicles in order to drive where they live.

totally agree. both our birthdays fall in the summer (so both cars get registered and inspected in the summer) we go into summer prepared to have to spend a few hundred dollars on minor repairs often fixing things that would have been fine to drive with for several months (we've replaced break pads with several months of wear left in them several times). We don't pay sales or income tax...but the state gets us on property tax and yearly inspection fees.

short+sassy · September 2015

@formerlyGDaisy09, crossing my fingers everything goes well with your mechanic! Assuming the car is in good condition and should last a long time, other than the $2K repair, it sounds like fixing it is the best option.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

Thanks @short+sassy, I'm hoping the shop will make it easier to make a decision here. $2K is a lot of money for a 13 year old car, but it also feels wrong to junk it when literally 2 weeks ago my parent's mechanic said all the mechanical components were in excellent shape and I'm seeing so many of these cars for sale at dealerships and via private parties that have 30-80K more miles on them than this car.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

There's a $150 fix!!! thank God for Moms!

so my mom talked me down from my crazy panicked place, and sent us to get the car inspected...she said pay the state inspection fee, $45, and get a list of exactly what doesn't pass inspection. we took it to our neighbor's shop, the owner did the inspection, and we asked him for his overall impression on the car.

basically he said the reason the rust caused it to fail inspection is because there are some holes in the undercarriage, if those get filled in, it'll pass. he sent H to the auto parts store and home depot for foam filler, bondo, and a can of rubberized coating, H and the neighbor shared a beer as the neighbor mechanic supervised H cleaning up the rust, filling in the holes, covering the foam with bondo, and finishing with the ruberized coating. we picked up a new tail-light for $60 at the salvage yard, and for less than $150 the car will pass inspection.

The owner of the auto shop said the car might drive for 2-3 years, and we might have to do the same foam/bondo/rubber fix next year for it to pass inspection. H said he also wouldn't guarentee a 13 year-old care with 120K miles would drive for another month, but also pointed out that he wouldn't guarantee that the 9 year old Mazda with 83K miles would drive for the next month (obviously one would be more worth fixing than the other...but we're not necessarily trading anything on reliablity).

So, we're keeping the van, H is taking it in to get the inspection sticker today, we're selling the mazda, and crossing our fingers that we aren't in the market for a car for another 2-3 years.

brij2006 · September 2015

Glad it all worked out. It's amazing what a difference it can make when people step aside for a second and really look at what the options are.

I know this is brought up many times, but exactly this is why I am for "cheap" cars. This vehicle could last just as long, if not longer than the more expensive Mazda. Yet a $150 DIY fix can make it pass inspection.

vlagrl29 · September 2015

glad it worked out - I figured it couldn't cost that much to pass inspection.

short+sassy · September 2015

Wow, great news!

WWMMD Car dilema

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