Question about the status of my car

[Jacob1983]

I own a 1998 back Honda Civic EX. It has over 173K miles on it and has a lot of wear and tear. I would classify my time with the car as really shitty and disappointing. I've had the catalytic converter replaced 3 times while I've had the car. Catalytic converters are useless pieces of shit that are not vital to the car and only "fight" pollution in my opinion. They're also damn expensive. Belts, sparkplug wires, and distributor have been replaced as well. I probably could have bought a new car with all the money I have put into repairs for this car. The muffler on the car will be replaced this week. In the past two weeks, I've had the catalytic converter replaced and put 4 new tires on it. There will also be a new muffler on it too. I've done all of that shit just so the piece of shit car will pass the inspection test. I will have spent probably around 1200 dollars just so I can pay a mechanic 40 dollars to put a sticker on my windshield. My question is, how much longer should I stick with this piece of shit? With my current job, I honestly couldn't afford a monthly car payment. And I don't have the money to buy a used car. I have probably already answered my question. Unless I find a pot of gold or get a better job, I'm gonna be stuck with this POS for a while. It just makes me mad. Sometimes I feel like my car is cursed.

[mavs>spurs2]

Sometimes I feel like my car is cursed.

Jacob1983
Veteran

Team: Dallas Mavericks
SpursTalk Cash: $33200
Post Count: 1,666

yep..

[phyzik]

I own a 1998 back Honda Civic EX. It has over 173K miles on it and has a lot of wear and tear. I would classify my time with the car as really shitty and disappointing. I've had the catalytic converter replaced 3 times while I've had the car. Catalytic converters are useless pieces of shit that are not vital to the car and only "fight" pollution in my opinion. They're also damn expensive. Belts, sparkplug wires, and distributor have been replaced as well. I probably could have bought a new car with all the money I have put into repairs for this car. The muffler on the car will be replaced this week. In the past two weeks, I've had the catalytic converter replaced and put 4 new tires on it. There will also be a new muffler on it too. I've done all of that shit just so the piece of shit car will pass the inspection test. I will have spent probably around 1200 dollars just so I can pay a mechanic 40 dollars to put a sticker on my windshield. My question is, how much longer should I stick with this piece of shit? With my current job, I honestly couldn't afford a monthly car payment. And I don't have the money to buy a used car. I have probably already answered my question. Unless I find a pot of gold or get a better job, I'm gonna be stuck with this POS for a while. It just makes me mad. Sometimes I feel like my car is cursed.

I'd sell it and look at something like a KIA Soul. I know you said you cant afford car payments but if you need a ride thats not a money pit......

I think I saw a commercial for the KIA Soul that you can lease it for like less than $200 a month and going the lease route at least your not stuck in a 5-7 year payment plan.

Not saying KIA Soul is your only option, just the first thing that popped in my head since I saw the commercial not 10 minutes ago.

Sell the car for like $800 bucks or something and that covers your payments for like 4-5 months on a cheap leased vehicle.

In any case, look at leasing a vehicle and get rid of the money pit. You will be better off.

[phyzik]

Jacob1983
Veteran

Team: Dallas Mavericks
SpursTalk Cash: $33200
Post Count: 1,666

yep..

fixed

[Jacob1983]

I know Kia cars are cheap but aren't they kind of shitty? And I read an article that Kia Motors might go under.

[Frenzy]

I know Kia cars are cheap but aren't they kind of shitty? And I read an article that Kia Motors might go under.

Not the best cars out there but if you keep up with the maintaince its a solid ride for the cheap.

[4>0rings]

I know Kia cars are cheap but aren't they kind of shitty? And I read an article that Kia Motors might go under.
Um... your car is shitty, real shitty. So what's the problem?

[CosmicCowboy]

You realize all cars require maintenance, right? $1200 to get everything fixed isn't that bad. You should be able to get 250K miles out of that car easy.

[Chomag]

My personal rule of thumb is if it's costing more to keep it running on the road then the value of the vehicle itself then it's time to replace it.

[Drachen]

I own a 1998 back Honda Civic EX. It has over 173K miles on it and has a lot of wear and tear. I would classify my time with the car as really shitty and disappointing. I've had the catalytic converter replaced 3 times while I've had the car. Catalytic converters are useless pieces of shit that are not vital to the car and only "fight" pollution in my opinion. They're also damn expensive. Belts, sparkplug wires, and distributor have been replaced as well. I probably could have bought a new car with all the money I have put into repairs for this car. The muffler on the car will be replaced this week. In the past two weeks, I've had the catalytic converter replaced and put 4 new tires on it. There will also be a new muffler on it too. I've done all of that shit just so the piece of shit car will pass the inspection test. I will have spent probably around 1200 dollars just so I can pay a mechanic 40 dollars to put a sticker on my windshield. My question is, how much longer should I stick with this piece of shit? With my current job, I honestly couldn't afford a monthly car payment. And I don't have the money to buy a used car. I have probably already answered my question. Unless I find a pot of gold or get a better job, I'm gonna be stuck with this POS for a while. It just makes me mad. Sometimes I feel like my car is cursed.

