A bad financial day in rural Indiana

[Boogity]

I have always done our car and truck maintenance. I guess it's a carryover from my teen days in the early '60s when it was necessary in order for me to have any kind of vehicle. I have been very diligent about oil changes, tire rotations, tune-ups, and fixing many small issues with our vehicles.

Last month DW heard a ticking sound coming from the engine compartment and I checked it out as thoroughly as possible and determined it was coming from the transmission area. Front wheel drive automatic transmission. These new-fangled cars give me fits and I have recently given up on keeping abreast of the new technology. So yesterday the car had to go into the shop for a check-up. It seems that the transmission has a broken slipshaft, whatever that is, and that the repair bill is somewhere around $1,800 to $2,000. It is a 2007 and out of warranty. We have had this car for two years (we bought it used) and it has been a good one until now. The mechanic, who I trust very much, says it could leave us stranded at any time. I think we'll have to make do with my beat up '94 pickup until we can save some money.

We have had monumental medical bills over the past 10 years which has pretty much wiped us out and, now, living on a fixed income makes it 10x worse.

Not sure how we're going to handle this one.

 

[TanksHill]

I'm sorry to hear about your car. I can relate. My trans slips and I was told I need a new one at a cost of 5k. My car ia a 2000 so we have just decided to keep driving it.

Sorry.

G

 

[gettinaclue]

Oh that's aweful. I sure know about medical bills and car problems. Just keep truckin'. (no pun intended)

 

[FarmerChick]

wow there is nothing worse than being slapped in the face hard with a 'new' big bill.
I feel your pain!


you must put the cost of the car against the repair bill. truly. if it is worth saving, then somehow bite the bullet and do it.
if not you could sell it, donate it and take the tax donation etc.

Is your mechanic the type to 'buy cars'. My parents mechanic does buy customers cars. His price to fix is way lower than what he charges for a customer....so maybe you can have a discussion with him?


OR BARTER! Anything you can do for him and cut that bill down?


just throwing out ideas!

 

[i_am2bz]

Wow, Boogity, I'm sorry. And I can relate, too. I wish I had some great advice to offer.

 

[k15n1]

I've been keeping several old cars (1993) running, so I feel the pain of an un-expected repair. Last time I got a bill like this it took me several months to change the head gasket, timing belt, and distributor cap. Sure is hard when you don't know what you're doing!

We've been budgeting about 1000 $/yr for each car to deal with non-cosmetic maintanence. Some years it's more, others, less. Everyone tells me I should buy new, but I'm not sure it's cheaper. You just end up paying for it all at once.

If you're driving the truck anyway, there's no reason to not tear into the transmission, right? After all, it's just nuts and bolts. The manual and parts must be cheaper than 2,000 $.

 

[beerman]

I feel your pain, 1998 suburban with a bad transfer case

 

[Marianne]

:/ I know. We have 250K on both our vehicles now. One month we spent $1800 in repairs on both. Had the car in the shop several times..then everything straightened out and ran good for several months.

But I'm already getting nervous because of the high mileage on both...

 

[Henrietta23]

Feel the pain here too. I'm driving a 94 Volvo with over 225k miles that was given to us when my old mini van's transmission went and I was out of work. DH drives a 2003 Jetta TDI (diesel) with 100K on it. Both are in pretty good shape mechanically. My a/c doesn't work and there's some rust and it isn't pretty. Everytime I turn the key I say a little prayer. If one of them goes or needs an expensive repair I'm not sure how we'll handle it either. If we had to be a one car family we'd make it work somehow but it would be pretty horrible with both of us working and DH commuting over 40 minutes now. And we've started to stick every spare penny into savings just in case too. Good luck!!

 

[Sunny]

I feel your pain also.. I had a 2000 Kia Sportage. The timing belt broke. We couldnt afford to fix that and all the problems that come up when the belt breaks, like engine damage. So I sold it for parts ($300). We rounded up $200 more and bought a running 1984 Subaru GL. She ran perfect when we bought her. Shortly after she started to rev really high all the time. Took it in got that fixed. Now it runs rough and some times doesnt start. And to top it all off, it now has a tranny leak. Now it jerks down the road like I dont know how to drive a stick. So embarrassing.. We have to add tranny fluid once a week to it.. Grrr. Cars. Cant we just go back to horses. At least when it goes lame or dies. You just breed more.