Chewing on my car problem. My mechanic gave me an interesting opinion that makes me hesitate on the whole "scrap for a bicycle" consideration.
He pointed out to me that, unlike most cars, mine has its water hose go through the "timing cover" of the engine, so if that particular hose is bad, it leaks into the engine. Since most people don't deal with that type of car, they tend to assume it's a cracked engine block, blown head gasket, etc.
Accordingly -- while I did get a number for a salvage place -- he's suggesting that I consider getting a title loan, and having it towed back to him for an investigation. If the problem is still only the cooling system, it might be worth getting that loan to get it fixed again. The especially persuasive point is that since so many of the other components are new/fixed, this could potentially be one of the last major repairs to be made to it, afterward it'll be a sturdy and reliable vehicle again. It'd be a waste to ditch it at THIS point. The tires are new, radiator hoses new, new computerized regulator, fixed transmission, etc.
(I know about the fallacy of the sunk cost, but still. So much repairs done already, why quit when almost finished?)
To lower my cost of living, if possible, I still am keen on a bicycle or scooter -- but perhaps I ought to pay more attention to this car. At the very least, if the cooling system is indeed the last significant problem, with all other things being decent, I'd like to hold onto the vehicle even if in non-functional form, so that a repair could later be made. Salvaging at this point might be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
There's multiple things I could do from this standpoint. For instance, upon finding a new place in cycling distance, I could have it towed into parking there, and rely entirely on cycling to and from places, for the most part, to build up capital. The suspension of insurance, fuel purchases, and so on would be a good financial boon. Or I could still get it fixed, use it to transfer my stuff to a new place and whatnot, and still rely upon cycling as much as possible otherwise.
Selling it to a "yard" is still an open consideration, but it's the most extreme last-ditch option, so I'd like to consider all other possibilities first before resorting to that.
For now, some more chewing needs to be done. At the very least, I don't think it would hurt to get it looked over again for that loan consideration, because if that fails I only have a small towing fee to pay.
Then again, I still worry because I still drove the car in damaged condition prior, getting it to overheat rather significantly. Last time it simply died in the parking lot, making me push it into a parking spot. Plus, a spinning component sounds like a house fan wapping a cardboard cover, so hopefully that's not an indication of something new to be concerned about.
Oh well. I don't hate the car. It may seem like a junk heap from my descriptions, but it really took about a good seven years for the problems to build up to this. Otherwise it's been reliable. We'll see.