The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Iam-Claire on September 17, 2016, 07:31:40 AM
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My 2009 minivan has 70,000 miles and it's starting to burn oil. Last two times I checked the oil it was bone dry and took 3quarts of oil. From what I read, the 3.8 liter town and country engine just sucks.
I'd pay cash for a 2 year old minivan that was about $20k and should get about $8,500 for my van.
Do I get rid of my van or suck it up and just add oil every month?
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I had a car when I was in high school that slowly burned oil. I had to put a new quart of oil in it once every 1-2 months. At the time I just put up with it because I needed the car (I went to school part time plus worked a 20 hour a week job my senior year) and I couldn't afford another. A quart of oil every now and then was cheap. The situation fixed itself when I was in a car accident. The car was so old that, even with minor damage, the insurance just considered it totaled. I bought another car with the check.
How often are you having to put in new oil? Do you have the cash on hand to buy the minivan now? If I were you and could afford it, I probably would just go ahead and buy another van. Especially if that model vehicle has a reputation for a poor engine that ends up needing repairs.
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It is a recent (or recently discovered) problem. It looks like it will need a quart every $1,000 miles.
Cash in hand is not an issue. I'm just looking to make the optimal decision.
We have 3 kids and often have extra kids that come with us. We also frequently use it for taking loads to the dump. Which is why I'm sticking with a minivan. I'm also obsessed with the Mazda 5 which seats one less person and doesn't have as much cargo capacity.
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My jeep JK, also uses the same Chrysler 3.8L. Apparently a large majority of these engines were incorrectly assembled(lower oil ring on the piston)and cause premature oil burning. Mine would use 1 qt ever 6k miles(one quart a year for me) When chaning the oil, add a quart of Lucas heavy duty engine oil stabilizer. Its about 9$(a bit more expensive than a single quart of oil) and my oil burning was cut in half!. Its worth a shot for you. -Jon
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I think id keep it and just keep adding oil. There are some things that will possibly slow it. Maybe go up a weight in oil and add some heavy duty stabilizer as mentioned.
If you can get it to 1 quart every 1500 miles your still driving for pretty cheap. I wouldnt consider replacing it until it shows reliability problems.
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I don't know if you've taken into a mechanic, but it's certainly worth a shot. They may know what's wrong and be able to help. Since you only have 70,000 miles on it, I would have a hard time selling it. It's such a young car by mustachian standards, that you're probably only now starting to experience the super low depreciation benefit of old cars.
Since your alternative is dropping $11.5K in cash for a new car, if a <$1K fix will keep it running for the next 5 years, that's definitely a good investment.
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Thanks guys. I talked it over with hubs and we are going to keep it.
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Quick update: took it to the dealership for service. They claimed the PCV valve was clogged and causing the problem. A new one was $49 installed. It would be awesome if that fixed it.