When It’s Time To Say Goodbye

[EricTheCarGuy]

You can thank College man for bringing this topic up. It was his suggestion that spawned this video and discussion. So what are your thoughts on when it’s time to say goodbye?

Topic

[Jeff Telford]

I am the original owner of a 2005 GMC Sierra purchased with 44 miles on the odometer. I currently have over 262k, this was my first new vehicle purchase and it was all mine. Sadly I lost my transmission at 120k. That alone was a hard day, here I had this beautiful truck and facing a $3000 repair bill. I briefly kicked around the idea of trading it in and starting all over…. Then I remembered how much the payments sucked and since it was paid for I chose for the repair. I am a true believer in pride of ownership and love this truck dearly. Thanks to you Eric I have the gumption to make repairs I never dreamed were possible. At 250k I opted to replace my entire front suspension including my rack & pinion to save my investment on tires I ran into an issue with severe feathering linked to worn out joints. Hopefully my truck will hold together for many more years but I dread the day when I will have to put her out to pasture. Thank you for everything you do, because of what you teach I have gained the knowledge to make repairs and on the things I lack the skill of or special tools I’ve also learned how to be a great customer and let the professional technicians do their jobs to get me back on the road.

[dan]

i know this very well… when to say goodby, this is the reason why i am not driving a 1998 Buick Regal LS 25th anniversary, and i am driving a 2008 pontiac grand prix.

my first car if i have already not told this story, was a 2000 Buick Century Custom in which i had effectionatly named it “Sweetheart.” the car was the first car i drove legally on the road with my license, the first car i braved a storm in, the first car i drove on the freeway in, the first car i did the lower intake manifold gasket on for the 3100, the car i took my drivers test in, and… it was the first car i got into a accedent with… and that is where her life was over. it was a choice i had to make because she was totaled… but i loved that car to death but she was hit in the side buy a SUV and her tire was shoved into her fender, broke something bad enough to where the tire would bunch up into the fender when i would try to drive it, TOAST…. and i admitedly literally cried of the loss of that car.

then Sweetheart 2, yes it was a 1998 Buick Regal LS 25th aneversery with 197,000 miles in it when i got it, and i brought it over the clock of 200,000 miles, it saw 2 engines, after the second engine because it sat in a junkyard with 220,000 miles on it for several months with old dirty oil in it was junk… after that and having a substantial amount of money i made the decision because of the amount of repairs including body work, engine, transmission, rust, alighnent, break rotors… on and on and on… that i would just get a new car and today i drive the Grand Prix…

[Robert]

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=116778]You can thank College man for bringing this topic up. It was his suggestion that spawned this video and discussion. So what are your thoughts on when it’s time to say goodbye?[/quote]

I would be interested in your thoughts on a couple of items not mentioned in the “when to let go” video.

First, parts availability. I have been operating under the assumption that manufacturers make parts for their vehicles for 15 years from launch. Is that true and a factor in deciding when to let go?

Second, general wear and tear. If a brand new vehicle has been maintained according the factory service manual is there a period of time (hours of operation) or miles that signal the overall wear out of the vehicle? Say 200,000 miles assuming rust is not an issue (I am thinking engine/transmission wear which are the most expensive components to replace/rebuild)?

[Erin]

Several factors come into play for any one situation. Like my 94 grand prix – it caused me nothing but grief. The day I saw the rear bumper moving away from my house after someone bought it, I was like, “Thank GOD that pile of crap is gone!”

But for not wanting to let go – My other car is a 99 cougar with transmission problems. That is the only real problem it has other than some paint damage (comparable to Eric’s Vigor). THAT will be hard to let go, I am just not ready and may even “get around to” fixing it. Here is why –
First, it was my “new car” after I ditched the POS grand prix in October 2012. I was pretty broke at the time and my mom helped me buy it. Well, she passed on June 2013. So there is a sentimental attachment. Plus, I had the car during a time when a friend helped me break a four year “dry spell” in my love life.

The car I miss above all is my 1981 dodge aries. Had it during high school, during my time in the army, when I got married, and made a few trips between Indiana and Colorado. If that car still existed (not sure where it is now) I would buy it and do whatever was needed to get it running.

In some cases, a car is but an appliance but other times, it becomes part of your life. Almost like a member of the family. My prediction with the Acura is when it finally craps out too badly, I will let it go with indifference.

[quote=”RCS1300″ post=120368][quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=116778]
First, parts availability. I have been operating under the assumption that manufacturers make parts for their vehicles for 15 years from launch. Is that true and a factor in deciding when to let go?
[/quote]

YOu can always find parts at a junk yard cause 15 years after the fact, a model starts to pile up there. Unless it is a 97 acura CL. I don’t see those hardly ever in junk yards or even on the road. Finding a fuel filler neck has proved futile, even though it badly needs one.

