I need and outsider opinion/advice - newer car or put money into old?

[tcp_syn_ack]

My husband and I are completely debt free. We don't have a mortgage (bought cheap, paid off quickly), no car payments, no CC debt.  He's a programmer and I am a network engineer.  He's currently employed and I'm looking for my next contract. 

So here's the situation: His car is a 2000 Toyota Celica and mine is a 2012 Kia Soul.  Last year the Celica had a major oil leak - after 140k miles, all the seals were starting to go, so we put 4300.00 in to have it fixed.  He's had the car since 2002, paid off in 2007.  So for 8 years of owning it, it wasn't a big deal to invest in the car.  However, the other day his car was leaking fluid and we found out that all of his shocks will need replacing, control arm bushings, all fluids need to be drained, and something with corrosion on the AC unit, all brakes need to be replaced etc.  The estimate for this is around 5,000.00 and the car has 160k miles.  We have the money - the issue isn't that - it is, do we keep investing in this car? Or buy a newer used model of something with relatively low mileage.

It's not that we're not handy - we could probably do this, but we don't have the equipment to do the work ourselves so we must get it done by someone else.

We're torn.  This will be now 9k towards a car that is 16 years old.  My husband isn't impressed with any car out there at the moment.  We love Tesla, but with the MMM plan in place we want to keep our bills low and the Model 3 is definitely out of our price range. My husband also argues that getting a nicer car will just get 'dinged up at the parking garage' for work.  So I offered for him to take my Kia - but he doesn't want it to get dinged either.

Any helpful advice?  What else could possibly go wrong that has yet to be replaced is the AC condenser and compressor - and I'm sure that is costly as well.

I welcome outsider opinions and thank you in advanced!

[Mr_Eric]

Wow, I can't imagine putting $9,300 into my car.

Focusing on the now $5,000 cost, I would be shopping for another used car. That $5,000 is half toward a really nice (and fairly new) used car, even more if you have a good mustache.

[jms493]

Buy a used car...don't poor money 9K into that car.  That would be monumentally not smart ;).

[2Birds1Stone]

I would replace with a lower mile new to you car in the $5-8k range.

[tcp_syn_ack]

I really appreciate it. 

None of our friends are in a situation like us and so we can't really discuss this with anyone.  Our friends have new cars every 2 years.  (Old me would be the same way - but I've grown up)

Luckily my husband has been stewing on this all day - we haven't called the repair place yet.  I guess we're ready to be a one car family (since I'm in between jobs anyway) so we can really find a good deal on a 'new to us' car. :)

Thanks so much! 

[jms493]

Don't stress out about it...its just a car and it is not a permanent decision.

[Jack]

However, the other day his car was leaking fluid and we found out that all of his shocks will need replacing, control arm bushings, all fluids need to be drained, and something with corrosion on the AC unit, all brakes need to be replaced etc.

...

It's not that we're not handy - we could probably do this, but we don't have the equipment to do the work ourselves so we must get it done by someone else.

I don't know about the AC work, but the suspension and brake work is DIYable with owning only minimal equipment (jack stands and a socket set). Most of the specialized tools (e.g. spring compressor) can be borrowed from an auto parts store for free. A shop should be able to press out the old/press in the new control arm bearings for maybe $50, if you've already removed the control arms from the car before bringing them in.

[big_slacker]

and I am a network engineer.

I was expecting this based on the SN, haha! ASR/N7k/F5/BGP jockey here!

To get to the matter at hand though, those prices you're being quoted are outrageously, excessive high. To put it in perspective the $4300 for replacing engine seals is twice the cost of an entirely new motor. You likely could have gotten then entire motor swapped out for the cost of replacing seals.

Shocks, bushings, etc. is like $300-ish in parts, and 2-3 hours labor.

Brakes like $500 tops.

Drain and replace oil, tranny fluid, radiator flush, etc. a couple hundred.

It sounds to me like you *REALLY* need to find a more honest shop if these are USD prices.

[tobitonic]

^ They could be having this done at the dealer.

