plat

My 97 only has 122k miles on it but I have had to put a lot of money into it to keep it running. Some of you may remember my ongoing issue with ignition coils burning up, which I believe I have finally solved by replacing the alternator. Additionally, with tires, struts, radiator, starter, O2 sensors, and more, I have probably close to 5x in the car.

The issue now is the noisy input shaft bearing (manual trans) which is steadily getting louder and it won't last forever. I have gotten some ballpark estimates around $1500 + parts.


So basically I'm looking at either throwing away almost 5k or dropping another nearly 2k to fix it right. What your thoughts on this? I really just want to drive this car another 100k at least and get my money out of it.

JvG

It takes both time and money to catch up on the previous owners neglect.

Our member CS-AR spends 1500 or more in parts to do what he calls a mid-life refresh. That consists of catching up on maintainence.

Your car has low miles. It could be driven at least 100k more miles.

Sure, your input shafts might have a noise.
You already know that you will need to install a new clutch at some point. Do both at the same time. It's about the same amount of labor.

My whole point is that you could drive your car for 10 more years if you spend a bit more money soon.

that should amortize out to 200 bucks a year for 10 years. (2000$÷ 10 years.

Sure, you could walk away frim your car.

Generally, the devil you know vs the devil you don't know. That car will have issues as well.

The Maxima is known to be a sound design.

Catalysts

KP11520

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What He Said! (JvG)^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Trust me, I know it's annoying and almost constant. But the only way you can minimize all of this is brand new, and that's for about 5 or 6 years if lucky. Then it starts again and you already paid $40K for 5 years reduced repairs.

Or you could pay $20K and buy a 3 year old lease return Q50 AWD and get the best of both worlds. LOL

But for a lot of us, payments are a scary thing!

Shrout1

I have a manual! I love driving it... $1500 is a lot of money, so I get where you're coming from. I think I've spent about $4k on maintenance so far, about to dive in to the front wheel bearings which will add another $500. That's a tough call... IMO these 4th gens are a crap shoot. You might have one that barely needs anything, or you might have one that needs a lot of love. Might be something to do with previous maintenance, old owners or maybe just luck of the draw.

At the end of the day, $1500 is still cheaper than a new car and it sounds like everything else is working. I draw the line at compromised safety systems; my Pontiac Vibe has a compromised pinch weld around the windshield which would be bad news in an accident.

There's no guarantees that it won't cause you more problems down the road, but that's true with most cars. The next one I buy will be a Toyota though I'm going to try and stay out of the salt this time...

MadMax07SL

The car's bluebook is only around $600 to $1000 tradin. In average condition. So the $2000 you're considering is more then twice the value of the car. And being honest, a lot of times with a situation like this you're better off getting $300 for junk then trade, as the dealership will massage the money around to where it's costing you money for them to take it.

In short you're behind the curve. $5k into it, a lot of frustration, and another $2k minimum to keep it afloat. What happens when something else breaks? My advise, junk it. The line in the sand has already been crossed over. you're in hemorrhage-ville for a money pit.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

I'm going to assume, based on your .org join date, that you've owned your car for that long (~ 24 months).

I'll also assume ... not having any real info. ... that ~ 24 months ago you paid ~ $1,000 for the car.

If any/all of this is close to being true, with an additional $2,000 for fixes, you'll have a total of $3,000 into the car.

That calculates to an overall monthly cost to you of $125.

Once you get your car in top shape or into a condition where you're happy with it, are there other vehicles out there that you'd enjoy or appreciate as much or more that'd cost you $125/month?

This cost thing is something that I personally kinda keep a handle on.

At present, with repairs and upgrades, my monthly car payment is equivalent to about $37/month ... there is absolutely nothing out there that could even come close to my Maxima for $37/month ... or $125/month for that matter.

Keep in mind ... any dipsh** earning a paycheck can buy a new car ... it takes somewhat of a special person to keep an old one.

As an owner of 20+ year old car, if you're concerned with value and resale value (i.e. blue book and trade-in), you've got no business owning a 20+ year old car.

JvG

Turbobink understands the concept of amortizing a expenses very well.

