The Driveway: COBbies talk cars

Well, the part is on order. I shall have it tomorrow. And DG got a ride to her job interview so that is a relief; I was worried she wasn't going to be able to make it. So far crises averted, as long as I don't have to go anywhere before tomorrow morning.

I have a workable seat belt extender now. I'd like to leave it in one end or the other, but both sides have their drawbacks. Still better than being unbelted.

Someone near me has an '88 Suzuki Samurai for sale, and honestly, it's pretty tempting. They're basically baby Jeep Wranglers, but with much better gas mileage (at the cost of being rather slow). Would be really cheap to own, since they don't really have much in the way of frills (only luxury items available as options were a radio and AC).

Ahh more adventures of Tuefel and Vehicle maintenance time.

Through a contact my knows at the Grace University band in which she plays Euphonium we have found a free lance mechanic. For a cheap rate he will do work on your car provided you buy the parts.

Well sure as shit she talked to him today and something broke on the damn car.

I was noticing what looks like some hose with one of those plastic protective covers, an L bend bit of piping and cylinder/ball like structure dangling from under the front of the car. I get a close look and the ball is covered in sticky green crud.

So I am thinking the bottom part of the radiator has come off and would explain our prolific coolant leak that I could never nail down. So the wife has to do some tests at home and duck tape part to the body under the front so it doesn't snag while we drive. I will bust out some bailing wire and make sure it stays in place until we get paid and can fix it.

To top it all off the exhaust system needs new pipes and muffler, the ebreak/parking break cable snapped, the vacuum hoses have a hole in it, it needs new tires, and the automatic antenna retractor gear mechanism is busted likely some teeth missing off it. I think Murphy took my car for a joy ride.

I can't afford a new car or even a loan so I have try and salvage this one as best as I can.

Ok update. I need a new radiator. But our freelance mechanic fellow is charging us a total 70 bucks for taking out the old shot radiator which is internally rusted, and had the compressor part break off. Tomorrow he will pull one in better shape from You Pull It scrap yard.

Still looking around, and the usual place I've been looking into had a '98 Dodge Stratus I was interested in. Key word being "had", it was sold yesterday. I did, however, get to take a good look at a '96 Chevrolet Cavalier coupe that was there; while the interior does scream "cheap", I can attest to Cavaliers being exceptionally reliable and good on gas (my mom had an '89 Cavalier sedan, never once broke down ever). Only has about 76,000 original miles too, it's rare to see one that's been well-cared for. (Funny thing is, my mom's was also a low-mileage one, she got it with only about 35,000 miles).

There's also a '96 Saturn SL2 at the same place that's got that SC2 I've mentioned before, and while it's not quite as well-equipped as the SC2 (manual windows, regular wheels instead of alloys, no CD player), it's $250 cheaper, and has 20,000 fewer miles. Both are very tempting, regardless.

edited 15th Nov '13 2:54:06 PM by DemonSharkKisame

Left work tonight and my car wouldn't start, and not in a low battery kind of way. It was cranking fine, but the motor wouldn't turn over.

My working theory was that, since the tank didn't vent properly when I last filled up (it kept bubbling gas back at me until I started pulsing it so it had time to breathe), and it was under a quarter tank, perhaps there was a vacuum lock that would be alleviated if I added gas.

So I swept back into the store to buy a gas can quickly before they closed, and then walked across the street to the nearest gas station. When I returned with gas, the "eco-friendly spillproof nozzle" of the can proved to be less spillproof and more refuelproof, since even following the instructions as best as I could, the gas only came out through the cap end of the nozzle or not at all.

The closing manager got me a funnel to try instead, and when the funnel didn't work, he went to the gas station to try to get a better funnel, and returned with a water bottle to cut the bottom off of and use as a funnel. That finally worked (an hour after I originally tried to leave), but the engine still wouldn't start. He'd thought my description sounded more like a fuel injector problem anyway, and pumped the gas pedal while starting. That worked.

So now I may have a problem at both ends of the fuel line...

So today was the first time I came back to my car after driving home. It started fine. The tank was still low. I refueled (bad day for refueling. The first station I went to had sold out due to the impending Doom Snow), and had no problem with that.

My theory is that I had a blockage in the tank that migrated to the injectors, and has hopefully been expelled by now.

Do one thing for me, Para. Get a couple cans of Heet gas-line de-waterifier and dump one of one of them into the tank with the gas the next couple of times you refuel. The water bottle may have worked as a funnel, but you want to get any traces of water out of the gas or you'll have more problems.

I also need to get the gas can, funnel, and water bottle out of the trunk. The trunk is not sealed from the cab, which I think is why I'm still smelling fumes when I get in. Now, my mom's van had a gas smell inside for weeks, but that came from old lawn mowers spending a couple of hours in the back as she took them to the recycling place way on the other side of town.

