Keep beater or upgrade?

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Kurtatron

Kurtatron

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Apr 7, 2010
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Hey Everyone! So I am at an impasse. I don’t like my current car. It is a 1999 Toyota Solara that just hit 200k miles. I have had the thing for 2 years now. I Spent $1700 on it. I haven’t had any real problems with it, but I have been anxious to get rid of it because:
1) It vibrates on the freeway and
2) The manual tranny is going out. The synchros are failing, and the thing grinds if I shift anything more than granny level.
Here’s the problem. I have sunk of $3000 in this car over the last 2 years.
Water pump, timing belt, axle, motor mount, all 4 shocks, plugs, gaskets, etc.
But the dying tranny really hurts my confidence in the car. So I have been having wandering eyes.

I spotted a 2004 Pontiac Vibe with 40,000 miles for 4K. I know those things are just rebadged Toyota Matrix’s. I haven’t looked over it yet because it is at the dealer and they are closed on Sunday’s. But I just don’t know whether to pull the trigger. I have thrown so much money into the Solara.

Here’s the main consideration: Finances. I am kinda broke. I have just enough to buy the car outright, but I would have maybe $200 leftover.

If finances were you primary consideration, what would you do in my case? Should I stick with the Solara? Or could the Vibe be a great investment long term? Would the 4K be enough to compensate for the shorter lifespan of the Solara? I just don’t know if the Solara will last 1 more year, or 5 more. If the vibe could go for 10 years, it may be a good deal, but should I let this deal go?
 
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Drain the tranny and put Redline MTL (manual transmission lube) in and try it out. See if the shifting gets better. That'll be like $20
smile.gif


Then find the source of freeway vibration. Maybe it's just tires ...

You don't need to deplete your $$ going into winter ...
 
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I already put redline in it. It helped significantly. It was grinding all the time before. Now it doesn’t grind unless I push hard.

I hear you about winter though. Don’t want a battery dying when I have no money.
 
Well maybe a test drive will help you decide. I know a woman friend that has one of these its been a good car for Marilyn she still isn't ready to sell it. Test drives cost you nothing. Go figure it out before its gone. Don't be kicking yourself for hesitation.
 
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Those year vibes blow manual tranmsissions all the time. Of course you can argue that yours is on its way out.

THe camry/ solara is a more solid platform. I had an 02 corolla briefly-- lightweight trash. Rocking my 02 camry now.

Remember you're looking at a 13-14 year old car with the rust to go with that. $4k is pretty high.

Freeway vibration could be bent rims which could be investigated easily enough. Jack up one of the rear wheels with the ebrake off and spin away while watching the bead lip. Rotate the pack around. Your rims will be cheap enough at a junkyard or on craigslist. I got three dodge caravan rims for $20 (total!) that fit my camry just fine.
 
Maybe it's time to look at something other than a Toyota...doesn't sound like they've treated you that great.
 
$200 isn't a lot of cush to have for something that could easily be just as bad of a money pit. Any car that old is a gamble and you can count on it's up for sale because it needs work. Most people don't maintain anything. So with the Vibe you'll probably be doing lots of the same repairs you just did on the Solara. The 40k miles means it sat a lot which can actually be worse.

I'd sell the Solara and get something for maybe 2-3 grand that trips your fancy. Maybe something more simple like an older truck or Jeep, easy to do work on.
 
I'd take a look at the Vibe and crunch the numbers, see if you can talk them down. Being a dealer you're going to get dealer doc fees and taxes to pay. If the car really is in great shape, then consider buying it. Check the dates on the tires, they might be old.

But I'd try to milk the Solara out for another winter, and keep saving until you can find something that really catches your eye when you've got the extra cash as a buffer.
 
I had an 04 Vibe, yes it’s a rebadged matrix and yes it was super reliable and cheap to own / maintain. I say go ahead and get the Vibe, it should last you over 200k miles. Only reason I sold it was i wanted something that was quiet on the interior because i do a lot of driving for work and I’m on the phone all the time.
 
