She tasks me... She tasks me, and I shall have her.

[sudz]

Cars cost money.

But when does it reach the point where you're just sinking money into your car?

My car has cost me a lot of money in the last month.

My car:
2007GS Sedan, 2.0 5spd
209,000km
No rust, no dents. Front bumper is pitted to hell, but otherwise, she's in good shape.


Brief overview of the last month:


Car starts shaking more. Find out 2 out of 4 tires have structural issues (bulging tread) One has a bulge on the sidewall. All 4 tires had bad corner wear (expected)
Replace all 4 tires. ($505)
Took it to Budds Mazda and was turned away because they couldn't align a lowered car
Raise car onto stock springs.($160) (Broken rear Eibach springs discovered)
While at it, replaces Strut Mount and bushing to resolve clunking noise ($106)
Coolant replaced (regular maintenance) ($100)
Alignment at Altech ($60)
Car still shakes, clunking still from front driver side
Dent removal ($75)
Wash/wax/vacuum ($20)
Engine Light. Bought ODB2 reader (P0113) ($20)
Car wouldn't run - stalls 20+ times in 10 minutes, Leaves me stranded. (first time she's ever let me down)
Fixed Engine Light, MAF wiring (free)
Oil Change ($40)
Discover Knocking noise is really Control Arm Bushing.(Free during Oil change, Thanks Ridgeway Auto!)
Near Future:
Control Arm Bushing Requires replacement of control arm. ($192)
1.5 Hours Labour ($150)
Alignment (again) ($60)



Total: $1488, plus 1.5 days off work so far

And on top of that, I know I'm still going to need a clutch soonish. (~$1000)

At what point do you just say **** it and sell/trade the car?
Right now, assuming I have to do the clutch this year (209k, original clutch)
I'll be paying an average of $262.75 a month in maintenance.

If I sell it, I can get maybe around 5 grand.

A 2013 Honda Accord Sedan Sport 6spd would be ~$450 for 60 months payments, no more hassles for a few years over worn out parts.

I drive 36,000km a year, I need a car that won't let me down.

Is it that time, or am I being a whiney bitch. lol.

Also, Kudos/friendly teasing to anyone who knows where the subject was borrowed/modified from without googling.

[Chrisinski]

Ussually once everything is fixed its fine. It allows you to know the car a bit more. These all sound like normal wear n tare. IMO keep the car and just fix what needs fixing. A new car sounds nice n all but your spending more money on that then what you would spend to fix. Good Luck.

[Sivart444]

I feel ya. In Febuary of this year i had to replace my entire motor. Had a hard time finding a young one (Car is 2007Mz3 Hatch w/ 75k) That was about 3500$ All in including a new clutch and machined flywheel. Then not 10k later i discovered the clutch was starting to go, turned out to be a faulty clutch but all the bearings in it broke and i had to get a tow from Guelph to Burlington. Manufacturer covered the parts cost but i was still in around 500$ in labor.

It's all in how much your willing to pay to keep it running. I was at the point of sell vs. keep and i decided i'm going to keep it and keep my fingers crossed!

Good luck either way. Unfortunately at 209 you won't be getting great value to get rid of it either.

[Mr Wilson]

As Chrisinski mentioned these are all wear and tear items.......minus the unfortunate circumstance with the lowering springs. If its the first time many of those bits have been replaced, count yourself lucky. Once you get through this maintenance period it should all be good for a while.

[Default User]

If your 3 is paid off - do you really want to be locked in for another 5 years of payments - which isnt guaranteed to be the minimum you'll be paying every month.
I mean - shit happens. You still have to pay for regular maintenance.


Unless, you're bored of the 3 (or just out-grown it - then go for it.

[Chrisinski]

My outlook is. If the cost of repair at a single time/ within 2 months time equal the cost of car or more than its time to say bye. Thats what happened with my subie. It was worth about $5000. It would have costed me $6000 to fix so bye subie hello mazda lol. Wish i kept with subies tho..... hope this helps your decision.

