Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Save or sell?

Long post, but probably amusing:

I've got an CSVT, 98, E0, with 63'000 miles on it. It currently has a persistent dry start condition, a few of the accessories don't work, some mucked up bushings, the engine sounds weird around 2.5 - 3 rpm, the ac condensor is damaged and the front bumper cover is destroyed. It stalls randomly after a long drive, and when I turn on all the lights and the heater, it thinks it's overheating. Estimate on the front bumper alone, for new cover, paint and labor, etc. $992.

On the bright side: It does have a new alternator, egr, iac, dpfe, ABS system, right wheel bearing, rear bumper, quarter panel, three new rims, and a whole new rear suspension.

My question is: Should I try to go through and fix everything else, or cut my losses and sell it for as much as I can?

I'm thinking of the car as a time bomb, I've replaced everything else, how much longer will the tranny and engine survive even moderate driving?

if you seriously think there is something wrong with the car and its going to bomb, id sell it. But you gotta tell the person buying why your selling its (otherwise your a douche)

...i'd say cut your loses..dont part it out..sell it to someone who has the time and patience to bring it back...and for cheap...sounds like i'm your guy...

It sounds like you put alot of money into it recently, I would say go the distance and have it fixed, but hold off on cosmetic damage if possible.

If you're honest when selling you'll get less money, that coupled with purchasing a replacement means it may make more sense to put a couple grand into it and get it dependable...

how much you looking at getting for it?

I PMed those of you who asked for the price, I'm not sure if I'm publicly allowed to post that. Personally, I really don't want to give it up, because it is such a rare car. I love my car, I just can't deal with her maintenance right now.

However, if I were to go about fixing things up, should I keep repairing the svt engine, or should I put in a 3.0, keep the svt heads and do the tranny upgrades? Someone told me the 2.5 is a lot more valuable, do you think it is it worth rebuilding in the event that it does have major problems?


Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it.


-Alex

I might be interested depending on location and price.

If you can afford to keep it I would. Just work on it little by little. I personally would like to keept the 2.5L and restore the car to showroom quality. But if you are looking to enhance the car I would drop the 3.0L

I battle with this daily. I mean, when you think about it, if you just cut your losses and sell it, you'll be paying more for another car, possibly a LOT more if you get something newer. So it'll never pan out financially. Ex: I'ld love to ditch the tour for a new Civic Si sedan (Autoweek just reported that it's coming!). So I sell the tour (which has many of the same probs as yours) for what, like $2,000 max? And then I buy a new car for $20,000? Or do I just put another $1,000 to keep her running and drive off into the sunset until she totally konks out.

Head=put money in her, keep her running.
Heart=sell, get something new and exciting.