Our car is no longer safe to drive. I thought we had the front brakes done at the same time as the rears but that turned out not to be so. At least one of the front discs got so worn that the rotors were damaged. Now we find out that there’s a leak in the fuel line as well plus a bunch of other stuff. It’ll take some $800 to fix but that’s not gonna happen. The car is going to end up being donated and I hope to have a replacement soon. I’m in the process of securing a loan to both pay off my credit card and get a better car, thus putting both debts on one bill. I went to LendingTree and selected an offer from CitiBank. Just need to work out the details and we’ll head out to the CarMax by Dulles.
It seems to me that a brake job and a fuel line repair to an otherwise serviceable vehicle is a minor expense compared to that of buying a used vehicle (Carmaxx will be making a profit, and you never know what you might get.)
If your car is otherwise good, fix it.
Well, I haven’t even really been talking with the loan officer yet. To be honest, I am a bit uncomfortable with taking on such a debt at this time. I have been leaning toward getting a second opinion on the car. and my SO may be able to do some of the more minor work herself.
No go, she refuses to do anything with the car. I guess we’ll just go the private party route instead of a dealer. That’s how we got this one, I paid $1050 (which was dead-on bluebook) for it a couple of years ago and so far it’s needed $400 in repairs. I do need a car; where we live isn’t really convenient for public transportation except during rush hour. When my back is out like it was yesterday, It’s difficult enough to get to the bus stop across the street in the morning much less the 10-15 minutes it takes to get to the next closest after rush hour ends.
We’re going to talk to a local school that has an autoshop class. We’ll see if they are willing to fix it for a fee (and how much), otherwise we’ll just let them do whatever they want with it.
The autoshop class doesn’t want it, being too close to the end of the school year. We’re going to donate it to the Capitol Area Food Bank.
BTW: I turn 35 on Friday. Maybe some kind relative will help me get another car.
CarMax is a RipOff. Brakes are cheap. Fix that sucker, its paid for.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
Fix it? The front brakes and rotors are shot plus it’s leaking water, oil, and fuel. It’s gone over 140,000 miles; we think it’s done for.
Could be worse.
I’ve paid $1,000 to one guy for upholstery. $2,500 to another couple of guys for mechanical work (which isn’t even close to being done yet). $860 for an overdrive transmission to replace the four-speed, and I still need to pay a buttload to get it shipped out from PA. I’ve paid $4,000 to the body-and-paint guy, and still owe him another $5,000. (He says I’ll have a trophy-winner when he’s done with it.) It’s going to cost about $600 to get the four gauges rebuilt and refinished. Then I need to think about a tonneau cover (which will need to be made since they don’t make 'em in red), a convertible top ($500), and wire wheels (original silver-painted, $1,600 for five; chrome-plated stainless steel, $1,900). Plus $1,000 for the car. I figure it’s going to cost about $20,000 by the time it’s finished.
Jeez, Johnny L.A., spending $20,000 on improvements to a $1000 car? I’m assuming this must be some type of classic restoration deal?
I just got my car back today. Had developed a minor vibration at highway speeds, I was hoping that I was only in need of a wheel rebalancing. As it turns out, I ended up needing 4 new tires ($235), a full alignment ($100), new brake rotors on the front ($170) and brake pads for the front ($150). Works out to just over $700.
But hey, now I don’t have the problems with the vibration anymore. 
Thank heaven I had a some money in my ‘Oh $#^%’ fund.
Jeff, it’s possible that the front brakes wore out before the rear ones, that’s what happened to my car, for two reasons:
- The front brakes do a majority of the braking, similar to how the front brakes on a bicycle are much stronger then the rear ones.
- If the brakes aren’t calibrated properly (or timed, or something), the rear brakes might not be doing their share of the job, leaving the already overworked front brakes to make up the difference.
Full resto on a 1966 MGB roadster.
Johnny just to show that there can be a free lunch, when you get this bad boy back, drop me a line and I will be happy to do a full tune up and carb sync for you. It’s been years since I was under the hood of an early B.
Thanks, Rick. Actually, it’s probably not going to be $20,000; but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came to $16,000. A '66 MGB sold at auction a few months ago for $17,000 and there is a company in CA that sells fresh restos for $25,000 (sticker price – I’ll bet not selling price).
Jeff Olsen: What kind of car is it? The brakes and rotors are not a big deal, really. But leaking fuel and water? Is the fuel tank leaking; or is it one of the lines? Last time I had a car that leaked water, it needed a water pump. That seemed to be more expensive than it should have been. I hate throwing things away if they can be fixed. But if the car has a book value of $1,000 it might be better looking for another one.