Double de-clutch and rev match when shifting into any of the gears that are causing trouble, that should help minimize or eliminate the grinding. You don't need synchro's if rpms are nearly perfectly matched. You might be able to get many months or even years by doing this. I don't know what the recommended MTL/ATF is for this vehicle, but the wrong stuff can lead to grinding shifts. If ATF is specced, sometimes conventional fluids will give easier shifts.

I'd be tempted to go with a low mileage car next time around....and one that was proven to be well maintained + fluids changed as required....not one that sat a lot, for weeks or months at a time....or was heavily short tripped. Buying high mileage manual (or even automatic) transmission cars ( orig trans) can be risky.
 
Originally Posted By: Kurtatron
Hey Everyone! So I am at an impasse. I don’t like my current car. It is a 1999 Toyota Solara that just hit 200k miles. I have had the thing for 2 years now. I Spent $1700 on it. I haven’t had any real problems with it, but I have been anxious to get rid of it because:
1) It vibrates on the freeway and
2) The manual tranny is going out. The synchros are failing, and the thing grinds if I shift anything more than granny level.
Here’s the problem. I have sunk of $3000 in this car over the last 2 years.
Water pump, timing belt, axle, motor mount, all 4 shocks, plugs, gaskets, etc.
But the dying tranny really hurts my confidence in the car. So I have been having wandering eyes.

I spotted a 2004 Pontiac Vibe with 40,000 miles for 4K. I know those things are just rebadged Toyota Matrix’s. I haven’t looked over it yet because it is at the dealer and they are closed on Sunday’s. But I just don’t know whether to pull the trigger. I have thrown so much money into the Solara.

Here’s the main consideration: Finances. I am kinda broke. I have just enough to buy the car outright, but I would have maybe $200 leftover.

If finances were you primary consideration, what would you do in my case? Should I stick with the Solara? Or could the Vibe be a great investment long term? Would the 4K be enough to compensate for the shorter lifespan of the Solara? I just don’t know if the Solara will last 1 more year, or 5 more. If the vibe could go for 10 years, it may be a good deal, but should I let this deal go?


Broke? Shift like granny so it doesn't grind. You've put 3 grand into it, keep it and get some return on your investment. Save your $4000, and build it up for the day the Solara dies.
 
Go further upmarket and get a small loan. The numbers don't make sense for what you did. Spent basically 4000-4700 on a 17 year old car and only got 2 years out of it. If you get something that's in the 10-12 year range, maybe 2006-2008, it might actually last you 5-10 years. At least repairs that you do early on will get amortized over a longer ownership period and you may have periods where you don't have many repairs. The key to saving money is not to buy a cheap car and get rid of it every couple years, it's to buy one that you keep a long time. Greatest deprecation is typically in the first 3-4 years of ownership, then it slowly trails off and near the end of it's life, while depreciation is low, repair costs are high so it ends up costing more at the end of the car's life than something in the middle to 2/3's range.
 
If you like driving the Solara i'm sure you could get a newer transmission for cheap. Do the clutch and possibly rear main seal while you are there and it should be good to go. Balance your wheels, replace any bent wheels or messed up tires and it should drive smooth.

However, the Vibe sounds like a good deal, assuming the actual condition pans out.
 
Given your situation, I would keep and maintain what you have. 4k will go far especially if you do the repairs yourself.

The Vibe with 40k priced at $4k does sound nice, but as I've read here "better the devil you know."
 
Originally Posted By: HoosierJeeper
Most people don't maintain anything. So with the Vibe you'll probably be doing lots of the same repairs you just did on the Solara. The 40k miles means it sat a lot which can actually be worse.

I have had 2 Pontiac Vibes. 2003 with 260k miles on it when I sold it was nothing but pleasures. Not a single problem whatsoever. 2006 with 90k miles was a money pit with a sludged up engine and many other little issues here and there.

I would use the savings to fix up the Solara. Change the tranny with a used unit and get your mechanic to fix the highway shaking. You will have a $2k+ left over, if not more, and you will have a beater that deserves to be called a DD.
 
Have you tried going to a transmission shop in the bad part of town? My niece has an Accord the automatic went out on. A remaned one is over $1700 from AutoZone... plus hundreds in labor.
The shop in the bad area removed and rebuilt it it for $1400.
 
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