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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132134
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 6:00am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

PT Cruiser broke down. Cost of repairs will be about three times its current market value!

Oh, well, cheaper than a new car, right?

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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 6:05am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

Certainly.

I was thinking about this recently. My windows wouldn't open (passenger side) a while back. It cost a bit to fix. Yet the old handle, that you used to roll up to open a window, would probably have been cheaper to fix. Maybe.

Hope you get it sorted, anyway. Someone once said to me that cars are cheap to buy. I replied, "Yes, they can be, but it's the petrol and maintenance that really hits your wallet."
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132134
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 6:10am | IP Logged | 3 post reply

Worth noting once again that this is a 2001 model, and it has just a tick over 40,000 miles on it.* So, certainly, I feel I should get a lot more use!

____________________________

*The Jag, which is a 1997, is the same!

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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 6:14am | IP Logged | 4 post reply

If you do buy a new car, make it the Range Rover Classic, the world's best car (scientifically proven). ;-)
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Bill Collins
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 26 May 2005
Location: England
Posts: 11245
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 6:24am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

My car is 14 years old and only has 22k on the clock,it
is immaculate, it`s market value is probably about
£1,000, but to me it`s a nearly new car( I bought it new
and have looked after it).If i was you J.B. i`d repair
it,you know it`s service history and how carefully it`s
been driven.
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Steve Adelson
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 24 May 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1204
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 7:27am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Similar boat, JB.  My driver is a '98 Altima with 75000 miles on it.  It has a few minor (and very slow) oil leaks that would cost about $3000 to repair, roughly the value of the vehicle. Then again, it's been very reliable for 20 years, and I could easily get another five years out of it otherwise.  Seems worth it to me.
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132134
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 8:14am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

If i was you J.B. i`d repair it,you know it`s service history and how carefully it`s been driven.

••

I thought I was clear that was my plan. No way do I give up my PT!

(I have a habit of anthropomorphizing these things. Whenever I think about selling either of my vehicles, I think about the "shock to the system" the poor things would endure suddenly being driven like real cars! Visions of BLACK BEAUTY drift thru my mind.)

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Vinny Valenti
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 8009
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 8:44am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

"I have a habit of anthropomorphizing these things."

--

Me too! My 2000 Saturn w 82000 miles had just started giving off engine warning lights. I took it in to my mechanic and he's been slow to calling me back with an estimate, which has me thinking that it's likely to be a doozy, and perhaps it's time to put it out to pasture.

But the car has actually been good to me. Every time it died on me, it died in the most convenient way possible. One time the engine stalled as I was moving and heading into a very busy intersection near my home. I happened to have the green light, so I coasted through it, and right after it was the driveway to my then-mechanic, so I just pulled it up with no engine running and left the keys in the mailbox and walked the rest of the way home.

Even more convenient was the time I was trying to drive to JFK to catch a flight for my sister's wedding in Florida 5 years ago. While I was driving on the Belt Parkway, the serpentine belt broke, which killed the battery. Luckily it was broad daylight so I just kept driving with no electronics running. As I got closer and closer to the airport, multiple parts of the system lost power - first it was the power steering, then it was the airflow regulators, causing the engine to start sputtering, etc, all the while I'm doing 50+ on the Belt. I got to the exit for long-term parking, and the engine started shaking even more vigorously. I decided to take the first available/farthest spot in the long-term lot, since I felt like it was about to die. Lo and behold, it did - just as I pulled into the spot. We ran across the lot and hopped on the Airtrain and we made our flight.

When we came back the following week, we used my Benz to boost the battery and start it up again. That gave it just enough juice to get it out of the lot make it to the nearest Mechanic in Queens - where it died once again as I pulled into the parking lot.

I feel like I owe it some care and attention as a result!
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Andrew Bitner
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 01 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7467
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 8:59am | IP Logged | 9 post reply

We went a different way last year. Our KIA had about 121k miles on it (IIRC) and the suspension was shot--it would have needed about $4000+ to get it road-ready again, and the Bluebook value was around $1500. Given we were ready for a new car anyway, trading it in wasn't a hard decision, even though the Kia was paid off and now that's one more bill to cover each month.

C'est la vie, as Jean-Paul Beaubier might say.

Edited by Andrew Bitner on 13 February 2018 at 9:01am
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132134
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 9:18am | IP Logged | 10 post reply

…and perhaps it's time to put it out to pasture.

••

One thing I have seriously considered, for when either of my cars dies without hope of resurrection, it to have it cubed, a la GOLDFINGER, and turn it into lawn art.

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Phil Geiger
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 08 May 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 444
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 9:22am | IP Logged | 11 post reply

2001 with 40K miles? Yeah, you should get a LOT more use out of that vehicle! Well worth the investment in repairs, I think. I have a 2003 Suburban with around 180K miles on it that has been acting up a bit. I've been thinking of getting a new vehicle, but repairs are still cheaper than car payments and it's still in decent shape for it's age. So I'll be holding on to it for a while longer.
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Leigh DJ Hunt
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 20 February 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1570
Posted: 13 February 2018 at 12:53pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

How come the mileage is so low JB? I guess I drive a lot but I live in the UK. Over there, driving to the next state is like driving across the country.
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