Fix it or trade it in?

[Catshrink]

I have a 99 Saturn SL2 with 90,000 miles. It's been a great little car for me and gets about 31 mpg highway. I had it tuned this morning (changed the plugs for the first time!). Of course there was a list of what needs to be fixed:

AC compressor $1100.
Transmission service $95.
Cracked radiator $600
Seal leaking power steering fluid pump $225
Tires (I knew that)

That's over $2k! The guy said if I plan to keep the car, fix it. But it might be a good time to think about trading it in. Heck, I just paid it off and was looking forward to no car payment.

According to Kelley, the retail on this car would be $6500, the trade-in value is $3000, and the private party sale value is $4500.

So, what would you recommend?

[chuckrocks]

1. get a 2nd opinion

did you bring it to the dealer? thats a big mistake.
where are you? do you really need a/c?
you can find refurbished radiators for alot less. might not be true for saturns, but you should always check. they aren't that difficult to put in no matter when the car was made. it just takes more time on some.
the seal on the p/s pump, i'd check prices for a new pump. its probably not far off from fixing it.
last and perhaps most money saving, is there a high school wtih an auto-shop program near by? a tech college? this is like going to a beauty school to get to get your hair done. only less risky. they are all supervised by professionals, and no one does work they aren't prepared for. so if you buy the parts (most likely for a quarter of your quote) they can install them for you. its win win baby.

[DebJ]

2. is AC a necessity for you? Especially this time of year? If not,

then for $1000, you can likely go at least until next summer for less than $1000 in repairs, right? How many car payments is that the equivalent of?

My car went 180,000 and never even had a full tune-up before I hit big time repairs (I've now put $4000 into it...but I have no option to get a new car). It was a great car....Plymouth Voyager...my parents have had two, and each went over 180,000 before major repairs needed. I guess that's why the Germans bought it out and don't make it any more....car dealers make only a tiny percentage of their profits on car sales....the biggest hunk is car repair!

[MichiganVote]

3. Depends on what you want transportation for

If you want it to haul cross country-get a new car

If you have a kid with 4 years of schooling and all you're looking for them to do is drive to school / work-fix it

If you're married and your wife says she doesn't trust it-buy a new one

If you're handy and can take on the variety of stuff thats going to happen to it in the next 50,000 miles-fix it

If you're rich or think you can afford a better vehicle-buy a new one

You get the idea....

[MadHound]

4. Get a second opinion, quick

I don't know where you live, but even given regional differences in pricing, this seems a bit steep to me. I used to repair radiators, and a "cracked radiator" usually only ran a couple of hundred, max.

Get a second, or more, opinion. And also go look in the Blue Book yourself for the resale value.

[skygazer]

5. I'd recommend

Keeping up on preventative maintenance next time. So much of it can be done yourself - plugs, oil changes, radiator flush, rotate tires. You get a lot more out of your car and put a lot less into it if you take care of it. Seriously.

Waiting until 90,000 to change your plugs is just silly. No offense meant but you pay thousands of bucks for a vehicle - it just makes sense to take care of it.

[deadmessengers]

8. 90,000 for plugs

That's about right, actually - at least it is on my Honda. Plugs don't need to be changed nearly as often on newer cars as they did on older ones.

[kmla]

6. Wellllll. It depends.

First - I would get a second opinion - especially if these recommendations came from a dealer.

What would kmla do? I would definitely get the radiator fixed. Not fixing that one could leave you stranded on the side of the road, holding out you thumb and waiting for Large Marge to pick you up...



AC compressor. If you live in a warm climate, and need the AC alot - you may want to fix it. I myself, have learned to roll down the window in the old family truckster, and live w/ no AC.

Power steering pump - I'd get that one fixed, too. Unless I was gonna trade it in SOON.

And I'd put tires on it only if I was gonna keep it.

But that's just me... :)

[deadmessengers]

9. Dealer recommendations

Agreed - NEVER blindly trust the word of someone with a built-in profit motive. If you got your estimate from a dealer, take it to an independent mechanic for a second opinion.

[deadmessengers]

7. Here's the way I look at it.

Very seldom is it cheaper to buy a new (or even used) car than it is to repair an older one.

Let's say that a new Saturn runs about $16k - that works out to roughly $300 a month in payments if you've got 'normal' credit. So, your break-even point here is 7 months ($2000 divided by $300, rounded up). Were you planning on driving this car for more than 7 months more? Then there's your answer.

Now, of course, if you find yourself spending more than that $300 every month (averaged out, of course) then you just might be better off replacing the car.

[Catshrink]

10. That makes sense...

and it's what my dad said.

My nephew has a '98 version of the same car with 200K on it and he's done very little in the way of repairs. At least compared to me -- he had the transmission replaced. No cracked radiator, leaking power steering fluid, etc.

I'm in AZ and NEED the AC in the summer. But, it's the cool season now so it can wait a few months.