So I've been noticing my van's temperature has been fluctuating wildly recently, and the heat had been very inconsistent as well. For a while, I thought the thermostat had gone bad, but yesterday, I discovered the root of the problem: a blown intake gasket. Curse this 3400 V6 engine! Aaaaaaaarrrrrrgh. And I don't have the money to get it fixed, so my van's just going to end up sitting there until I figure out what to do with it.

One of my friend's neighbors has this absolutely beautiful Saab 900 Turbo

Takes every ounce of my being to not go over there and ask him how much he wants for it.

hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng

Always been a fan of Saab. If I had the money for it, I could get a decent '99 9-3 SE not too far from here. Only real issue with it is the info center's display (a distressingly-common problem).

Sorry for the double-post, but I've found out that my van's worth about $1250, even if just for parts. If it were fully-running and cleaned up a bit, it'd be worth about $3000, but I'm just glad it's worth what it is now. As for my next vehicle, my older brother's got a friend that's willing to sell a '95 Honda Civic sedan for cheap (he's not looking to make money on it, he's just looking to give it to someone who needs transportation). Only "catch" is that it's a stick shift, but I fail to see how that's a catch.

My belt keeps making this annoying noise. It goes away after the car runs for a while but it's really damn irritating in the morning.

Have you replaced it recently? If so, maybe the belt or pulleys need greasing.

Hi everyone!

I'm wondering, how steeply does reliability drop off in cars that are ~ 10 years old or older? I have my eye on the BMW 3 series, specifically - an early 2000s model seems to average about £1,500 - £2,000 these days, which is well within my purchasing power, but I'm wondering how bad maintenance costs could get.

Full disclosure: I really don't know anything about car maintenance at all. I've been driving a supremely reliable Toyota Yaris for the past 7 years or so, which only has about 57,000 miles on the clock and has had nothing more dramatic happen to it than flat tyres.

My only preferential criteria at this point is that I'd like to get something German, for no other reason than I've always liked German cars and they have a reputation for reliability.

edited 6th Feb '14 1:34:56 PM by pagad

I haven't replaced it since I bought it so I'm just assuming it needs a bit of maintenance.

And it all depends on the car really. Like look at my Towncar. She's 17 years old and has 250,000 miles under her belt and she's never had a proper break down. Just the occasional oil change and tune up. Plus some new tires every so often.

German cars tend to work but when they do break the costs are pretty steep. At least in America. It might be different over there in England, I mean you're closer and there's probably better access to parts and I'm pretty sure you guys get models we don't in the States.

There's not really much of a proper number to give I'm afraid. Basic maintenance is just stuff like oil changes and tires but that's fairly cheap. Anything else is just circumstance.

edited 6th Feb '14 1:55:05 PM by LeGarcon

Only now do I realise "Town Car" is a an actual model, rather than just a car you use for urban driving. I don't think Lincoln do much business on this side of the Atlantic, though Ford obviously does plenty.

Yes, the reputation of German cars for expensive parts is also a thing here, unfortunately.

Thanks for the response. The pragmatist in me says that I should really be looking for something small and efficient with a good MPG and low tax band, but at this point I really want a car that doesn't look like a pod on wheels.

edited 6th Feb '14 2:00:56 PM by pagad

Get a nice VW Golf from the 80s or something, those things are awesome.

Also I got it checked and it is my poor little belt but otherwise all car issues are minor.

Check Air Suspension light came on though, that's worrying.

You know what's fun? Making a grocery run with an iced-over windshield and no working heat. Made it there and back without incident, but I'm wanting my van gone more than ever now. My soon-to-be-roommate's dad is looking to sell a '95 Honda Civic sedan, and I'm extremely interested. There's also a '94 Ford Tempo not too far from here, are those any good?

edited 3rd Mar '14 8:43:07 PM by DemonSharkKisame

Honda's are engineered well.

The Tempo is supposed to be some sort of tank, although I find that it's rather odd-looking. If it's an automatic, pass. The automatic is a three-speed no-overdrive unit unless they've swapped transmissions out. The manual is a five-speed. The Tempo is rather lightweight, though. Basically a larger Escort (which is a good little econobox).

Rule of thumb I've found is that american cars are less reliable, but cheaper (usually) to buy parts for. Imports are often more reliable, but parts are usually more expensive to get. Not a hard and fast rule, just a blanket statement. There will be outliers.

You can dig up a rough idea of reliability data by looking up www.carcomplaints.com - lots of good information to be had there.

edited 7th Mar '14 2:55:41 PM by pvtnum11

Bought a 2004 Saab 9-3 today for £1,500 (I would guess something like $2,600-$2,800 US). Dirt cheap, with 90,000 miles on the clock, but it seems to check out mechanically. I'm getting it serviced on Monday.

I've been grinning from ear to ear all day, it drives like a dream compared to my old Toyota. Purrs rather than screams at 70 mph. Now, if only the gear lever knob stopped coming off...

edited 8th Mar '14 9:20:43 AM by pagad

Weld it on there

I'm reluctant to do anything to it before Monday. The garage can presumaby sort it out.