[coriolis]

My outlook is. If the cost of repair at a single time/ within 2 months time equal the cost of car or more than its time to say bye. Thats what happened with my subie. It was worth about $5000. It would have costed me $6000 to fix so bye subie hello mazda lol. Wish i kept with subies tho..... hope this helps your decision.

Yeap, my 2004 MZ3 with 240k+ needed a few things to 'pass' emissions testing, plus a few more safety repairs (bearings, leaking strut, motor mount again) and it'd cost me $2000-$3000. I put the car up as-is for $2000, not a single bite, ended up trading it in for $1500. Sad to see it go, but with the amount of rust and problems, it just wasn't worth it. It sucks to be in that situation where you invested so much love, care and repairs.

[sudz]

When I finished paying for the car a year ago, I said that if the car costs more than an average of 350 a month over 6 months in maintenance, I'd ditch it.

However, its comparable to jumping lines at the grocery store... like, if I jump to another car, I'd feel mighty stupid if I find out my car runs another 100k on just oil changes.

I also forgot to mention that my fog lights died - Put that as a "nice to fix" but not required. I'm that broke right now, lol.

[Neo]

I'm not so sure about getting a new vehicle just after you've finished paying the one you've had for 5yrs off. It really depends on how the machine was taken care of and whether you've got the time/resources to keep it going.
I understand if the body is rusting out and you never got around to protecting it from the beginning. I understand sometimes money can be really tight at times.

Plus, most people who do get Mazda3's are only getting them for the mean time. Meaning they'll be wanting a different vehicle down the road. Something that they "wanted" to get, as opposed to "needing".

There are a variety of factors that will probably prohibit me from obtaining a new vehicle. Primarily all the computer nannies/electronics in new cars nowadays. You just know in the long run, that vehicle is going to be a nightmare to service. Electronics are the single worst thing to troubleshoot once the vehicle has been run for awhile.

I know for a fact, I'll be keeping my Miata PRHT for as long as I possibly can. She's an 08 PRHT with 162k on the clock right now. Bought brand new and have had it Krowned since new.
She has served me well. All she required was standard maintenance. Granted the minute I got her I changed out the exhaust to mazdaspeed, and bought the Mazdaspeed springs and sway bars not too long after I got it. Since then, just standard maintenance. Krowned every year. Only thing that wasn't covered under warranty, the rear driver side wheel bearing.
Keep in mind, the car is lowered and sees all year action. So something is bound to go. Just surprised it was 1 of the wheel bearings.
During this last winter I noticed the car was giving a rattle near the back. At first I thought it was a heat shield near the front (being inside the cabin, sound gets jostled around easily making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the rattle). During the last 2 months of the winter, the rattling was becoming extremely annoying. The car started to sound "old".
During a routine oil change, the mechanic figured out the rattle. The exhaust pipe leading into the mazdaspeed exhaust was eatin through. Canadian winters suck!! I didn't think it was that bad and all it really needs is a good re-weld.
Lived with the rattle until I had enough cash to replace the entire exhaust. I figured if the rear part of the exhaust is giving out, the chances of the entire exhaust giving out soon is probably high. So I saved some cash and finished purchasing the Goodwin Racing upgrades for my headers, midpipe and rear exhaust (rear exhaust was given to me at Xmas by my girl. She didn't like the rattle either. ;) )

Car is now rattle free (not to mention a bit more powerful due to the extra breathing room) and still feels new like the day I got her.
I expect to get at least another 5yrs out of her before something major happens to her. I know in another 5yrs, she'll need to get the paint redone. The front bumper is completely pitted and starting to lose paint. And I have alot of chips on her due to the winter months and the giant salt pellets T.O. uses. :(
But at least I won't need to purchase a new vehicle anytime soon... Nothing worse than monthly payments on a car!

[geobur]

sounds like these are a bunch of things at once that are end of life problems that you would have had to replace at some point or another anyways...just sucks it is all at once.

My opinion is keep it especially since you have put the money towards a lot of the problems anyways...if you continue getting problems then maybe I would look at selling it. But if this is the first time you have had major issues in terms of it dying on you...it certainly doesn't seem like a lemon to me...

Also Wrath of Khan is a good movie bro