OP, I wouldn't pay 5k for a vehicle without side airbags, and definitely not 5k for a vehicle that's probably not worth 5k on a good day. I'd put that money toward a newer vehicle.

[Reynolds531]

I'd agree, get another opinion. Likely a lot of the quoted work is discretionary. They are seeing what sticks.

Also agree with the above post that a new to you motor would have solved your leaks for less than a third of what you paid.

Find another reputable shop ASAP.

[2Cent]

Hah, funny that you only consider repairs vs brand new.  The formula for cost of ownership is expected maintenance + fuel use + devaluation + taxes + interest on principal.
In my calculation the best age for a car is 2-5 year old if you don't do any repairs yourself, and maybe 5-10 if you can do your own maintenance. The cost of ownership for a 16 year old car is probably more than a newer car due to repairs, so it's a bad investment. A brand new car will cost a lot in devaluation and interest on the principal. After about 2 years (with an average mileage) the devaluation will be much less and the repairs should still be almost 0.
After about 5 years the repairs slowly start becoming a factor, but it won't be a problem until after about 10 if you can do your own small repairs.

[tcp_syn_ack]

@big_slacker :)  I'm currently studying for my CCIE while I'm in between contracts.  OSPF over Frame Relay damn you! ha!

I didn't say all of what the 4300.00 covered last year - but a lot of it was seals - they removed the entire engine and replaced pretty much anything that was brittle etc (don't really recall everything done), radiator, seals, tubes.  To be honest, my husband knew all this needed to be replaced last year, but he slacked on getting it done.  Then the suspension went out (leaking fluid) on Tuesday. 

We're kinda biased on this shop. This guy is more expensive, but he does great work and warranties it for a year.  He's a specialist in foreign cars and we completely trust his judgement.  This guy also puts a rating on what absolutely needs to be done right now and what can wait.  We know its sometimes worth paying a little bit more to go with someone who is locally known for solid work.  I have had not so great experiences some other places with my older cars.  Anyway, I digress. 

We came to the agreement to buy a newer car  - putting another 5k into all of the control arms: front/lower, engine air filter (easy enough to change ourselves), suspension bushings, front/rear shocks, brakes, corroded AC condenser parts - hardly seems worth it.   I think he has gotten great use of his car for 12 years - paid off for 8! Yay.

So today I'm searching for some deals!

Totally appreciate all of your input.   Thanks MMM peeps!

[Fishindude]

I'd do the bare minimum to make it sellable (fix leaks), then replace it with something late model, under 40,000 miles.
 

[gt7152b]

Not having the tools for a $5000 repair job on a car is not a good excuse. The tools are cheap for this type of work and that would just be for one time use. You'll get many more uses out of them if you fully embrace the DIY spirit. Maybe you don't want to learn how to do these repairs or have the time for them but they just aren't worth paying someone to do on a car of this value.

I don't know the specifics of the car but I'm going out on a limb here to say that you probably don't need shocks, brakes, or bushings at this point. The shop you took it to sees these items as being worn and near the end of their life based on mileage and the degradation in the car's performance based on it being new. If it was me I would run those parts into the ground before replacing them. You might get a little more bounce in the suspension or have to take turns a little slower than an F1 driver but I doubt the car is going to fall apart on you.

Brakes you might want to inspect yourself and see how worn down the pads are. If they look fine inspect them again at the next oil change. Pads are really easy to replace and even rotors aren't that hard if they are in bad shape. I've worn brake pads down to bare metal and they made awful noises and didn't perform great but they stopped the car well enough to get back home safely.

The fluid changes are pretty simple too. Check your owner's manual and the last time they were changed to make sure you really need it. Don't worry about flushing anything. Just drain and replace. Continue to follow the maintenance schedule for your fluids but don't sweat it if you go past the interval by a bit. 

A/C: don't need it. I've lived in TX and NC without A/C in my car and it just takes some getting used to. I actually hate using A/C in cars now unless it's really hot and raining heavy enough that I can't roll down the windows. It sounds like yours is actually working for now so this is a good time to start weaning off of it. Save it for the really brutal days.