Motorcycle.

[ashbeeigh]

I'm a priss when it comes to cars so my 78,000 '04 Jetta has about hit its limit. I'm thinking trading it in by the end of the year for something newer with better mileage...that being said...

I'm pretty sure I've spent at least that $1200 on my car for new timing belts, tires, cosmetic bumps and bruises, a replacement battery, etc. and it's not even near as old as yours.

Kias are better than they were 10 years ago. They are made much like hyundais which have also greatly improved the last few years. If you can afford something in the 13-18k range there are plenty of cars available. Even the new ford fiesta is out. It looks pretty snazzy and has amazing mileage.

[PM5K]

Motorcycle.

You kind of hit the nail on the head right there. Good gas mileage, low insurance, and he probably could have gotten something decent for the 1200 he spent fixing the car he already has. Shit put that 1200 together with what he could have sold that car for and you'd have something even better.

[Drachen]

You kind of hit the nail on the head right there. Good gas mileage, low insurance, and he probably could have gotten something decent for the 1200 he spent fixing the car he already has. Shit put that 1200 together with what he could have sold that car for and you'd have something even better.

Plus, if the entire bike breaks down and you have a Clymers, then you can fix it for like $400. Inexpensive to buy (2 year old rebel - $2000, 1984 honda sabre - $1000), inexpensive to insure (my liability insurance for two riders on two seperate bikes is $102 a year total), inexpensive to run (rebel - 70 mpg, sabre - 50 mpg), and inexpensive to fix. There is your answer.

[Wild Cobra]

I think you need to find out what's making the catalytic converter go bad. It should last a long time, and at worse, you should be on your second one.

[PM5K]

I think you need to find out what's making the catalytic converter go bad. It should last a long time, and at worse, you should be on your second one.

Yeah, too lean or too rich, whichever fucks up cats, too rich probably.

[sa_butta]

You have done all that work into it...are there any further problems with the car now??

How is it driving now??

You can either sell it or drive it into the ground and then junk it out...in the mean time while you are not making a car payment save up for a down payment on another car.

I have a 2000 Honda Civic and I am getting rid of it this weekend, just too many problems, but I have driven it to the ground..

[Sportcamper]

For what its worth…Everyone who owns a car eventually makes the mistake of putting more money into it than it is worth…Think of it as a learning process…Honda engines generally last a long time…Maybe you will come out OK on the repairs…

[Dex]

Cars are breaking down from the moment they come off the lot. I remember when I got my first car and thought it was like a one time investment. Unless you want your car to fall apart, it's not.

Within the past 6 months I have either repaired or had repaired...

Fuel Pump
Fuel Filter
Water Pump
Power Steering Pump
Spark Plugs and Wires
Front and rear Brake pads, Front brake rotors
Windshield Wiper Fluid hosing

And I still need to do a gottamn oil change. :pctoss

But if that means getting an extra 100k out of the car down the road, totally worth it.

[CubanMustGo]

I own a 1998 back Honda Civic EX. It has over 173K miles on it and has a lot of wear and tear. I would classify my time with the car as really shitty and disappointing. I've had the catalytic converter replaced 3 times while I've had the car. Catalytic converters are useless pieces of shit that are not vital to the car and only "fight" pollution in my opinion. They're also damn expensive. Belts, sparkplug wires, and distributor have been replaced as well. I probably could have bought a new car with all the money I have put into repairs for this car. The muffler on the car will be replaced this week. In the past two weeks, I've had the catalytic converter replaced and put 4 new tires on it. There will also be a new muffler on it too. I've done all of that shit just so the piece of shit car will pass the inspection test. I will have spent probably around 1200 dollars just so I can pay a mechanic 40 dollars to put a sticker on my windshield. My question is, how much longer should I stick with this piece of shit? With my current job, I honestly couldn't afford a monthly car payment. And I don't have the money to buy a used car. I have probably already answered my question. Unless I find a pot of gold or get a better job, I'm gonna be stuck with this POS for a while. It just makes me mad. Sometimes I feel like my car is cursed.

Other than the catalytic converter, this is all pretty routine maintenance and especially for a car approaching 200K miles. A different (not new) car would cost you a whole lot more than $1200.

What it sounds like is that there's a lot of routine shit you should have been doing and it finally caught up with you. It's going to cost you a whole lot more to change to something else, and even if you did find a decent $4K car there's no guarantee you wouldn't have to turn around and do all this work on it, too.

