08-13-2017, 08:25 PM
But seriously..... there are 2 ways to go about a situation like this. One is to panic and worry like Lee does (<3) every time something doesn't go right, fret all the small details, spend outrageous amounts of money to make sure it's done "perfect" and "right" by a mechanic, or just abandon the car all together and decide to "make a big boy decision" or some similar nonsense justification to spend money new car.
Or...way #2... you can put on your big boy pants and fix it, cheaply. The worst you are out is some JBWeld and Loctite. Doesn't hold up more than 500 miles? Oh well, you are out $10 and 2 hours of your time. If it lasts 500 or 50k miles, those are (almost) free miles you got out of a trash motor. Lasts longer? Great. There is almost no downside to this approach.
Cars are a hell of a lot less fragile than people give them credit for.
I also find it funny that Lee, the money guru, would recommend buying a newer car (a highly depreciating asset) as a strong financial "big boy" decision. Even the Sebring in his example would have needed $7000 to $8000 in repairs over 5 years time to make *purely financial* sense (based of Edmonds 5 year depreciation estimate of $8,970 for a 2016 Hyundai Elantra). I am assuming the Sebring may have been worth $3500 when it started and would probably be worth $2000 when it theoretically could have been sold. There are a hell of a lot of reasons to buy a newer car - not wanting to repair it, you want to feel safe, you like the newer features, personal enjoyment in general... but financially it is still a bad deal.
Or...way #2... you can put on your big boy pants and fix it, cheaply. The worst you are out is some JBWeld and Loctite. Doesn't hold up more than 500 miles? Oh well, you are out $10 and 2 hours of your time. If it lasts 500 or 50k miles, those are (almost) free miles you got out of a trash motor. Lasts longer? Great. There is almost no downside to this approach.
Cars are a hell of a lot less fragile than people give them credit for.
I also find it funny that Lee, the money guru, would recommend buying a newer car (a highly depreciating asset) as a strong financial "big boy" decision. Even the Sebring in his example would have needed $7000 to $8000 in repairs over 5 years time to make *purely financial* sense (based of Edmonds 5 year depreciation estimate of $8,970 for a 2016 Hyundai Elantra). I am assuming the Sebring may have been worth $3500 when it started and would probably be worth $2000 when it theoretically could have been sold. There are a hell of a lot of reasons to buy a newer car - not wanting to repair it, you want to feel safe, you like the newer features, personal enjoyment in general... but financially it is still a bad deal.
Why do people just post what they are thinking? Without thinking.
2012 Ford Mustang
1995 BMW 540i/A
1990 Eagle Talon TSI AWD
2012 Ford Mustang
1995 BMW 540i/A
1990 Eagle Talon TSI AWD