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What to do when your 'tour costs more to fix than it's worth?

M

mynewmystique

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Jan 21, 2006
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city by the lake
Sort of a continuation of this thread ( http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=4931 )

Got the call from the shop today. Valves are bent. To remove heads and fix everything he needs to, including tensioner and timing belt... $1,800.

Not putting $2k into a ride with 140k when something else like this could happen a week from now.

May donate for a tax write off of $1,000 (actual savings dependent on what tax bracket I will be in, but probably around $350). No idea what I could get for it for parts.

P.S. - my signature was a self fullfilling prophecy :(
 
mynewmystique said:
...Got the call from the shop today. Valves are bent. ...
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Must be one of the few to get into that position.

FWIW, I spent $2200 this year on maintenance and repairs. Edmunds list my car at $1700. Next year, I have rear springs and shocks, a pair of tires, maybe all three cats, (looks like it will be at least $3 to 4K). I do know the rest of my car has been maintained well.

You gotta do what you gotta do. Good luck.
 
mynewmystique said:
How many hours would you say it would take to do that job? Both getting it out of the junkyard car, putting it into mine, as well as doing the tensioner/timing belt?
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Putting on a head isnt that terribly difficult. If the mechanic is pulling the timing belt, basically taking off the head and replacing it is about another... 30-40 minutes of work, because the timing belt is removed, there isnt anything holding down the head but the bolts. Take the bolts out, slide the head off, put a new head gasket on, slide the new head in place, replace camshafts, new timing belt.

A head can be had at a junk yard for no more then $100. If you are lucky you can find one with low mileage too. Just make sure its the same year as yours, and since you have a 98, you HAVE to get a 98 head up until build date 3/23/99 Because the engine design changed a little bit.
 
many times the junk yard will pull the head for you. By getting a head the same as yours there is minimal problems with change out. Remember most cars are in the j-yard due to a wreck so all that stuff was working up to the time of impact. The head swap could be even easier if it comes w/ cams and valves in place. Then throw in maybe one with lower miles and you got a real deal. The mechanic will probably come up with all these reasons to send it out and rebuild it, bla$$, bla$$, bla$$..... Just clean it up your self check for warpage and install it.... depending on your mechanical abilities. There are lots of options perhaps the last would be to park it in the yard and turn it into a planter :laugh:

Merry Christmas
 
Some salvage yards do the repair too. I find car utility value is greater than car resale value on any car I have, so I fix and keep on rolling..
 
Yeah, definately think about it in terms of "cost to replace" rather than "what its worth". Makes you feel better about dropping money into it.
 
i have baught many cars from pepole like you. being good with a set of tools finding cars that need a timing belt, head, cats, or light body work for cheep is e-z. go to a junk yard spend $100 or 2. then sell for 1500. If you think it is a good car other then at the moment put the money into it (how good of a car can you get for 2k is it going to be any better)
 
I dont think there is any car out there that hasnt had more money put into it than its worth. Its part of the demon of what cars are - money pits. So your going to give your car away to spend a couple grand on a new car, just to have to go through all the song and dance you likely did with your current ride. Your really likely better off to fix whats wrong with it. Like it was stated you could find a new junkyard head or if the engine is crapped out slap in a whole other engine.
I know for me, Ill be fixing up my styque till it either gets smashed up in an accident (knock on wood) or it rots out so bad Im forced to get a new ride.
 
You say your valves are bent? Hmmmm. From what I've read the 2.0 is a non-interference engine. That is to say that if your valve timing gets off (as in a broken or jumped timing belt) the engine will just quit running without any valves hitting pistons activity. Perhaps you can just have the belt replaced and be good to go. Look at the timing belt idler pullies too.
 
For me, it depended on a few things: Actual reliability of the car, and perceived reliability of the car. I had put $4K into my Contour (list)in 2005 between repairs and maintenance, but I got rid of it because I had some niggling undiagnosed problems and was starting to feel the transmission go (which made me afraid to drive it long distances). What you fear happened to me: five months from a $1600 repair I had another $1300 repair. At that rate with the perceived future problems it was cheaper for me to take an early college graduation present combined with a bank loan to get my current car.

IF your car has been reliable and you love it still, then it's well worth it to put the money in.
 
wip said:
You say your valves are bent? Hmmmm. From what I've read the 2.0 is a non-interference engine. That is to say that if your valve timing gets off (as in a broken or jumped timing belt) the engine will just quit running without any valves hitting pistons activity. Perhaps you can just have the belt replaced and be good to go. Look at the timing belt idler pullies too.
Click to expand...

Although it is a non-interference engine, in rare cases valve damage has been reported.

Although it also is possible the mechanic is trying to stiff him.
 
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