Time to give it up?

[Jeff]

When do you decide a vehicle has given you too much trouble? Most of us have had a daily car or a project car that has just caused too much trouble and needed to be put out to pasture. On my way to Hyperfest my clutch blew up in the minivan. It had been chattering in reverse since I put it all together and the clutch was USED. I guess my question is this. This most recent failure seems like my fault, not the car's, so does this qualify as the "straw that broke the camel's back"?

It has had two automatic transmissions, I removed the first one 3 times before replacing it. So I have pulled the transmission 5 times now, one more makes it 6. All this and I have not owned it a year yet. All of the electrical problems and suspension/driveline ills are gone now, as far as wheel bearings and such. 2 of the 3 times I pulled the first tranny were because I f'ed something up...to be honest. So really I have only pulled it 2 times due to actual tranny failure assuming this last time is because a faulty clutch was used.


For the record, my estimated total expenses so far (really rough)
Initial - $500
Towing (total over all the times) - $200
Flexplate/parts for automatics (seals, fluid, etc.) - $100
Manual conversion - $200
Wheel bearing - $75
Suspension/brakes - $150
Axles - $75
Radiator - $100
A/C - $100
Motor mounts - $75
Head set - $80
Clutch - $100

Performance/Modifications <- thatÔÇÖs a cheap 50hp really...
Exhaust - $80
Intercooler - $85
MBC - $20

So, the rough total spent on it for as long as I have had it....$1940, so $2000. When I sit back and look at it like that it really sucks. Now I guess I should only look at the things that were REQUIRED to make it run. That cuts it down to about $1400, or there abouts. More than anything I have learned a lot from this car. I have misdiagnosed quite a few things and done a lot of work that wasnÔÇÖt needed. Those things, and about $600 spent so far, were not the car's fault. I have learned a lot from all this and I am a better mechanic for it, so I owe this vehicle a certain amount of respect.

All this having been said I need to decide if enough is enough or if I should give the old girl one more chance. I could fix it and sell it as it is, I could likely get $1250-1500 for it if I found the right buyer. With paint and a new headliner I would have no problem asking $2000obo. That could make an ok down payment. My boy Dusty wants to sell his SRT-4 and I am first in line for it if I want it and can swing the payments. Its and 05 with lots of mods, most of which are MOPAR. It has all the stage II stuff, STS, HUGE aftermarket FMIC, AEM intake, exhaust, and much more. Ill post once I know more about how much he wants, miles, and such on Monday. The only problems with it are it has been hit once in the back and had a quarter panel replaced, then that panel was hit again and needed to be repaired. Also, it needs tires (but I would be doing wider anyway). I dont want to look at this as van vs. SRT4 because that is not a fair comparison. I need to look at this as what each brings to the table, where the Daytona falls in all of this, and where my money is better invested. It looks like the van should be good to go after this HD clutch is installedbut you never know with an old car. Anyway, Ill post more about the SRT once I know, price should be around $12k.