That’s what I was hoping, I didn’ t think you were one of those guys who spends that kind of money adding unnecessary modifications to a Honda Civic. 
Actually, I’ve always thought it would be kind of cool to restore a classic like that, if I had the time, tools, space, or know-how to do it.
Do you have any pictures of the work-in-progress? I’d like to see them.
Jeff, what kind of car is this? I just this last weekend replaced my wife’s rotors and brake pads on her Ford Explorer. For under $200 and it took me about 40 minutes. It’s only 5 lugnuts and 4 bolts on each side. All you need is a jack, jack stands, a large C-clamp and an Open end wrench set. Get a Haynes manual from your auto parts store. It has step by step instructions WITH pictures. A fuel line might be as easy as a length of rubber hose that you clamp on with simple hose clamps, so all that is required is a pliers or a flathead screw driver. If you aren’t handy, do you have a friend that is who could use a case of beer? 
My SO is a former mechanic. I had already suggested that she do most of the work but she doesn’t want to; besides, we don’t know of anywhere around here where she could work on the car if she wanted to. Our condo association wouldn’t be very happy if she did it in the parking lot.
We have an '89 Dodge Shadow. A complete repair has been estimated at just above $820. We don’t have that which is why we decided to donate it, the Food Bank can buy about $14 worth of food for each buck they get from the sale of the car and I get a nice tax break. I’m sure someone out there could take care of the repairs but it would be a long time before we could. It would be a different story if it weren’t for me not having any overtime since October.
Regarding CarMax: I was mainly interested in looking out there. I’d like to ask them why the car we’d be interested in, a '95 Hyundai Scoupe, is priced a grand over blue book.
All the things I don’t have! That’s why I’m having it done.
I only have “before” pics. The body guy is taking photos as he goes along, and I’ll get those when he’s done. I was going to keep a blog on the project, but I decided I’d just do a page when it’s finished.
Speaking of restoring classics, I was reading an article in the 12/02-01/03 British Car Magazine that mentioned that you can get a newly-manufactured British Motor Heritage body shell for your 1960s Mini, and make a “new” 1960s Mini for less than the cost of a new one. Groovy, baby!
I have an '88 BMW 528e (read: expensive to work on). In November I replaced (myself) the brake rotors and pads at all 4 wheels - for about $220 in parts, and I bought the expensive brands. Even the estimate from a pro to do rotors/pads at all 4 wheels was $550. Also had a leak in the fuel line and had the whole line replaced…cost $85 from a professional mechanic. You’ve got an '89 Dodge. No way that’s more expensive to work on than a BMW.
Now as to doing it yourself: I would not recommend doing the brakes yourself, unless you suspect that it is ONLY excessive normal wear that damaged your rotors. If they warped on their own, that usually happens because the caliper is bad or there’s a plug in the line, and then the job is 10X as difficult because you have to mess with the brake hydraulics. Even then you still really should flush/bleed them, but it can be done without in a pinch in most cases.
If you’re still with me, go do what NurseCarmen said (particularly the Haynes manual, it’s only $15 and will save your backside). I would suggest a cheapo set of sockets & ratchet with at least a 3/8" drive (1/2" is better if you can get it affordably) in place of the wrenches. You may also need a set of allen wrenches to go with the ratchet - about $8. To top it off, I would strongly recommend a torque wrench (cheap ones can be had at AutoZone for $20-25) and a rubber mallet (in case your rotors are rusted to the hubs, and you need to whack them from the backside to get them off).
Then just do what the Haynes manual says, it’s basically just unbolting it all, then bolting it back together with the new parts in place of the old, and the proper torque (specified in the Haynes). It’s a 40-minute job if you’ve done it before - if not, set aside a whole Saturday afternoon, and use it - inspect things VERY carefully before you touch them, to make sure you understand how they fit together.
The fuel line is not a biggie if you are careful and follow the Haynes manual directions for getting as much old fuel out of the lines as possible beforehand. You need some new fuel line, hose clamps, and time to possibly take apart anything that’s in your way. Most likely there’s a pump inside the tank and the line attaches to the pump at the top of the tank - not much fuel will leak out.
Now as for the oil leak - what exactly is the problem there? If it’s just a seal around the oil pan, that’s expensive to replace, but try putting some stopleak in it…failing that, get underneath and tighten all the oil pan bolts 1/4 turn. Not really the recommended way to do it - but you were going to junk it anyway, right? Plus that’s not really a safety issue, as long as you make sure to keep it topped up.
The coolant leak, however, could be the doozy - lots of potential causes for that, major and minor. Hoses are pretty cheap, but the water pump and radiator are not, and if it’s inside the engine, forget about it. If it’s a small leak there are stopleak products that you could try, but these don’t work well in many of the potential scenarios.