The fluid leak could be a tricky one. What's leaking and did the shop identify the culprit?

Once you've really run this car into the ground donate it and pick up another cheap used vehicle to replace it.

Edit: I see that the leak is coming from a shock. Get a replacement shock for it and replace yourself. Including tools this will cost you under $100.

[chemistk]

I'd do the bare minimum to make it sellable (fix leaks), then replace it with something late model, under 40,000 miles.

I would consider this to be the best advice. In a perfect world, your husband would learn how to fix all the components of the car that are broken - but ultimately (I know from experience) something like this can easily balloon into a multi-week project. It can also get very stressful, especially if this is your first time doing this. You also have no guarantee that in another year, some other major system won't fail. Even though it's a Toyota and many folks love to talk about their reliability, eventually any car will experience major problems.

If I were you, I would ask around for quotes on repairing the brakes and suspension only. If it comes out to be more than ~$1,500, then I would strongly consider replacing those yourself. In "fair" condition, KBB estimates your husband's car to be worth ~$1,800. Once everything is fixed, "good" condition is about $2,200. That's not a good return on your investment to spend the full amount to fix. Ultimately, you should really think about selling it and looking for something newer and with fewer miles. $5,000 can get you a LOT of car.

[tcp_syn_ack]

Here's the breakdown from the shop.  This is NOT including new tires all around - since we only replaced 2 of the tires a few years ago and the suspension has really torn up the other two.  So with this, add another 500? for tires?
*# = severity

* 8 YOUR RIGHT AND LEFT FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHING ARE CRACKING AND TEARING FROM AGE AND MILEAGE
WEAR. THIS ALLOWS THE TIRE ALIGNMENT TO CHANGE WHEN THE FRONT DRIVE WHEELS ARE PULLING THE VEHICLE
AGAINST THE DRAG OF THE ATMOSPHERE AT ALL SPEEDS. THIS CAUSES OUTSIDE OR INSIDE TIRE WEAR (DEPENDANT ON
VEHICLE TYPE) AND CHOPPING UNEVEN TIRE WEAR AND NOISY HUMMING TIRES AS THIS CONDITION GETS WORSE. THIS
ALSO ALLOWS THE VEHICLE TRACK IN AND OUT OF RUTS AND CAUSES A WANDERING FEELING ON SOME RUTTED ROADS.
* 8 ENGINE AIR FILTER VERY DIRTY. CAN AFFECT FUEL MILEAGE & POORLY FILTERED AIR CAN AFFECT ENGINE WEAR.
* 8 YOUR VEHICLE NEEDS ASAP A BRAKING SYSTEM FLUID SYSTEM FLUSH.
* 9 YOUR POWER STEERING FLUID IS DARK, BURNT AND OXIDIZED. A REGULAR SYSTEM FLUSHING EVERY 30,000 MILES
WILL REDUCE THE SYSTEM SLUDGING AND WEAR CAUSED BY FLUID DETERIORATION. LIFE OF THE SYSTEM WILL BE
INCREASED WITH REGULAR POWER STEERING FLUID FLUSHES
8 A/C CONDENSER FINS TORN CORRODED
* 8 PAST DUE FOR RIGHT AND LEFT REAR UPPER SUSPENSION LINK BUSHINGS
* 10 NEED FRONT SHOCKS NOW
* 9/10 YOUR REAR BRAKE PADS ARE PAST NEEDED NOW
* 7 NEED REAR SHOCKS NOW


Strut Bellow-Front - Bump Stop Kit  60.10
Strut Mount-Front Front Right and Left  259.70
Strut Assembly-Front Left 144.23
Strut Assembly-Front Right  144.23
Control Arm-Front Right Lower ART  207.53
Control Arm-Front Left Lower ART  207.90
Parts: 1048.69
Labor: 438.21
Total: 1617.73

