OT: Car Talk and needing wisdom droped into my life on a choice i need to make t

If you start hash tagging words on a regular basis I'm going to kick you in the nuts next time I see you.

First off, what maintenance needs done and how much will it cost? I'm guessing new brakes, tires, etc?

List what needs done to get your existing car in top running shape then we can go from there.

List what maintenance and what repairs need to be done.

I don't consider "maintenance" to me a repair, per se. I also would not get rid of a car (or very unlikely I would) for needing just "maintenance." Do you also need the timing belt replaced? Are you able to do your own repairs and maintenance? I do just because I don't have a ready way to increase billable hours, so it makes sense for me to save $$ by wrenching myself (I wish that wasn't the case).

Brakes, tires, fixing why the dash board lights go off and on, fix why if I cut my car off and don't give it thirty min it has a hard time starting back up and aliment I'm sure.

Shailynn it would be a honor to have you kick me in my nuts....but just_the_nuts doh lol

Got about 200,000 miles on her

^^^ exactly.

I just took one of my cars in for annual maintenance and the service manager tried to get me to change my breaks and 2 front rotors for $2,400. I know that car will need brakes in the next 6-12 months, and prowbly front rotors too. I declined and laughed leaving the stealership. Went home and looked up all the parts, replace all 4 rotors and new brakes, $450 in parts and a $100 to a friend to help me, yeah I think I'll just do it myself.

Makes me regret not being a grease monkey. I can do simple jobs like a brake and rotor change but nothing too complex. Wish I knew how to do the complex jobs.

I'm a car retard

I saw your car, so I'm guessing new tires and an alignment should be under $400. Don't buy junk tires just because they are cheap. Check your tire size (on the sides of your tires) and go to tirerack.com to read reviews on the best tires for your specific size.

Take your car to advance auto / auto zone and have them run a scan on it - the dash lights could be as simple as replacing a fuse.

The hard start, maybe the car just needs new spark plugs or one of the plus isn't firing. The diagnostic at advance auto may reveal this issue as well.

Lastly ask around at work if anyone knows someone that can work on cars.

I have a guy that has a full time job but likes to play with cars on the side (an ex mechanic) he does some of my maintenance and repairs when I'm too busy for them and charges me a fraction of what a garage would. There's a lot of guys out there like that, so they aren't easy to find. If you find one, always tip him after he does work for you, and when you call him down the road for another repair, he'll probably remember your generosity and get your job done quicker.

I really dislike going to shops because of past bad situations and feeling really ripped off....I almost feel like I would save myself the hassle and money just buy trading in every year

Thanks for at least considering to answer my question guys

I do a lot of driving between work, casino and strip clubs out of state...kinda makes me feel it would be better to trade in every year and have a constant $5 k to pay off lol

Hell yeah thanks shailynn...I will do those things soon and see if it's cheap...I'm hopping for the $500 and under fix but I would do a $1k if it made it solid for another year or two

I got a cousin that works on Subaru only ...I usually drive those just because of that but some times I adventure off to something different...I will ask him if he can give a reference to some one he might trust....I also could check with a few tecks at work to see if they tinker with cars on the side

Damn good advice

Question, Juice. Have you test driven a Rolls lately. The payments are amazingly affordable.

Vince trying to get me to be fancy lol

Juice I would consider trying to buy a low mileage used car, if you have reasonable credit maybe a program car from a new car dealer, or one of the national car rental sales places or even Car Max. Be sure to buy one with a warrantee, and if you can, get the first few services free and pay it off over 2-3 years. It will be more dependable than those high mileage bombs you buy at the local used car rip off place and if you buy one with less mileage it should last longer than the payments, that will give you a chance to get your finances back on track for the longer term. If you aren't too picky you could find a decent used car for under 10 grand hopefully $500-$1000. should work as the down payment $9000. financed over 3 years shouldn't come to more than 290. payment per month assuming a 5% credit rate if you can negotiate smart you might get a better interest rate and reduce your payment substantially. Hope this gives you some guidance.

Also I have seen some lease programs where a new car might be available for around $250. per month but there will be a lot of mileage and other restrictions I personally do not like the leases after you finish up you are back to square one.

I need new tires for my Jeep so that's $1K but I wouldn't trade it because of that. That's just normal maintenance. Like some others have said go to the auto parts stores and have them hook their computers up to see what errors they come up with. That way you can decide what needs to be fixed and research online to see if it's something you feel comfortable doing and what it'll cost. If your looking for a good used car just get you an older hard top wrangler. Easy to work on and last forever and you can usually find them for around the $5K or lower range.

When my car needs tires I just buy a new car. New cars come with new tires so it's easier that way.

The DS wants me to give her my old car that needs new tires. Don't worry I said no. So now she wants to "buy" it. But she doesnt have the cash. What else could she possibly offer?

Did john Smith just crack on me or was that how he really rolls ?

I ball like JS on the small level lol

New tires shit $5k new car

Js need tires shit $50k new car lol

Twenty-five Seaborn Desert

Thank you guys for a solid advice to my situation..I will look into these options

Don't forget to hire a stripper for your mechanic. He'll be so grateful, he'll work for even less.

Lol

Uh oh - JS is gonna buy the DS a car, next a house - I told you guys he's gonna marry her!

Juice, most people of modest means do not pay full service garages to repair or maintain their cars. Most people either know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody or they barter labor. Or like desertscrub said, sometimes the parts guy will offer to do it. I've had similar offers at the dealer when I've bought parts from the dealer (where the service tech will do it cheaply under the table!!).

Another option is to ask people behind the parts counter at the auto parts store or at the tire store, "where do you take your car to get serviced." Often they can lead you in on a geek shop that does good work but charges very low prices. Or you could check craigslist.

If you want to be in constant-payment-land with reliable wheels, you might consider something a little more $$ like a used Toyota Corolla (or some Scion) and get the newest one you can afford. You will get lots of utility out of that for the $$ into it. I don't know how much you want to spend on this though.

But back to JS69 comment, there are lots of people that do just that. They buy a car then sell it before the first major maintenance interval (tires, brakes, battery, etc). A car is basically just an appliance or a conveyance to many people. So they want it with as little hassle as possible. Nothing wrong with that. It's expensive over time (IMO) but still valid.