I drive 12 miles roundtrip 5 days a week in my scuffed up, paid for 1996 Saturn SL2 with 80K miles, leaky sunroof, leaky radiator, transmission going, and battery going. We have another family car my wife drives (1999 Honda CRV) that’s doing great and we depend on for the weekends. Should I:
Invest the money ($1.5K sunroof/headliner, 260 radiator, ?? Transmission, $60 battery, etc.) into my old car and keep it.
Donate it for the tax write off (I’d heard the write-off advantages are reduced now?).
Trade it in for a 2000 ~ 2002 SL2.
Trade it in for another budget 4 door.
As I said I don’t live far from work and I almost never use my car other than to go to and from work (12 mile round trip). I have no interest in flash, but want decent power for passing. No interest in a new car (waste of money in my opinion). I don’t really want a car payment either.
You said it yourself. You almost never use the car except for work, you don’t want a car payment, and you have no interest in a new car.
80k miles isn’t very much for a car nowadays so it might last another 120k miles with basic maintenance. The cost of a new radiator and battery isn’t too bad (way less than a new car). If you don’t mind your car looking like crap you could do a half-assed approach to repairing the sunroof and save money ($1,500 for a sunroof? yowza). Do you know exactly what’s wrong with the transmission? You might get lucky and it’s something simple.
I’ve been afraid of looking into the transmission thing for fear of finding yet another large bill in my future, but I suppose that’s the best thing to do is to get a good assessment of my current situation.
Yeah, the sunroof thing is a real bummer. The frikkin thing WORKS, it just LEAKS. I asked if there was any way for them to re-do the seal or something but they indicated it is a ‘cracked module’ whatever that means. It means $1200 is what it means, and I’m figuring extra bucks to replace the headliner.
My old Blazer once had a weird problem with the transmission. It would clunk and shift weird from 1st to 2nd gear. I took it to the dealer and had the transmission flushed and new lubricants added and the thing acted like it was brand new again. Never had any problems with it (the transmission anyway, the truck was totaled 12K miles later).
Unless you absolutely need the sunroof I’d just find a way to seal it shut and stick with A/C, if you have it. $1200 is a lot of money to fix something like that on an 8 year old car.
How much does a tube of silicone run in your neighborhood? Really, it’ll stop the leaks. You said you’re not worried about flash. J&B Weld is also a nice epoxy mix that will withstand weather well. Is the area around the sunroof rusting out?
First off, don’t get another car with a sunroof, they are notoriously bad when it comes to leaking, and it’s practically impossible to live with a leaky roof. It goes from being a nice little add-on to a required repair, who wants that in a commuting car?
I would trade it in for a newer car. If you are happy with the way this car has performed over the years, go for another Saturn, though I don’t think I’d be happy with a car of this age and mileage having this many problems.
I can’t easily imagine the tax write off being as good as trading it in, but it all comes down to numbers. Call a place that accepts donations and get the skinny on the write off. At least that will free you from having to get your new car at a dealer, but it delays the payoff until tax time.
Has the car been maintained, per the recomendations in the service manual? 80k sounds like it’s REALLY EARLY for writing it off.
And are you baseing all your pricing on the dealership? If so, find another reputable repair guy. Your $17000 saturn would cost $150,000 if built with dealership parts.
The car you own free and clear is ALWAYS cheaper than the car you’re making payments on.
I’ve thought about that, but I worry that I’ll be causing damage to the roof by applying stuff to try to seal the thing. Also, like I said, the sun/moon roof works mechanically just fine, it just doesn’t seem to seal. Oh, and you can bet I’ll never get any kind of sun/moon roof again.
I’ve maintained it (every 3K miles at the dealership), but never been very kind to it.
The transmission is automatic and it changes gears oddly. It seems to downshift early and revs the engine bringing the car to an abrupt ‘slow’ between gears. I also have to count to 3 before giving it gas after I shift into reverse or it will clunk into gear.
I’m going to find out what the dealership will give me, start calling around car donation places. I’ll also get a line on what’s up with the transmission. That way I’ll have a clearer picture of what’s facing me.
For a commuter I agree with “fixing” the roof with a permanent and irreversible solution. Duct tape is charming and probably effective, but once the sun starts beating down on it you’ll get the opposite of “flash” when it comes to appearance. Silicone is clear, discreet and as far as I know, won’t hurt your paint. Before sealing off the sunroof permanently with it I’d open the sunroof and apply a nice bead all around the inside of the sunroof, uh, hole. Let it dry and then close the sunroof. Might work and make you look brilliant, or it might cost you $0.27 in silicone.
I wouldn’t trade it in. They won’t give you much for it at a dealership, and they’ll charge you too much for the car they sell you. I’d park the Saturn (weatherproof the sunroof one way or another), delete all insurance on except for comprehensive (and collision if you park it on the street) and buy another Kommuter Kar. If the KK ends up needing some work, you can repair it at your liesure and drive the Saturn in the mean time. Nothing feels better than having time to think your way through a sick car situation.
Shucks, you might even be able to address the Saturn issues in your spare time.