Brake Pads
Parts: 190.72
Labor: 81.10
Total: 297.84


Shock Absorber-Rear  218.68
Strut Bellow-Rear - Bump Stop Kit 60.10
Parts: 298.62
Labor: 217.25
Total: 565.25


Power Steering Fluid - 23.97
AM 1 FLU SOLVANT - 4.60
Brake Fluid 16.89
 AM 1 Flu Solavant Aerosol 4.02
Air cleaner element 16.00
Parts: 72.84
Labor: 118.49
Total: 209.65


CONTROL ARM OR ROD -Lower,Left 278.70
CONTROL ARM OR ROD -Lower,Right 278.70
CONTROL ARM OR ROD - Upper  539.76
Parts: 1122.16
Labor  310.99
Total: 1560.22


AC Condenser: 301.07
AC Valve 5.62
Refrigerant: 31.98
Dye leak detection: 15.40
Parts: 384.69
Labor: 289.42
Total: 738.67

Grand total: 4989.36+like 44.00 for his diagnostics fee. 

This is just to show @gt7152b the breakdown. 

I do appreciate all of the criticism.   I know what its like to not have AC in Florida.  My first car I didn't have it and in 2007 I lived in a 400sq foot garage apartment without heat OR A/C to pay off debt to get where I am today.  I took two showers in the summer and froze during winter.  I know about living without luxuries to remedy stupidity. I definitely do not think its worth our time to fix it ourselves, hence paying to have it done vs buying newer. We aren't ones to buy a 30k car...we're looking for < $10k.

[RobFIRE]

In the UK a 16 year old car needing multiple repairs is scrap value unless a high end/exotic make, though it seems used car values remain higher for longer in the US. Looks like your car has reached that point.

So you mentioned EVs, with one existing ICE car you would be a good candidate for the second car as an EV provided the commute it would be used for is under 40 miles each way (or under 70 each way and you have charging at work). There have been other posts here saying that Nissan LEAFs can at times be as little as $10k new in some states in the US as the $28k price can have an $8k discount (finance the car but then pay off early), plus $5k federal and $5k state discounts (depending on your state, those values are approximate but the resulting cost was under $11k). So a LEAF may be an option for you (or used model under $10k but the slight premium for new seems the better deal if you can find it).

[tcp_syn_ack]

Exactly!

I found two Leafs under 10k. Woot!

[HipGnosis]

Many of the items in your list are actually maintenance rather than repairs - if you're going to keep your cars for a long time and miles, you REALLY NEED to learn how to do many of them yourselves.  Doing maintenance on schedule prevents a LOT of repairs.   And having maintenance done that you can't do.
Many Toyotas of that age are going 300K miles - with scheduled maintenance.

I understand that a good mechanic / shop is worth a premium - my Dad and Grandfather were professional auto mechanics.  But you REALLY need to find another shop.  NO ONE flushes power steering fluid every 30K miles!  $4K for engine seals and hoses is probably a rip off.

I'd have to know what they actually did to the engine and condition of the rest of the car to say what should be done now.  It's possible that the engine and transmission are worth more than the rest of the car.

For maintenance;
Use RockAuto.com for parts.  They list parts by brand, model, category and have multiple brands of parts and user reviews of them.  I never buy the cheapest or the most expensive.  Buy oil filters, air filters, etc. there too.   Shipping is expensive unless you buy multiple things.
Use youtube for videos on doing each maintenance job.
For maintenance you can't do;
Use google maps and search for "auto service repair" around you.
Find the 2 non-auto-brand-dealers with the highest customer rating around you.
Also register on NextDoor.com and search/ask your neighbors.  It's also a great resource for home maint., repairs and other services.

Use TireRack for tires.  They also list by brand, model, category and have multiple brands and user reviews of them.  They tell you who in your area will mount them, and at what cost  (Firestone Auto is the cheapest around me).  They ship the tires right to tire shop.   Don't pay extra for 40K mile tires if you only drive 7-8K a yr, tires get harder with age and should be replaced every 5 yrs.

[big_slacker]

@big_slacker :)  I'm currently studying for my CCIE while I'm in between contracts.  OSPF over Frame Relay damn you! ha!

