We have two Honda Civics, a 2001 Coupe and 2004 Sedan, both with about 110K miles. DH just took his (the 2001) to the dealership for a recall and was told that the following repairs will need to be done in the near future (dealership prices):
Timing belt / water pump / spark plugs - ~$1100
Lower ball joint boots - $208
Oil pan replacement (damaged by a different dealership during an oil change) - $737
Check engine light is on - $?????? (it's $100 just for them to check it)
Also needs a new battery, and the tires are getting pretty worn.
Kelley Blue Book is showing his car to be worth between $1350 (dealership trade-in) to $2600 (private party sale) in fair condition. I'm assuming with the repairs needed we wouldn't be able to get that much, and this was a high school/college vehicle so it's not in great shape appearance-wise, having spent at least 6 years of its life without a garage. So far though all we've had to spend by way of repairs (other than a battery replacement 8 years ago) is $400 for a broken bearing, over 10 years of ownership.
Here are the options we're considering:
Option 1: Do (some of?) the repairs - We would probably just do the check engine light at first and see what that turns up. I'm inclined to assume that the dealership is overcharging us; does anyone know if these prices are fair? Or how long we could reasonably expect the car to last after making them?
Option 2: Sell the car or trade it in and either -
a. Buy another used car. If we go this route DH wants a certified pre-owned, and wants to spend $13-14k, but I think this is overkill and we could spend more like $10k(?). We would want another compact sedan. Any recommendations?
b. Attempt to live with only one car. We both work, and DH often works out of town so he would be the one with the car. We live about a mile away from my office and I usually ride my bike or walk to work, unless the weather is bad. Temps vary from 100+ to single digits in the winter, with rain, snow, ice, etc. As I said this is a small town, with zero public transportation options. Any suggestions on making this work? I do need to look presentable when I get there (business casual). Precipitation is my main concern although I also hate the cold.
My other concern is that if his car needs these repairs, mine can't be far behind, and it's been showing some signs of problems lately (it's going to the dealership for the recall soon too so we'll see what they say). I'm actually worried that we don't have a reliable car for a trip that we're planning to take at the beginning of next month. Sell one car and use the proceeds to repair the other? Trade them both in for one newer car (do they even let you do that?)? Or just give up and splurge on twin F-150s?