Re motorcycles - as long as you are a VERY defensive driver. Too many auto drivers run into motos for me to consider it an option.

[silverblk mystix]

hey, here is a different idea...a little ghetto..but sometimes ya' gotta do what ya gotta do...


find a friend who knows a friend who knows a friend who's cousin is a mechanic and can ``pass'' your inspection under the table---so to speak...

then you can keep driving it til you save for a better ride...

then I would look for a toyota yaris, echo, or some other econobox with less than 50k miles...trade yours for one of those....pymts should be really,really low...those will be maintenance free cheap rides...for years and years...

you didn't hear it from me...

[Drachen]

Other than the catalytic converter, this is all pretty routine maintenance and especially for a car approaching 200K miles. A different (not new) car would cost you a whole lot more than $1200.

What it sounds like is that there's a lot of routine shit you should have been doing and it finally caught up with you. It's going to cost you a whole lot more to change to something else, and even if you did find a decent $4K car there's no guarantee you wouldn't have to turn around and do all this work on it, too.

Re motorcycles - as long as you are a VERY defensive driver. Too many auto drivers run into motos for me to consider it an option.


Agreed, but as a motorcycle rider who has almost been hit, I would be willing to bet (though have no proof) that more than a large percentage of motorcycle accidents are due to idiot riders. The one time I almost got hit, the woman didn't even look my way before pulling out of a parking lot. I got a much louder horn (the pipes arent that loud on that bike), and I haven't had this problem since. My "new" bike has much louder shortie pipes on it, plus the horn, but this won't change the way I ride.

[Jacob1983]

I would say the engine runs pretty well. I would hope that after I get this new muffler on that my car should be okay for a while. This is the second time I've had the same mechanic look at my car so I'm guessing that if something else was wrong with it that he would tell me. The problem I had with the catalytic converter was that the car was basically burning them away because they were made of cheap thin metal. That's what the mechanic that put the new catalytic converter on told me. He told me that he knows a company that has the converters that have extra thick metal on them so they last longer. The muffler will be the last thing that my car "needs" for now. There is a good deal of cosmetic/vanity work that my car could use but I'm not willing to fork out the money for repairs that are not vital to the car's life. I think my car is cursed but it could just be that I have a piece of shit or that I'm paranoid. I tend to be very superstitious and paranoid about things sometimes.

[Homeland Security]

I would say the engine runs pretty well. I would hope that after I get this new muffler on that my car should be okay for a while. This is the second time I've had the same mechanic look at my car so I'm guessing that if something else was wrong with it that he would tell me. The problem I had with the catalytic converter was that the car was basically burning them away because they were made of cheap thin metal. That's what the mechanic that put the new catalytic converter on told me. He told me that he knows a company that has the converters that have extra thick metal on them so they last longer. The muffler will be the last thing that my car "needs" for now. There is a good deal of cosmetic/vanity work that my car could use but I'm not willing to fork out the money for repairs that are not vital to the car's life. I think my car is cursed but it could just be that I have a piece of shit or that I'm paranoid. I tend to be very superstitious and paranoid about things sometimes.

Your car breaks down because you drive a 12-year-old car that you probably don't maintain properly. The reason you drive a 12-year-old car is because you can't find a better job than one at Target. The reason you can't find a better job is because you got a college degree in something that yields no useful work skills. The reason you got a college degree with no useful work skills is for the same kind of reason that you post all your many life problems on a fucking basketball forum.

You're just one of those people who can't get it together. You add no value. You're just excess humanity. Things will never get any better for you than they are now. This is all you are capable of. Some people are just shit.

[CosmicCowboy]

:lmao

[CavsSuperFan]

The harshest post I have ever read…

[balli]

lol

[Jacob1983]

Homelandsecurity, thanks for that amazing pep talk. You should get paid to be a motivational speaker.

[mookie2001]

You really should have cut it loose


People do overpay for used hondas mostly because they expect a big jap-out market


You never should have spent the 1200 but you might as well sell it now for whatever you can get, forget the japout factor



Also if you one has a motorcycle license, doesn't drink and drive and wears a helmet, the "danger" of riding goes down by like 95%

[Jacob1983]

I finally took it to get it inspected and fuckin' passed. A big relief for me. I spent around 1121 dollars on it. That number includes 4 new tires, a catalytic converter, and a muffler and the inspection sticker. I would love to get a motorcycle but I would be worried about getting a brain injury. I worked at a brain injury rehab place when I was in high school and a lot of the guys there were there because of motorcycle crashes. That's not a good way to live. If I lived in a huge metro area like NYC, Chicago, or LA, I probably wouldn't own a car. That would be nice.

[PM5K]

Well, you gotta just hope that what you put into it is all it will need for a while.