Terrible, horrific, frustrating and totally unfair test. 1000% worth it to step into the truly senior engineering jobs even though I'm still bitter about it. I'm thinking about letting mine lapse just because I'm so over giving Cisco money and the time spent to renew every 2 years. I likely don't need it anymore for architect jobs which will be my final resting place in terms of work.

Anyway, the Leaf is an excellent choice if you have another vehicle. We looked at and test drove them. Think about your use case, the range and charging method. We rent so would be doing only level 1 charging (5% an hour) and we would BOTH be using it for commute most days so it would have to be plugged in the entire rest of the time and maybe some pay charging at my work. If only one person was using it then no brainer.

[guitar_stitch]

Hm.  Brake fluid flush.  Power steering flush.

Sounds like a scam to me.  Especially at a mere 150,000 miles on a TOYOTA!

You need a new mechanic.  Regardless of what you do with this car, you need a new mechanic or some time invested in doing your own diagnostics.

Put it to you this way:
The power steering is rated higher severity than the brakes?

[Rosy]

Time for a new/used car without a doubt. The leaf at $10K sounds like an attractive option and for heaven's sake find a different mechanic/shop.

9.3K in that old clunker - get out - you could already be driving that leaf for "free" by now.

[gt7152b]

I hear ya tcp_syn_ack but I'm also saying that you're putting too much faith in this repair shop. I took my car to a well respected professional foreign auto shop for a dead fuel pump and got a similar list of items to repair for a grand total of $3700. The car was worth $1000 if I got lucky. They even wanted over $800 just for the fuel pump replacement. I just did it myself for about $100 and the car is still going strong a year later. Woops, I take that back. The car developed a power steering leak a few months later and I had to patch the piece of tubing that was leaking and refill fluid. The shop didn't identify that as a potential problem, not that there would have been any indication, but it only cost me about $30. If you want to drive a car and be frugal about it, DIY repairs and maintenance are pretty much a necessity in my opinion. Buying a $10k car is not bad but there are better ways to optimize your driving habit. Don't get me wrong, I have another car worth more than $10k and I even bought it new. It was a priority for me but I'm not fooling myself into thinking that it was a frugal purchase.

[chemistk]

Here's the breakdown from the shop. 

Given this information, you need to evaluate what your husband wants out of his car.

From this list what I see as priority:
1) Brakes
2) Front Bushings
3) Front Shocks
4) Brake Flush
5) Rear Bushings
6) Rear Shocks
7) Power Steering Fluid Flush
8) A/C
9) Air Filter

1-3 Should be done ASAP. If any front end steering/suspension component fails, you're toast on the road. Same with the brakes (obviously).

4-6 Should be done within the next 12-18 months, the exception being the brake flush which should be done when the brakes are replaced. A flush by itself is not high priority. Rear end failure is much less likely and will probably not happen on the road, just  progression of annoying symptoms.

7 Can be done within 2 years as it can lead to a power steering failure (eventually).

8 is up to you

9 Can and should be done by you - the part is cheap and usually nothing more than a socket or a screwdriver is needed to do it.

Going back to my other post, the car is worth maybe $1800 - $2200 depending on to whom you sell it. You need to ask yourself if you want to even think about doing these repairs yourself. if not, take this quote to another shop and ask them to beat it. You can also instruct them which parts you want fixed and which you want ignored. If the total comes out to be less than $1500 for the repairs of the essential items, keep the car. Anything higher and you should either sell it "as-is" or fix the important bits and then sell it. But remember, that your ~$2k investment will only net you $400 if you decide to fix and sell, so you might be better off dumping it and helping offset the price of a newer car.

[Jack]

Those parts prices are ridiculous. I've paid much less than that for upgraded performance suspension and brake parts for Volkswagens! You could switch to full-on coilovers for what they want to charge you for baseline OEM-equivalent stuff.

