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I have my own Fixing it Forward project, which may turn into a “Replacing it Forward” with the help of a yet-to-be-determined charitable organization.
An old friend of mine is a Vietnam Veteran (age 67), with no family, no friends outside of me, no job, severe anxiety and depression, and worst of all, a recent diagnosis of Bladder Cancer that has spread to lower lymph nodes. It is questionable at best if he will ever be able to piss normally again. They may have to remove his bladder and convert part of his intestines into a new bladder. He has about $20K in the bank and his Social Security payments (just now starting) will be about $1,400/month. That’s a good chunk of change in many parts of the country, but we live in Southern California where his apartment rent is $1150/month, not including utilities.
He needs reliable transportation to get between his apartment and the VA Hospital (44 miles round-trip) and his 2000 Chevy S10 truck 4.0L has a bunch of problems:
– ABS module is bad. Common problem, I can get it repaired for $45 — no big deal.
– He used tap water to dilute coolant so the radiator is full of scale deposits and needs replacing. Not the end of the world.
– In 2012, a noise began to appear from the rear of the truck at speed. What I heard sounded like multiple problems at once. His tires were shot, so I recommended he replace those to start with. I said it could also be a wheel bearing, or maybe a transmission/drivetrain problem, but the tire noise was so overbearing that it was hard to determine. This is where his mental illness severely clouded his judgment. He impulsively drove to the nearest tire store and said his transmission was bad in addition to needing new tires. They charged him $3,000 without fixing the problem. His anxiety was so debilitating that he never went back to fight them over the botched repair. It was money flushed down the toilet. With new tires, I can now hear the noise much clearer and I think it’s coming from the differential. It sounds like worn gears mating and the noise increases with speed.
The other night, I looked underneath and found the differential leaking, a leak that didn’t exist when the noise first appeared in 2012. I suppose this is part of the botched repair.
My feeling is that it’s time to say goodbye to this truck unless you guys talk me out of it. As it is, I’ve spent 175 hours helping him out since late-December with ER visits and doctor’s appointments and I need to shift my efforts to finding him a cheaper place to live. The ideal scenario would be a vehicle swap with a charitable organization. He donates his truck — for someone else to repair — and receives a solid Honda or Toyota in return, for little to no money, if possible. Keep in mind the $20K in the bank and a Social Security check that won’t cover his monthly expenses.
This is really stressful for me because I don’t want him to end up with a vehicle in worse condition than what he already has. If you know of good charities to work with, I welcome those suggestions as well.
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Replacing the truck will be it. The estimate to fix the rear differential is another $1150. Not worth sinking more money into this thing.
Unless I can find a local charity to help out, the budget is going to be around $3,000 for a different car. I think the best bet is one of the following. Which would you choose and why? How high in mileage would you go? Should we avoid any particular years?
Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Toyota Corolla
Toyota CamryWhy not just replace the differential with a complete used unit from the salvage? Around here those can be had for 125 bucks and they’re easy to swap out..
The fact that a Honda or Toyota has an infallible label attached to it doesn’t necessarily make it so. They break just like everything else and have their own sets of problems. There’s also a big demand for them which drives the price up and the odds of finding a decent Honda or Toyota for 3k are not very good at all.He should also (if at all possible) consider relocating to another part of the country where the cost of living is cheaper. Here in Oklahoma you can rent an almost new 3 BR home for 11 or 1200 hundred a month or buy a decent house for 50 or less. A nice apartment here is 500 bucks with some utilities included. A number of people who served in the Air Force at the base here returned here to live out their retirement just because of the cost of living.
A friend of mine relocated from Southern California some years ago to NE Oregon. The cost of living there is far cheaper than SC. He is retired with health issues also.Anyway, congratulations to him for his service. I’m the same age and was rejected for military duty back then because of some physical problems but I’m a big supporter of the guys who were hung out to dry over there and sincere best wishes that his health will improve; at least somewhat.
Going through a number of issues myself right now.
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