Car problems seem to be going around our circle in Blogaria.
Thursday, Margaret dropped Pippa off for art class. As she drove to Joyce’s place for class, Margaret heard ominous sounds from the front drivers’ side wheel housing. Because we live near our mechanic, relatively speaking, she dropped the car off with Warren and she and Pippa took the El home.
Warren tore apart all the relevant parts, and puzzled over it. He took the car to his transmission friend for a second opinion, and they conferred at length.
The good news: well, there isn’t much good news. The bad news: our problem involves the front axle and the transmission (both), for a total in the neighborhood of $2,500. We would, of course, prefer to unload the Caravan, especially since we no longer have a five-passenger load most of the time (and we’ll have fewer passengers especially if we get a smaller car and Nate realizes he’d have to squeeze in with Si and Pip).
On the other hand, we can’t scrape together enough for a used car from above the threshhold of junkerdom (we’re looking for a wagon, ideally a Subaru Outback, but at 75,000 miles they still run about $13,000, and it would be hard to afford the hundreds of dollars-per-month in loan payments). So we’re trying to figure a way to move on up to a newer car, while the prospect of spending $2,500 to stay in the same car looms before us.
Posted by AKMA at November 9, 2002 10:57 AM | TrackBackPerhaps you should start drawing a salary from the University of Blogaria.
;-)
AHHHH! As one who has been going through the car problem mill for four months now, all I can advise is to run away to the country and buy a horse for you and margaret, one for Si, and a pony for pippa. You could probably buy all of them (just friendy grade horses) for under the $2,500 it will take you to fix yours. Grow food. Get DSL. Do your service work online or with the locals who are in riding distance. Stay in here with us, where you don't need a car. It is the only advice I have.
j.
Hey brother,
My sister recently bought two cars off E-bay. Please hold the laughter. She managed to get both of them well under loan value, and has actually made a good deal of money doing so and finally has a car that is trustworthy. I would be more than happy to share what I know about that sort of thing with you.
Peace
Jeff
My parents had the front axle blow on their Caravan on a Sunday afternoon while they were traveling in Kentucky this summer (they live in Wisconsin). They were fortunate enough to get good repair service early the next day, but it still cost a lot. They've also been warned that one of the front supports is in bad shape. This comes on the heels of a host of other problems. So, I think you've probably made the right decision.
Posted by: Tim Hadley at November 10, 2002 08:07 PMTim, I'm not sure who you are, but you are my hero tonight. Your comment is perfectly timed and deeply appreciated. One of the greatest pressures about this ongoing car-euthanasia discernment process has been that there are so few, if any, clear signs about how to proceed. Cars do not come with a little pop-up window that says "I'm done. Give up on me" --and more's the pity. We've had to rely on our own (inadequate) instincts, general (varied) opinion, and the kind pity in the eyes of our patient (and honest) mechanic. Thanks for weighing in with affirmation at just the right moment. --Margaret
Posted by: Margaret Adam at November 10, 2002 08:34 PM