Also, I'm going to call fraud on this shop. Not only are the parts prices they're quoting inflated vs. what you'd pay online, they are double-charging you for the same parts twice. In particular, they list lower control arms twice, and they list the "strut assembly" and the "strut bellow" and the "strut mount" even though the entire difference between an "assembly" and a bare strut is that the assembly has the bellow and mount included!

Here's how much that stuff should actually cost (using prices from RockAuto.com):

Strut Bellow-Front - Bump Stop Kit  60.10
Strut Mount-Front Front Right and Left  259.70
Strut Assembly-Front Left 144.23 162.89 (note: even RockAuto seems high on these -- worth shopping around)
Strut Assembly-Front Right  144.23 162.89
Control Arm-Front Right Lower ART  207.53 $24.79 (bushing only)
Control Arm-Front Left Lower ART  207.90 $24.79 (bushing only)
Parts: 1048.69 $375.36

Brake Pads
Parts: 190.72 $22.67 -- and that's for ceramic! Even the best brake pads RockAuto sells, Akebono brand ceramic marketed towards the 'tuner' crowd, is still only about $80 for all four corners.


Shock Absorber-Rear  218.68 2 * 96.79
Strut Bellow-Rear - Bump Stop Kit 60.10 (can't find this listed)
Parts: 298.62

(I'm not bothering to look this stuff up, but it should cost much less than $72.)
Power Steering Fluid - 23.97
AM 1 FLU SOLVANT - 4.60
Brake Fluid 16.89
 AM 1 Flu Solavant Aerosol 4.02
Air cleaner element 16.00
Parts: 72.84


CONTROL ARM OR ROD -Lower,Left 278.70
CONTROL ARM OR ROD -Lower,Right 278.70
CONTROL ARM OR ROD - Upper  539.76
Parts: 1122.16 No! Unless it was bent or broken in a wreck, control arms do not need replacing. Only the bushings do, and those already got quoted above.


(I'm not bothering to look this stuff up, either.)
AC Condenser: 301.07
AC Valve 5.62
Refrigerant: 31.98
Dye leak detection: 15.40
Parts: 384.69

TL; DR: not including the AC stuff, this is maybe $650-700 in parts, total.

[JLee]

Hm.  Brake fluid flush.  Power steering flush.

Sounds like a scam to me.  Especially at a mere 150,000 miles on a TOYOTA!

You need a new mechanic.  Regardless of what you do with this car, you need a new mechanic or some time invested in doing your own diagnostics.

Put it to you this way:
The power steering is rated higher severity than the brakes?

Brake fluid absorbs water -- it should be replaced periodically.  It's also a ~$10 bottle of fluid and maybe 45 minutes with a $20 vacuum pump. :)

[guitar_stitch]

Brake fluid absorbs water -- it should be replaced periodically.  It's also a ~$10 bottle of fluid and maybe 45 minutes with a $20 vacuum pump. :)

You're right of course about brake fluid being hydroscopic.  However, unless the brake system was left open and exposed to the air, there is minimal water penetration potential into the fluid.  (Only through the master cylinder cap seal)  I've had 20 year old vehicles with original fluid that was just starting to darken.  That was from age, not moisture (which makes the fluid milky).  Also, I live in Florida.  150% humidity here.  :P

It looks like some, if not most of the items on this list are mileage based 'upsell' targets.  At the very least, I will stand by my suggestion that the OP get a second opinion from an unassociated shop.  My experience with water in the brake lines is that it causes cylinders to seize up pretty quickly after the fluid is contaminated.

[Cassie]

When we recently faced a similar situation we bought a used car.  The car is too old and has too many miles on it to make fixing it make sense.

[ulrichw]

Agree with others: Get rid of car, and don't use this repair shop.

The bottom line is, if you're going to own a car in this kind of shape, you should know how to fix it yourself. At the very least you need to be knowledgeable enough so the mechanic can't milk you for marginally necessary work.

The other thing I'll comment on is the anti-mustachian "it will get dinged" complaint. A ding is not going to considerably affect the utility or performance of a car - just live with it. You can also pay for a lot of ding repairs for the money you're throwing at your Celica.

