Author Topic: Calling all car people  (Read 6001 times)

zedpol

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Calling all car people
« on: August 27, 2014, 05:58:49 PM »
I have a 2001 toyota corolla with 100k of hard miles on it.  Car gets driven every day and it is all back road driving,  three  minor accidents (only one when i was driving).  Took it in today because it sprung a leak which ended up being the left rear shock.  Also needs new brakes, battery and some other minor stuff like the driver side door plastic is coming off from the door.  All in all going to run me about 1k for a new set of shocks, new front brakes, new battery and fixing the door.  Anyways, this got me to thinking what are they types of repairs i should start looking out for that signal it is time to get a new car?  As far as I am concerned this is all maintenance stuff so far but cars are not my forte. 

in my internet research I ran across a few articles, any others i should read?
http://lifehacker.com/should-i-repair-or-just-replace-my-old-car-484335393
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/Buy_or_Keep_Calculator
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/02/03/when-to-replace-your-car/

Thanks,
z

KiloRomeo

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2014, 06:09:46 PM »
Embrace the mustache, DIY for $350 and keep on trucking.

Gin1984

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2014, 06:22:14 PM »
No, $1000 is still decent.  I just bought a 2001 nissian and plan to drive it another five to ten years.

Alex321

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2014, 06:27:06 PM »
100k isn't all that much for a Corolla. As you're in it for the long haul, might be a good time to have them check, and replace if necessary, coolant, transmission fluid, and brake fluid. And oil, of course. Just make sure you have a reputable mechanic.

BooksAreNerdy

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2014, 07:31:42 PM »
Look up how to do the fixes yourself. You can rent the tools from auto zone and get the parts for half what the shop would charge. We have a 93 corolla with 240k miles. Your car is not old. :)

Joggernot

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2014, 07:44:24 PM »
Embrace the mustache, DIY for $350 and keep on trucking.
This.  The $350 seems high, though.

bomgd3

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2014, 08:03:32 PM »
$1k seems reasonable for shocks, brakes, and other random work.  If you are a DIY type of guy, you can definitely do the brakes on your own and the shocks will take some effort but is do-able.  A first-timer can probably do a brake job (rotors and pads on all 4 wheels) in about 3-4 hours.  Your car might have drum brakes in the rear, which I'm not too familiar with.  The first time I changed shocks, it took me 8 hours primarily because loosening old bolts can be a huge pain in the ass, plus there were multiple trips to the hardware store for additional tools.

If you don't want to go through with DIY, I think $1000 to keep a solid car on the road is not bad.

Outlier

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2014, 08:05:13 PM »
I'm with you on the car DIY being rough. I'm fairly handy around a house but doing more than changing a tire on my car is out of my comfort zone. I was going to rotate my tires a while ago and crushed some non load bearing metal bit under my car when I jacked it up. The cost of learning from scratch is pretty high when your only car to learn on is the one you need to get to and from work.

I wish there was some zero to back yard mechanic course I could find. A little knowledge goes a long way.


MountainBeard

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #8 on: August 27, 2014, 09:14:23 PM »
Been lurking for months; you finally drew me in to sign up for an account with a car question...

You're right all the things you mention are normal wear and tear.  If you're new to working on cars gets a manual (Chilton, Clymer's, etc) and look up any of the maintenance items on YouTube - that should go along way to getting you started.  As far as parts go, if you sign up for Advance Auto's email they'll send out some good coupon codes.  Normally, I just order parts from Rock Auto as they tend to have a better selection of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) brands - if you check the interwebs they also normally have a 5% off code.

When we last swapped cars the vehicle would have been worth less than $1K if in good condition - it, however, needed a clutch, tires, alignment, and engine rebuild - sometimes it's a no brainer.  With car maintenance it's a steep learning curve, and you do have the advantage of putting things back together being pretty much the reverse of having taken them apart; you'll do great!

Joel

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2014, 09:33:53 PM »
That's all routine maintenance for something with 100k miles.

zedpol

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2014, 07:49:06 AM »
Thanks for all the advice.  I'm not sure diy car stuff is in my near term future mainly because of lack of time between family and work.  Someday though.

Best,
Z

Mother Fussbudget

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2014, 12:14:20 PM »
Quote
I wish there was some zero to back yard mechanic course I could find. A little knowledge goes a long way.

There *IS* a FREE back yard mechanic course - it's called YouTube.  Bonus if you own an early VW - it's really true even a tech nerd can learn to replace brakes, master cylinders, etc based on YouTube videos.  Notice they all wear rubber gloves when they work.

skunkfunk

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Re: Calling all car people
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2014, 12:22:20 PM »
That's all easy stuff. If you throw out a car for that kind of stuff expect to have trouble with any car, ever.