[Andrew]

Saying goodbye to my reliable old Chevy S10 pickup was tough. I put in hours of sweat blood and tears into that thing. It was the first vehicle I bought on my own, and I had it through some rough times and plenty of good ones too. I babied the thing with religious maintenance and quality parts and in turn it never left me stranded. I drove that truck all over the western US. Last month a wind storm brought down a tree onto the hood. The damage wasn’t too bad; needed a new hood, fender, grill, and passenger side headlight, but nothing effecting driveability was damaged. My insurance company decided it was totaled and gave me a check for $6000, not bad considering I paid $5500 for it! I thought about buying it back from them and throwing some junkyard body panels on it for a couple hundred bucks and pocketing the difference. But then I considered that I’d have to do the work in an apartment parking lot in the cold Oregon rain right in the middle of the end of the school term. Also it was in need of shocks, a new exhaust, and the frame rust was getting difficult to keep under control. I’d been thinking about selling it but never actually did, it was just unfortunate that things happened the way they did. I figured I’d let her go and get a different vehicle–I kind of resent the car I bought–it isn’t a bad car at all, but it isn’t a truck. I’ve been looking around at other trucks and may just end up getting another one and ditching the Cavalier.
I looked up the vin number of my truck and found the auction house it’s being sold at at the end of the month…

[Rich Bayer]

I had my 2000 Camaro From january 2002 to May 2013 and the day I sold it was surreal but the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. I got it with 17k on the clock and for around $22k. was a GM Buyback and it had a Borla adjustable exhaust. I went into the USAF (AD) a month later but I left the car at my parent’s when I was stationed in Germany for two years. I drove it from CT to NM when I PCS’d there from Germany. It had 68k on it when I sold it. I had a lot of firsts with that car and I was a mess for the next couple days afterword. Yeah it was my baby and I cried like a little girl with a skinned knee after word. Sitting next to a pile of cash wasn’t helping that pain. I had a ton of money just in mods into it. It was easily a $60k car. My first V8, my first 6 speed. My first T Top car. My first newer car that I paid off, the most expensive car that I ever paid off.. My first cross country road trip. It was just such a sense of freedom and when I went out on my own and had my own high HP muscle car. It was such a dream.

I had a lot of firsts with that car and it really meant a lot to me. but it was rotting away sitting outside when I accepted this job. (I was discharged in 2008 and had to move back home till I got back on my feet) Anyway.. i no longer had a garage (or house) All those mods were wearing out and needed to be replaced.. Dual gold valve springs, needed the truck coil conversion, new tires (again) the wheels were going to s**t and needed to be replaced… The fuel lines had a two year shelf life… And I sunk another $1100 into the springs and shocks just before I sold it. (Koni and BMR) There wasn’t much on that car that was stock and little did I know, but I had built a race car and that stuff costs money to maintain. $1200 clutch, $3800 transmission, $1600 intake setup, $2500 to replace the exhaust (again.) Yeah that stuff wasn’t cheap… Was all deployment money and I was young. I don’t regret it. I stripped the entire interior out three times and re-did the sound deadening.

So now I’m pretty gun shy about sinking that much money into a car again, but I plan on getting a C5 ZO6 to replace my love once I get a house here in the next two years.. I’m back on my feet and going to slowly rebuild what I lost… but I have, in a way, come back stronger.. I just miss that car.. 🙁 Was the best car to have in the desert where you have nothing but room to use every one of the 508hp under the hood.

437/421 at the wheels.. yeah it was pretty sick.. 🙁 I don’t know where it is now or even if it’s still on the road. Some rich kid from Maine bought it sight unseen, cash in hand.

[Andrew]

Well hopefully it’s being taken care of and not driven on the salty Maine roads! And hopefully he hasn’t molested it by putting dumb ricer stickers and crap on it.

[Rich Bayer]

I hope not.. I’m to afraid to look it up. I did once and didn’t find anything on the forums or even through google..

[Dave]

I think there is something missing from this discussion that I think is important, and that is what it would cost to get something better compared to getting what you have fixed. I drive an old POS 98 Jimmy with 180K that I absolutely love, and honestly I know I’ve spent in the last year and a half or so well over the value of the vehicle in repairs. I admit I’m very sentimental about the car, but the reason I did this was that to get something comparable to what I have that is new enough or low mileage enough that I can be reasonably assured of its quality would be prohibitively expensive. I got my current vehicle from a friend so while some aspects of its maintenance were neglected, I feel that I know generally what to expect going forward. If I get something relatively cheap, I might just be buying somebody else problems. It comes down to the devil you know, versus the devil ya don’t know.

[Eric Sarjeant]

I think one important consideration missing from this discussion is electrical problems. If your vehicle has an intermittent electrical issue as a result of grounding or bad wiring or a design defect, it could take significant time to diagnose and you may end up spending thousands of dollars.

As an example, I had a car that was only about 10 years old but had an issue with intermittent brake lights. Brake lights would turn on while driving and sometimes turn off when braking. There were other minor electrical problems, but obviously the brakes were a safety issue and after spending money to attempt the repair three times with different technicians (including a dealer) it left me without many options. Mechanically the car was fine, it only had around 120k miles on it and I really wanted another 5+ years out of it.

Not an option IMHO.

Following a trade-in on the vehicle, about a year later the manufacturer issued a recall and admitted that there was a defect in the engineering of the braking system. I guess if I had waited another year it would have been possible to finally get this thing fixed, but was that worth risking my safety on the road where other drivers never knew if I was braking or not braking?

[Author]

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