It sounds like you should get a car that's fairly new and sell it before it gets into a state where it has parts that are "aging out." Either that, or commit to learning automotive maintenance and doing the work yourself (makes no financial sense given the opportunity cost to you).

[Papa Mustache]

Just had a fuel pump replaced b/c I needed the car fixed, no weather or time for a DIY install which is what I prefer to do.

Bought the pump at Auto Zone (Delphi, same as OEM brand) for ~$260 and paid a shop to install it for $140.

As for power steering and brakes. Going on ~16 yrs and approaching 300K miles. Never replaced the fluid or flushed anything. No leaks, no pump noise, etc. Just run it until something leaks and then service the whole system. Most cars have components that wear out before 300K and you'll need to drain/refill the system anyhow.

Your shop might not be dishonest but instead is just charging what the market will bear. Clearly if he can upsell repairs that you don't need he is nearing dishonesty by my measure though...

I agree with the detailed list above. Parts prices are inflated. You can replace individual things like bushings without replacing who control arms. Did this on my daily driver last year before a vacation trip. The only parts that are going to cause a catastrophic failure are tie rod ends and balljoints. Everything else just causes noise and tire wear.

I think the car has alot of miles left in it but if you are reliant on a shop and shop rates then get into something newer. Get the old car detailed and sell it privately.

I am also in the DIY camp but it takes time and effort to learn the skills. Sucks to take the daily driver apart on Fri evening and need to get it back together by Sun evening. Takes alot of the fun out of the process. Helps to have a friend who can coach you in person. YouTube is an amazing substitute.

If your husband likes the Celica there are many different Asian cars which are similarly sporty and reliable to drive.

CR-X / Scion coupes / Hyundai Veloster / Subbie coupes / Nissan coupes

[Jack]

Sucks to take the daily driver apart on Fri evening and need to get it back together by Sun evening.

That is a good point. I prefer to own an old car and DIY the maintenance, but I also have two 'daily driver' cars* for a two-person household even though our real 'daily' is actually biking and transit. That large amount of redundancy is a big part of what makes the DIY maintenance feasible.

(* Plus a project car, which isn't running and thus doesn't count.)

[paddedhat]

Brake fluid absorbs water -- it should be replaced periodically.  It's also a ~$10 bottle of fluid and maybe 45 minutes with a $20 vacuum pump. :)

You're right of course about brake fluid being hydroscopic.  However, unless the brake system was left open and exposed to the air, there is minimal water penetration potential into the fluid.  (Only through the master cylinder cap seal)  I've had 20 year old vehicles with original fluid that was just starting to darken.  That was from age, not moisture (which makes the fluid milky).  Also, I live in Florida.  150% humidity here.  :P

It looks like some, if not most of the items on this list are mileage based 'upsell' targets.  At the very least, I will stand by my suggestion that the OP get a second opinion from an unassociated shop.  My experience with water in the brake lines is that it causes cylinders to seize up pretty quickly after the fluid is contaminated.

Although I agree that it's obvious that the OP is getting hosed ($190 for brake pads.......WTF, it isn't a Ferrari) I totally disagree on the brake fluid. It gets contaminated regularly, and there are real benefits to treating it as a regularly scheduled maintenance item.. I have often bought higher miles (over 75K) vehicles and did the fluid flush on them. The amount of crud that is trapped at the calipers can be stunning, it often looks more like draining a nasty deep fryer as opposed to brake fluid. There is often literally chunks of debris being flushed. Since it's an easy and cheap DIY effort, it's well worth it, and often results in dramatically improved pedal feel, and firmness.

[MMMdude]

Haha i own a 00 celica.  Yea the 00 and 01 engines leak due to undersized piston chambers. You have to top up as needed....for me its been like that for 5 or 6 years and in my mind oil top up beats repair or new car. I love everything about the car and dont see anything id rather have in terms of low cost to own, performance and looks.  I too was given a crazy quote to redo brakes and found a smaller shop to do it for half the price. Im currently just under 200k miles