Dump the car, pay rest of loan off, buy a garage, pay that loan off, have another kid, pay that loan off, buy a mini van, dream about your old mustang that you could still have, pay mini van loan off....buy another soccer transporter....and so on. Is another mustang in your sites? If your like me, the last kid will have to be 18+ before ill even be able to look at what I want.
No other Mustangs in my price range that a) aren't ragged-out V6's b) are convertibles c)are GT 5-speeds in respectable condition.
No minivans for us, we're set on that, but that's besides the point. I see what you're saying, and your situation is exactly what my father-in-law went through. Had gorgeous Z28's in the early '80s, then my brother in law and wife came up...bye bye Z's and don't get him started on the K-cars. You just might die. lol...
I would consider repairing it myself as I am not sure how you will come out in the long run since you still owe on it for almost 3 yrs and with the repair you need to make on it will make the resale next to nothing. By the time you take the loss on that car and hope to find a used car that you hope has not been driven like a rally car on the x-games I am afraid to know what it would all cost.
Scott- I've seen your work, you are very talented. I am not; more or less I'm your basic maintenance/brakes/suspension weekend warrior. No power tools either. I know what the job requires but I don't have the ability to deal with rusted H-pipe to manifold studs or broken top starter bolt. Must think of worst case. As for old Honda...not a ragged out Civic... a mid-00's Accord 5-speed. Different clientele drove them, not boy racers.
So this 04 has a tranny issue and a little rust and you going to dump it to buy an older honda?(somebody elses headache)
Makes no sense to me as i see every car as a pile of metal and parts, there all the same. Atleast with your stang you know whats wrong. Rust can be repaired. Payments suck but what are you going to get for your mustang with a beat trans? 3K .. how much do you owe? Whats the tranny going to cost? I would be fixing the trans and rust before i took a loss on the car and bought someone elses nightmare.
What I said about Scott is true of you, too. You have both ability and talent I couldn't hold a candle to. If you saw what the inner 1/4s, rear floor, bumper support, gas tank, floorboards, and radiator core support looked like... you would probably see it differently. 10 years of no garage and winter road salt = not long until it's Swiss cheese. I don't have the time or ability to go after it effectively. Cost of repairing trans will be pushing 800 or so. The 3650's have to be completely town down to get to what needs to be replaced. Add that to the list of problems in my first post and you get the idea...
Do you think he could get $3k? I got my parts car with a clean title and tranny issues for $1200. If money is the issue in this decision before you dump it at the very least take it to a mechanic to see what he thinks is wrong with it and how much it would cost. I mean even if the tranny was not repairable and you had to replace it I would think that just that repair/replacement would probably be less $$$ then you would loose on the sale of a damaged car vs what you owe.
buy a used transmission around $300 here and cheaper if you find a deal and throw it in yourself realistically its and easy job. even if you were going to trade it in i would throw a used transmission in before trading it in, that $300 would net a lot more at the dealer for the car
$300...where in the country are you? In NY/tri-state area (where I am) you can't touch a 3650 for twice that. Again, though, I don't have the tools or ability to do it solo. I get real edgy when I'm under a car supported only by jackstands for any length of time.
Threir is only a few special tools to rebuild our trannys which can be had at Orielys. Ive seen a many rust buckets turn jewel. Think this one through!
Uncover some rust, and you'll find more, and more, and more... This one won't become a jewel though; it is what it is; a daily driver with 110K in average condition. And sometimes, even stock ones, you get tired of the daily grind and feeling the chassis flex over even slight undulations in the road. Limp-noodle throwbacks are fun in limited doses. No $ to mod, other priorities in life right now.
Yes, I am making this decision carefully, and definitely not lightly. Update, it's going to my dad's dealership tomorrow so that my dad can try to get a better diagnosis. Also going to ask him to assess the rust. He's a Ford man from way back; his first car was a Frankensteined '65 Galaxie; good powertrain from one and good body from the other. Needless to say he has my full trust. Should also mention he had three Fox 5.0's and an '04 when they were new; he knows what's up.
What it really is...hopefully lady luck is with me...
I'm also asking him to get it appraised on trade-in so that I know approximately where I am. Like I said, getting as much info as possible, to make an intelligent decision.
More info to come tomorrow.
