Car trouble....

[Hi Ho]

I haven't been posting much lately, mainly because I've been playing with my new Yamaha 2700 ( ). On the other side of the happy face I've been dealing with a rather major problem involving my car. ( )

It all started a few weeks ago. When I would drive my car, say, 20 miles and stop somewhere. If I tried to start it within 10-20 minutes while it was still hot it would run terribly on 3 cylinders and burn oil like crazy. Water seemed to be getting into the cylinders and I also found that exhaust was getting into the radiator. I decided it had blown a head gasket.

Well, this weekend I decided to try and fix it. It was all going good about an hour into it. I was ready to remove the cylinder head. All but one bolt moved freely. The one that didn't was really stuck. I worked on it for over an hour and didn't get anywhere. The bolt came loose easily but quickly stopped turning and wouldn't budge past a certain point. That is, until it broke. I now have a broken bolt in the engine block and a head gasket that appears to have been perfectly fine. One cylinder is soaked with oil. There is no water in the oil or vise versa. To top it all off, I found that there is about two inches of water inside the car. Appearently it developed a leak just in time for the biggest rain storm we've had here in decades. The car, a 1990 Honda civic with 347,000 original miles and a bad paint job is worth very little.

Now I am seriously considering a new car (Mazda3 Grand Touring). The problem is that I am only 19 and I have no credit. I can afford car payments and insurance but I don't know if I will be able to get any sort of decent interest rate on a car loan. Should I go through the company or a bank? Does anyone have advice for a car buying noob?

 

[MDS]

After 347,000 miles I would suspect the rings to be about shot and that is likely the cause of burning oil. It sounds like you are mechanically inclined. I would drill out the broken head bolt, use a tap and die to re-thread it, and put the thing back together. You could probably get away with it for a little while longer.

Your best bet for financing is a credit union as they tend to have much better rates than a for-profit bank. I would look at another used car. You don't want to pay up for a new car as it is about the worst 'investment' you can ever make. The sweet spot is a car that is already at least 2 years old as someone else has already taken the 25% depreciation hit. You're only 19 and have a whole lot of years ahead of you. I know it's nice to have a cool newer car but it is a financial mistake.

 

[Matt34]

I'd look at getting a rebuilt motor by a reputable company. You can get a rebuilt 1.6L for around $650 and some of them come with a warranty.

 

[Nick250]

Part of the financial part is down payment. The bigger the down payment, the more happy the lender is and the interest rates get lower. Car loans are like a commodities, you should around for the best deal. Most people can get financed, but people with marginal credit pay higher interest rates to off set what the lender see as a greater risk.

Based on your expertise, a Honda or Toyota with a 100k on it may be your best value. But, if you can afford it after your IRA is fully funded each year, and you are adding to your house buying fund, I am the wrong guy to talk you our of buying a cool car.

Nick

 

[highfihoney]

Your best bet for financing is a credit union as they tend to have much better rates than a for-profit bank. I would look at another used car. You don't want to pay up for a new car as it is about the worst 'investment' you can ever make. The sweet spot is a car that is already at least 2 years old as someone else has already taken the 25% depreciation hit. You're only 19 and have a whole lot of years ahead of you. I know it's nice to have a cool newer car but it is a financial mistake.

You just got some seriously sound advice from mds ,buying a car brand new feels great for about a month or two then after eating the payment every month plus loosing about 25% in value it feels like crap

 

[Sheep]

No offense, but that car owes you nothing. That is GREAT mileage for any car. My car (89 Civic Si) just had the head and motor rebuilt at 264000 Killometers, and you're at 360000 miles.

The first place you should have looked was the Distributor. If you're not firing on all cylinders, thats where the problem is.

You can still use that car (unless you want a different one) by doing a motor swap. It's very comon and can be done for pretty cheap. Heck, you can get a teg motor and stick it in for less then a factory replacement.

Personally, I wouldn't go new. It's to much money. My parents lease cars off a lease and it saves us thousands of dollars.

Good luck with you car,

SheepStar

 

[mike c]

damn, im lucky to get 8000 km PER year on my car. my car is a 98 CRV with about 40,000 kilometers on it. (helps to have work and home walking distance)

 

[annunaki]

Nick250 hit the nail on the head. There is much more to life than a cool car. Having one early on is neat, BUT you kick yourself down the road. Invest in a Roth IRA the amount you would spend on monthly payments and insurance. Save a ton of money and Buy a new motor for the car. if that doesn't fit your fancy buy a car that does not cost any more than $3,000. With quality investments at the age of 19, you would be quite surprised at the balance when you are 40 or 45.

 

[jlcct]

I don't know if it still stands true but I was shopping around for a while a couple years back and my mechanic advised me that the resale value on a mazda is about as bad as it gets. If you go the new car route anyways then you should at least consider looking into that.

 

[kleinwl]

There are also on-line offers from banks

Capitalone
Chase auto
etc.

Makes sure you walk into the dealer with a firm offer from another bank and the finance guy will work his tail off to get you a better one. (kick-back!).

Edit: I agree, buy used, 2-3 year old and you will avoid a significant portion of the depreciation. The other issue... buy private party or auction. Dealers make significant profits and offer little in the way of a warrenty. Just get a mechanic to do an inspection before putting money down.

 

[f0am]

Hmm person signs up to post about car insurance... Can we delet that post, I am tempted to say its spam but thats imho.

 

[Hi Ho]

Hmm person signs up to post about car insurance... Can we delet that post, I am tempted to say its spam but thats imho.

I hope that wasn't directed at me because I've been a member for over a year and this thread cetainly isn't spam.

I never really responded to this thread because I sort of forgot about it. On a side note, does anyone have any idea why I don't recieve ANY Audioholics emails in my inbox? I don't get notifications anymore.

Anyway, I fixed my car and I am still driving it. It was the head gasket and it cost me all of $20 to fix. My initial urge to buy a new car has worn off and I am now planning on getting a used car at some point. Thanks to all who responded, even if it appeared that I had fallen off the edge of the planet (in this thread).