Car is "falling apart", can I save it?

[Blue636]

My in-laws have an '88 Acura Legend and it's virtually falling apart. Well, we did get new shocks and tires on it and a new water pump. There seems to be many hoses and seals that are about to go if not already needing replacement. When I was driving this car, I didn't know much about maintenance at all so whenever it was taken into the mechanic for repairs and maintenance I didn't know what was going on. I did change the oil every 5k at least and it still drove fine until they put it to rest out in the parking lot. The battery is out and that's probably the only reason it's not running. Oh, it used to have a problem with goofy idling.

Is this car worth saving? Or she we just get rid of it?

 

[JohnnyO]

Depends if you could buy a new(er) car with what you'd spend to save the Acura...in which case you'd still have a 16 year-old car with something else waiting to break just around the corner. Then balance that with your cash flow to pay for a new car. Remember, it's not the sticker price, it only costs what you pay each month.

Couple times I figured I saved money by buying a new car. My formula: [Current payment + repairs for stuff that keeps breaking] > or = [New car payment] +/- [Value of new car smell].

 

[Schmoe]

Just depends if it's worth it to you. If you can't afford a new one, but have a little money to invest in it, then yeah. Acura's are basically a Honda with a face lift. There are 1000's of Honda's older than 88 that are still running fine. A lot of repair odds and ends, you can do yourself like change hoses, belts, light bulbs, etc. etc. and save yourself even mo' money. Anything can be fixed, just depends on how much you want to spend and what you can live with. Like on my '90 Olds. Runs like a SOB and is mechanically fine, but the headliner is falling, interior LED lights are starting to go out like inside the radio and dash, molding is coming loose in spots, but I just taught myself to live with it and think of all the money I'm saving. (I have a 85 mile roundtrip commute to work 5 days a week, so it wouldn't be worth it to me to get something new because of all the mileage I'd put on it)

[ March 26, 2004, 01:42 PM: Message edited by: Schmoe ]

 

[Blue636]

Oh, I have a brand new car (well not brand new). It's a 2003 Toyota Matrix that I own. It's just that my father-in-law hates parting with his cars (though he's a millionaire, believe it or not). For some reason he still drives his '86 Acura Integra. Well, he did just buy 80 acres of land in N. California. At any rate, he'd be very happy with me if I were able to save this car. I'm more than confident he'd even pay for whatever was necessary without a problem.

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

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Originally posted by Blue636:
It's just that my father-in-law hates parting with his cars (though he's a millionaire, believe it or not). For some reason he still drives his '86 Acura Integra.

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And that's why he's a millionaire.

My dad is a financial planner and has a saying, "Rich folks didn't get that way by spending it."

There does come a point when you're throwing good money after bad though.

 

[Blue636]

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnnyO:

quote:

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Originally posted by Blue636:
It's just that my father-in-law hates parting with his cars (though he's a millionaire, believe it or not). For some reason he still drives his '86 Acura Integra.

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And that's why he's a millionaire.

My dad is a financial planner and has a saying, "Rich folks didn't get that way by spending it."

There does come a point when you're throwing good money after bad though.

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Yeah, but an '86 Integra??? I don't get it, I mean, he could totally afford a new Honda Civic with just a week's pay (he actually pays himself). The cool thing is that he owns 9 branches of this business throughout the U.S. and so the buildings are in his name... therefore his own company pays him rent! Hahaha... it's weird.

I'd totally buy a new car if I were him, some new shoes wouldn't hurt, too. They look like they're falling apart as well.

Anyway, back on topic... I think it would be a good challenge to get this car back into good working order. I don't know much about most of this stuff, but I thought of first cleaning the fuel system and the engine. Maybe some sort of light solvent mixture for the gas and then Rotella to clean the engine out a bit before an Auto-RX treatment. The car has about 190k on it... I know it still has more life. Then maybe I can replace all the hoses, have the seals done by a mechanic, and all the other odds and ends myself. I can even do the upholstry with no problem.

What do you guys think? Is it possible? Anyone in Southern California want a free lunch and drinks on the weekend just to assess the car?

 

[TooManyWheels]

My idea about older vehicles is that they are absolutely great daily drivers, provided you have at least one newer car in the stable for special occasions like dress-up events and emergency trips out of town. The old car absorbs the risk of bad drivers, bad parkers, thieves, floods, hailstorms, etc, while the new car absorbs the risk of breakdowns at critical moments.

 

[tom slick]

quote:

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My idea about older vehicles is that they are absolutely great daily drivers, provided you have at least one newer car in the stable for special occasions like dress-up events and emergency trips out of town. The old car absorbs the risk of bad drivers, bad parkers, thieves, floods, hailstorms, etc, while the new car absorbs the risk of breakdowns at critical moments.

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i agree 100%. my old junker still gets 30 mpg, is dented and dinged, even melted with spray paint over the rust holes! i still spend less buying parts for it every year than many people spend on their monthly car payment. the drawback is that i drive an ugly car, it was even voted "ugliest car in the parking lot" by my co-workers.

if your car payment was $200 per month, that's $2400 per year, you could replace an engine or transmission every year for that price.
i also own a nice car that my wife drives mostly, it is nice to take on trips or other occasions when you need a "good car".

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by Blue636:

Yeah, but an '86 Integra??? I don't get it, I mean, he could totally afford a new Honda Civic with just a week's pay (he actually pays himself).

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It's no stranger than people obsessing about which engine oil to use.

 

[labman]

Two years ago, I traded off my 92 Grand Am and kept my 1977 LUV. The Luv is just what I need for running around town and occasionally hauling a little stuff. Actually I have hauled tons of rock with it the last few years, just not a whole lot at at time. Guess whose truck we used to haul asphalt hot patch for our church's parking lot last fall?

It sounds like he likes the Integra, and it meets his needs. If I was a millionaire, I think I would have taken my Grand Am to the Firestone dealer I trust, and said fix. In some ways I hate the 02 Cavalier I have. Tonight for instance, my wife and I took a large friend and 3 dogs on about an hours drive. It was too crowded, and one thing I picked up was almost too big to fit in trunk. I hate the electric windows and theft deterrent system. The Getrag 5 speed is a POS. The Muncie box in the Grand Am was a much nicer transmission. I had to relearn all the heater controls and stereo controls. I would trade it for a new 92 Grand Am in an instant.

All my daughter could afford 6 years ago was a 90 Beretta. She had a lot of trouble with it at first. We eventually made it into a half decent car. Now she is married they have an 92 Insight and a 78 Jeep. They are fixing the Jeep up. I wanted to enter an ugly truck contest as a team.

 

[pacem]

P.S.

I am in much the same situation.
I have a Caprice wagon with 170K miles and stuff begins to wear out. I had the engine replaced. But I wonder when the transmission will fail. Front end needs work. Gear box for now, maybe more later. I have 4-5 dents all over the body, some from deer, others from fender benders.

Yes, you can maintain anything forever with the exception of serious rust.

 

[S2000driver]

Take out the air filter, you don't need it anymore.

 

[pacem]

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That depends on the mileage. How many miles on the engine and the transmission?

Rust? Dents?

What has been replaced on it?