The Great Marriage Debate: Save it or sell it

[AshleyOhio]

2011 Camaro. 167K miles. Purchased 6 weeks ago for $9300 out the door. As-is. Guess what happened?

3 weeks ago, I exited the freeway after an 8 mile stretch. At the light, she said THU-THUNK and never started again. No smoke. No warning lights. Nothing. The diagnostic says something about the cam being out of time with something else and I need an engine.

Debate:
Husband says I should sell my car to the highest bidder, currently 3K, and be done with it.

I think I should put an engine in it for 5400 and live happily ever after, never to worry about the engine or anything ever again. I mean, buying a car with the 3K will just get me a junk car. Am I being stubborn? Should I throw in the towel and buy a Honda?

I was wrong to not have the car checked by a mechanic before I bought her and I dont want to make another. But I also feel like she's my baby and I rescued her from a life of poor maintenance.

Someone, please, just tell me what to do.

Note: I am broke, she will sit quietly for 6 months. That's how long it will take me to save the money for another engine.

[StingrayblueSS]

Originally Posted by AshleyOhio

2011 Camaro. 167K miles. Purchased 6 weeks ago for $9300 out the door. As-is. Guess what happened?

3 weeks ago, I exited the freeway after an 8 mile stretch. At the light, she said THU-THUNK and never started again. No smoke. No warning lights. Nothing. The diagnostic says something about the cam being out of time with something else and I need an engine.

Debate:
Husband says I should sell my car to the highest bidder, currently 3K, and be done with it.

I think I should put an engine in it for 5400 and live happily ever after, never to worry about the engine or anything ever again. I mean, buying a car with the 3K will just get me a junk car. Am I being stubborn? Should I throw in the towel and buy a Honda?

I was wrong to not have the car checked by a mechanic before I bought her and I dont want to make another. But I also feel like she's my baby and I rescued her from a life of poor maintenance.

Someone, please, just tell me what to do.

Note: I am broke, she will sit quietly for 6 months. That's how long it will take me to save the money for another engine.

Need more information is it a v6 v8 how do you know it's not repairable?

[Benman]

If you are going to have to rely on a mechanic other than yourself to make the repairs it can get very costly. If you have a reliable and affordable shop to make the repairs then you may want to consider that route. If, as you say, you rescued the car from a life of poor maintenance you are likely to find other issues with the transmission, rear end, etc. It all depends on what you want, if you are happy with the car then repair it.

[Greenhornet2]

First check your local laws. Most states have a "lemon law" no matter how it is sold if you pay a certain amount there is a state like warranty the seller must honor. CT its 30days for purchases under something like 3-6k 60 days above 6k (just guesses don't know the actual numbers. If you can do the work I would rebuild it. Even if you can't if it's a car you love you may want to rebuild it. May not need an engine might just need pistons and valves or a head. Definitely need more info. A lot of mechanics will just say replace the engine, when it can be rebuilt. A used engine is cheaper, rebuilding is middle of the road and a crate motor is the most expensive route typically depending on the level of rebuild needed.

[pyroguy]

It pains me to click the sell her button, but if you're broke you don't need extras in your life right now, you need reliable transportation to get to and from work so that you can work on getting "un-broke". If you were in a different financial situation I'd say fix it with an upgraded engine and supporting mods and drive the hell out of it, with proper maintenance performed. This is just going to be a hard $9k lesson in what not to do but a car shouldn't be more important than a quality spouse.

On a side note, if you want to have some advice on how to get out of the rut of being broke, my wife and I discovered Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" and have worked through many of his steps on obtaining financial peace. It's great material that works without being rocket science to figure out and I highly recommend it. We went through his Financial Peace University class just to get a little better grip on our money, but it ended up strengthening our marriage as well.

[lbls1]

Realize that you will not see the $5400 back in value. If the car has a great body and is in otherwise excellent condition then this could be either a yes or a no. If you keep it a few years then you would've earned all or most of the money you put into it.

As is, if you sell now you stand to lose about $55 or $5600 roughly. Its a kick in the pants, but if you have the money and if you are desiring something else, then you could cut your losses and be done with it.

Look at both options and decide what's best for your situation. Good luck.

Edit: Just as a side suggestion, in the future stay away from high mileage cars for sale in general, unless you know the car and its owner very well.

[redcoats1976]

need more info.is your camaro rusty or dented,or is the body and interior pretty good?maybe a used engine with low miles could be found,or perhaps somone in your family is a mechanic.selling for 3k would sure be a kick in the pants.

[JerTM]

I suspect it's a v6. At this point I would sell. These are great cars, but it's not worth going further upside down in a car that will only depreciate, especially with that mileage.

[tomlink]

Originally Posted by JerTM

I suspect it's a v6.

I agree. And it sounds like a broken timing chain. Since the V6 is an interference engine it is a goner.

[redcoats1976]

or you could part out the husband and buy a ZL-1 with the proceeds...just sayin.

[BehindBlueI's]

Eject, goose, eject. A poorly maintained vehicle with 167k? Engine isn't going to the only issue.

[JLSuperfly]

Originally Posted by redcoats1976

or you could part out the husband and buy a ZL-1 with the proceeds...just sayin.

Double indemnity. I watch too much Investigation Discovery.

[Greenhornet2]

You may have never been able to tell if the engine was about to let go when if you had someone look at it. If its a V6 i probly wouldn't fix it. Personal preference. Everything is rebuildable, if you rebuild the engine you are committed and should keep it forever. If there's no rust and rot, keep it that way and just keep fixing it.

[InFiD3ViL]

Not knowing which engine you have, it's hard to suggest anything. But knowing that you are already broke $ wise, makes it kinda easier. I hate telling someone that loves their car to sell it.

Regardless, we need more Ashley's on this site.