What would you do?

I just took a 6-year old S-car (98 SL2) with 130,000 miles on it into the
Saturn dealership because of noise under the hood and vibration that I
thought might be a problem outside the engine.

Instead, my ulcer was aggravated and I was told the problem was INSIDE
the engine. The service rep told me his "shop foreman" looked at it and
said it was "rod knock."

The service rep laid out my options from his perspective:

1. $3600 for a re-built with 3 yr/36 month part/labor warranty

2. $3000 for a used engine with 46,000 miles and a 6 month parts-only
warranty

3. $3800 to fix the existing engine.

He himself preferred option #1. He had another option of selling me a
new Saturn for the trade-in value of the car, but I told him there was a
possibility of my emigrating from the United States once again in a year
or so, and I wasn't in a position to take payments anyway.

I have added a few options of my own:

4. Find another trusted mechanic to put a re-built in.

5. Cut my losses on a car I have owned a year and 25,000 miles and have
put $6500 into. Get another used car that is not a Saturn and which must
do a 40-mile one-way commute on the interstate reliably and dependably.

6. Set up a cot where I work, and eliminate the commute and the enjoyment
of living.

7. Try to get on welfare and move around on by bus or bicycle.


I beg for the collective wisdom of the group. Thanks for any
suggestions.

 

SMH wrote:

1. Put some engine honey in the oil to quiet down the rod knock.
2. Ask yourself why you put $6500 into a car that isn't even worth that much
3. Drive the car with the thicker oil/engine honey until it breaks--then
do the car donation/tax writeoff thing.
4. Offer the dealer a compromise on a trade in to a newer car.
5. Seek an independant mechanic who specializes in engine replacements.
You can find these "engine town" places in the phone book. We have
one in So Cal. You'll spend a lot less money.

This may be troll bait, but I'll bite. Might I ask what on earth cost
you $6500 to fix on a Saturn?

 

I'd get a second opinion from another mechanic before making any of the
decisions you've listed.
If the second mechanic agrees, I'd go for option 1, the rebuilt with the 3
yr warranty.

 

Option 8, hit up Joey at www.6thplanetusedparts.com and see if he has a used
engine for you in operating condition then have it dropped in. I've heard
him quote engine prices from 150-1200 depending on it's condition.

Charles

 

6a. Get an apartment walking distance to work. Why do you live 40 miles
from work?

What does welfare have to do with riding a bus or bicycle?

8. Sell the Saturn and buy a motorcycle.

 

Not to fix. But the whole ball of wax.

$5500 on purchase from private party
$425 for California's sales tax on cars
And probably another $500 for diagnostic, parts replacements, standard
M&R.

In return I got 22,000 miles in 12 and 1/2 months. Not always stress-
free use days either, mind you.

I just got the word from my wife she wants me not put another dollar into
the car. It would be putting a good---or Saturn----engine into a flaky
transmission and transmission cooling system.

What can I get selling a repair job to someone? With its mileage, its
book probably says its $3500 probably. But with an engine that you do
not know when it will rattle out, and I don't want to be stuck in the
middle of nowhere when it does. $1500? $2000 if I am lucky? The auto
has the cleanest interior (and leather) you've ever seen----I believe a
car is transport device, not a garbage can----but what counts is whether
it will reliably perform for you. Anyway, I figure my total cost of
ownership for the year I had it will be more than $4000, and probably
more. For a 1.9L 4-cylinder that gets 35 mpg highway....got 35 mpg
highway.

It's hard to blame it on poor Saturn engineering design, because I could
have been buying someone's abuse and mis-use.

However, I note that the average Saturn does not keep its re-sale value
very well compared to the average name-a-quality-automobile, and that
itself speaks volumes.

 

You probably don't meet too many people with complicated financial
situations. Well, glad to meet ya.

I really only need the car for the 40-mile one-way commute. I get rid of
the job and let the public support me.

The drivers in California are using the interstate like a racetrack since I
returned from living abroad (emigrated from U.S. in 1993). I don't trust
them that much with my life, no matter how miserable it is now.

 

If you don't want to keep the car it sounds like the best bet is to take
the dealers offer of a good trade in price. You won't get anywhere near
that return from putting a rebuilt engine in and then trying to sell it
and you'll get next to nothing with a bad engine. Of course you'll still
have a Saturn but you'll get to be one breaking it in. My theory is that
no car is as bad or as good as its reputation, it mostly depends on how
you take care of it. Drive with low oil and you could end with rod knock
on a new Toyota.

Mitch

 

?????? I know a lot of people 'with complicated financial situations'. Do
you always have trouble answering simple questions? You were the one who
suggested eliminating the commute and I offered a reasonable way to achieve
that.

Into the killfile you go...

 

Maybe because an apartment walking distance from work would cost more than a
house note 40 miles away.

In my case, I live 36 miles from work. I don't have any idea what an
apartment would cost just outside of downtown Houston, because I wouldn't
have wanted to raise a family 1) in an apartment or 2) in Houston, so I've
never checked. We looked at houses in Katy, only 20 miles from where I
work. There are some really nice homes for good prices there, but the drive
would have taken longer, stop-and-go all the way.

There were additional reasons we chose to stay in Baytown when we bought
another house, but the point is that there are perfectly good reasons that
people choose to live where they do.

Commuting costs me about $60/month for gasoline, and the Saturn I've had
since February has required zero repairs. (99 SL1, had 48,000 miles when I
got it for $5800, now has 62,000). Pretty economical if you ask me, and I
don't mind the 45-50 minute drive at all. (When else do I get the chance to
listen to music?) Previously I had an '85 Corvette, half the gas mileage,
and 259,000 miles when I sold it. I sold it because I was spending too much
on maintenance, but I sure do miss it, especially in October when nearly
every day is great for taking the roof out. The Saturn is the first car
I've ever owned that's "just a car." I neither love it nor hate it. In fact,
I neither like nor dislike it. When my parent loans are paid off in about 10
years, I'll get another Corvette, although your motorcycle suggestion seems
like a great one!

-Alan

 

You are WAY overreacting to my remark.

At any rate, someone else responded to your question in more detail, and
that is that only a very few people can have what they want in life.
Perhaps to live near where they work, or vice-versa.

I know some people here where I live who commute from Sacramento to San
Francisco by car, and you're talking about a 90 minute one-way commute
when there is no one else on the road. And since we're talking about
Interstate 80, we are certainly NOT talking about a road that no one is
on, but one in which EVERYONE is on.

In fact, Sacramento is starting to have all the ugliness of Los Angeles
traffic without any of the charms of southern California.

And for God's sake, quit being so sensitive!

 

Shhh.... probably on welfare. Don't let on I said this.