Yes, its all about the average yearly and monthy cost of the car.

Car repair expenses decrease once one becomes proficient at doing most of the car repairs themselves.

plat

Thank you so much guys. My plan will be to inspect, or have inspected, everything else on the car and make sure nothing else is going out. Then do the transmission work and have the rear main seal, pilot bearing, throwout bearing, and clutch replaced as well.

JvG, you have been a huge help with my strange issues and called my bad radiator and alternator. Thank you.

Turbobink, you are close with those assumptions, however I paid 1800 initially because the car only had 100k on it and look to be in excellent shape overall. I am sure I have at least 4k in it, and after driving 22k it comes out to $0.20 a mile, and $167 a month over the two years. Really not bad still. The biggest single repair was $900 for replacing the clutch master, because it was urgent and I didn't have the time to do it myself.


I feel strongly about the idea of cars being primarily transportation. It seems like with new and new-ish cars, you are paying more for the flashy status symbol, and the tablet-on-wheels features than transportation, I have no interest in that.

Shrout1

Man I am always so worried about getting rear-ended and the car getting totaled out. Of course, even with my $6k total in the car for approx 4.5 years of ownership I'm still ahead of the game if that happens. I'll just cry, a lot :P

This is also very true! I still can't do a lot of the "big" jobs on my own (going inside the engine or transmission) but everything else I'm pretty good with. That really, really, reduces the cost of ownership. And it pays for all my shiny tools! I love all my tools

PH98I30

I agree with keeping the car. It will go another 100-150K easily if rust is not an issue. I have had my I30 for 7 years now and haven't put $1,000 into it yet. My CV axles are making noise now, so that will be my next fix and I will probably break my $1,000 ceiling. That averages out to $142 a year. A lot less than a car payment.

JvG

Plat, I have replaced the clutch master myself.

The part was 50 bucks.

I did spend far more hours installing it than I thought it would take. I already had the stainless steel line installed before I did it.

in your case, you paid for labor. It's not like you paid 900 dollars for a part, like you might an engine or transmission.

JvG

You might be dealing with a fear and intimidation issue. That's ok. I used to send my cars out for brake work many years ago. I didn't trust myself.

You will be dealing with valve covers, installing a water pump, and removing the upper intake manifold if you drive the car long enough.

All of those tasks could be done by a relative newbe who can watch you tube videos. It just takes a leap of faith in ones ability. Chances of success are high. Not paying 100s of dollars for labor can help build a tool collection.

Shrout1

Yeah taking apart an engine definitely still intimidates me, though I think it would be fun to do. This car is a good candidate for it too, I could put in a new timing chain and replace some other things. At the moment I don't have a proper garage, just a muddy 1 car garage at my apartment complex that floods when it rains :P Hopefully we'll be buying a house in the next year or so! Was sad to leave my 2 car garage in MD when we moved.

A friend helped me pull the engine at the end of 2017 and I had a great time We did the water pump, rear injectors, knock sensor, rear main seal, transmission seals and put in a new clutch. It would have taken me months to do that on my own; with help it was about three full weekends of work. Unfortunately, I left him behind in MD too. I've helped with some big jobs but haven't flown solo on all of them yet.

JvG

The chains in our cars hold up well. The tensioner and chain guides not so much.

Seems that a lot of work got done.

CS_AR

Just need to replace the tensioner and add the TSB gasket on 97-99 models. The 95-96 models, require new guide, tensioner +TSB gasket (e.g. remove the timing cover) change to work during that operation. I've done this on both style engines..

JvG

It takes a certain kind of person to drive and maintain a car which is over 20 years old.

We need to be decent home mechanics.

Mostly a thick skin regarding our friends comments about keeping it going vs selling it.

The model still does the same things as in the 1990s. A decent durable family ride.

As long as one can take care of almost all repairs ones self, the cost of parts isn't too bad. Most parts still available.

I am just quite used to the car I've had for for 13 years now.

I'm not used to infotainment systems. So I don't know how boring my car might be. Lol.

I never thought that I would feel comfortable about going on dozens of long drives in a car from 1996.
One with 220k on it.

It makes economic sense to keep the car around and cared for.