Hi all, we'd appreciate any advice you have for us!
The AC compressor on my 2003 Jeep Liberty went out a few years ago and I've been driving it without air conditioning since then. I'd continue doing so but in August my wife and I are moving to the east coast (about an 18 hour drive from home) and my in-laws will be helping drive the Jeep and/or moving van. If it were just me, I wouldn't fix it but I'm not sure how well my wife and/or in-laws will handle that long in a hot car.
The repair shop quoted me about $1,200 to fix the AC so I looked up how easy it would be to DIY. I'm no car mechanic but I've managed to do some other repairs on it myself and this seems a lot more complicated. I'd certainly need to have a shop assist with the refrigerant as I don't have the right tools. Total cost if I could do most of the work myself would be roughly $500.
This particular fix aside, I'm starting to wonder if it is time to trade in the Jeep. It only has 160k miles but quite a few things are starting to go wrong (blower motor, door lock actuators, several relays, etc.) and the repair costs are adding up even though I've been able to do most of the work myself. If we get a new (to us) car, it would need to be able to tow our other car (2003 Grand Am) cross-country when we move.
Similar Jeeps in the area are going for roughly $2,000 and we could pay for the remainder of a used car with cash. The catch is that we're moving so I can go back to school so our income situation for the next 2-3 years will be uncertain until my wife finds a job out east. We currently have enough cash to last us about a year and the new car would only cut 2-3 months out of our reserves.
If there's anything else you need to know to make recommendations, suggestions, etc. please let me know. Your thoughts are most appreciated!
Would you:
A) Fix the AC on the Jeep and continue to DIY what we can until it completely dies.
B) Trade the Jeep in for whatever we can get and buy an older, low-mileage vehicle that can tow (~$6k).
C) Trade the Jeep in, rent an SUV for the move (~$500), and buy a mustachian car after the move.
D) Something else?