What to do with my car?

[Monkey stache]

So my car needs a new engine again. The first time the engine went out at 50,000 miles and I made the dealership replace it since it was 6 months after I bought it. I definitely paid too much for it and I still owe $3,300 (young and dumb moment when I bought it).  Paying off our cars is our top priority for paying off debts but we're both unemployed right now (spouse and I worked for the same company and lost our jobs, another bad choice, I know).

 I have a friend who will put in a new engine for $1,500 (parts and labor) and I know that's a good deal for it.  I'm wondering if it's worth it though? At this rate I'm replacing the engine every 50,000-60,000 miles with proper maintenance. There's no way I can sell it for my loan amount with a busted engine.  I'm not in a rush to fix it because public transportation and biking are working fine for me right now.  I still need a car for harsh Minnesota winters so I'm not sure I'm ready to give it up. If I do get it fixed, maybe it can just be my winter car so it will last much longer?

The idea of dumping $1500 into a car that I'm still making payments on is killing me. Selling it for a few hundred dollars for parts leaves me with debt and no car. Besides giving up the car, what is the most mustachian thing to do?

[gooki]

Does your spouse have a car?

How much would the car be worth with a fixed engine?

[Monkey stache]

He does and it cannot drive in the snow and ice (*sigh*). We didn't purchase it when we were living here but he loves it and said he'd never sell it.  If the engine worked I think I could get close to the loan amount based on KBB and some craigslist research.

I wish someone would steal my car and drive it off a bridge...

[Kriegsspiel]

I knew a few people in HS that left their keys in their car for that exact reason..

[trammatic]

I think the math points to replacing the engine.

I guess you have three options:

• Scrap the car.  Get maybe $1000 in scrap value...net result -$2300
• Replace the engine. You'll have a 3300 car, a 3300 loan and a 1500 engine.  net result -$1500.
• Part out the car. This would involve a lot of time to sell parts, and unless you have a very in-demand car, you won't make much margin.  It'd also leave you without a car.  Say you could get $2500 in parts harvested.  net result -$800, but involves tons of time.

I'd also talk with the mechanic to see why the engine goes out since most modern engines can go to $200k miles with no sweat.  If there's some issue overall, I'd fix the car and dump it ASAP, then save to buy another beater before winter.

[tooqk4u22]

I think the math points to replacing the engine.

I guess you have three options:

• Scrap the car.  Get maybe $1000 in scrap value...net result -$2300
• Replace the engine. You'll have a 3300 car, a 3300 loan and a 1500 engine.  net result -$1500.
• Part out the car. This would involve a lot of time to sell parts, and unless you have a very in-demand car, you won't make much margin.  It'd also leave you without a car.  Say you could get $2500 in parts harvested.  net result -$800, but involves tons of time.

I'd also talk with the mechanic to see why the engine goes out since most modern engines can go to $200k miles with no sweat.  If there's some issue overall, I'd fix the car and dump it ASAP, then save to buy another beater before winter.

Would also help to know what car it is but putting $1500 into a $3300 car doesn't seem logical to me unless you think the car will be more cost effective than getting a new (to you) car.  Scrap the car is the better option because you need to include the $1500 in the analysis and it doesn't involve the time/headache of parting out.

$1k for scrap + $1500 that would have went to engine - $3300 loan = -$800. 

[Monkey stache]

It's a 2003 Chevy Malibu. The first time the piston rod when through the oil pan. The dealership said it was a "fluke". I can't remember which parts of the engine are bad now but my mechanic friend said there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. I think I was sold a lemon so the best thing I can do is try to cut my losses. I like the idea of selling it off for parts slowly. I wonder how much I could get for it as the rest of the car is in good condition.