shoot my metal horse?
June 8, 2013 11:00 AM Subscribe
I have a 2000 Jeep grand cherokee laredo. It has 115,600 miles or so.... and bad bearings. Sell, ride it into the ground, or repair?
My mechanics say it will cost ~600-1,200 to get the bearings done. I can probably sell the car for 600-1000. It might last a year w/o fixing the bearings, my mechanics say. Engine is good. tires are good. Gas mileage is not so good. I mostly drive to work, maybe 100, 150 miles a week or so. I can't really afford a new car right now, but finding a used one is kinda scary, so I'm leaning towards driving mine into the car graveyard, while saving as much as possible.
Thoughts? (YANMM, etc)
My mechanics say it will cost ~600-1,200 to get the bearings done. I can probably sell the car for 600-1000. It might last a year w/o fixing the bearings, my mechanics say. Engine is good. tires are good. Gas mileage is not so good. I mostly drive to work, maybe 100, 150 miles a week or so. I can't really afford a new car right now, but finding a used one is kinda scary, so I'm leaning towards driving mine into the car graveyard, while saving as much as possible.
Thoughts? (YANMM, etc)
Also, Edmunds puts the private party value of that car, in average condition, around $2500. Hard to imagine it wouldn't be worth fixing, even if you were to then get over your fear, sell it and get something that's easier on gas.
posted by jon1270 at 11:09 AM on June 8, 2013
posted by jon1270 at 11:09 AM on June 8, 2013
I would fix and keep. I have a car that I bought in 1995 (bought new) and that has been my philosophy all along. as long as it is otherwise reliable it's still cheaper to fix than to buy new / used.
posted by seawallrunner at 11:12 AM on June 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by seawallrunner at 11:12 AM on June 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Fix it. This is a no-brainer - there's no way you can buy a comparable used vehicle for less than the repair cost.
posted by deadmessenger at 11:37 AM on June 8, 2013
posted by deadmessenger at 11:37 AM on June 8, 2013
Trying to get my bearings, so to speak....
http://ask.metafilter.com/201996/Trying-to-get-my-bearings-so-to-speak
posted by No Shmoobles at 12:27 PM on June 8, 2013
http://ask.metafilter.com/201996/Trying-to-get-my-bearings-so-to-speak
posted by No Shmoobles at 12:27 PM on June 8, 2013
Fix it. If you are only putting 150 miles a week on it, at 18 mpg (about right for highway miles on a straight 6 jeep) you are using 8 gallons of gas a week. So say you get a new car that gets 30 mpg, you are now buying 5 gallons of gas a week, saving about $12 a week or $624 a year. You will spend more than this in two months on new car payments. Not counting higher insurance rates and maybe other extra expenses, So not really a paying proposition on that score alone. Wheel bearings at 100,000k is a early and I would get a second opinion and estimate. This is not the kind of thing that usually goes bad on jeeps. BTW bad wheel bearings will make a hwmmmmmm sound that pulsates faintly at highway speeds and it isn't something you want to put off. IF they fail while driving chances are the wheel is going to come flying off or lock up(depends on whether or not the axle is 'live' or not and I have no idea on this jeep), either way you are screwed and likely to crash. And while you can kinda say it is bad or isn't too bad yet based on the noise and feel of the bearing, it isn't an exact science and they can fail at any point once they start making noise.
Older cars almost always take more maintenance, but that maintenance is almost always cheaper than new car payments. That extra money mostly saves you hassle and time getting stuff fixed.
posted by bartonlong at 12:52 PM on June 8, 2013
Older cars almost always take more maintenance, but that maintenance is almost always cheaper than new car payments. That extra money mostly saves you hassle and time getting stuff fixed.
posted by bartonlong at 12:52 PM on June 8, 2013
You're a long way off the 'throwing money at an old car' fail part of the equation, yet. Just fix it and keep driving it. Especially if it is otherwise reliable. Start saving for repairs and/or a new car. You really should have a budget for car repairs per month anyway if you run an old car* and this would represent an equivalent of about $80 a month, which really isn't that much.
Also: They're wheel bearings. I can't imagine you're saving much money by doing all four at once so you could maybe do one axle at a time if money is tight.
*doesn't follow his own advice and now has a potential repair that costs FAR more than the car is worth and can't afford to get a new car. Should have taken own advice....
posted by Brockles at 3:38 PM on June 8, 2013
Also: They're wheel bearings. I can't imagine you're saving much money by doing all four at once so you could maybe do one axle at a time if money is tight.
*doesn't follow his own advice and now has a potential repair that costs FAR more than the car is worth and can't afford to get a new car. Should have taken own advice....
posted by Brockles at 3:38 PM on June 8, 2013
Fix it. Drive it till it dies an unholy death. You'll be easily paid back (and a goodly bit more) within a year. Car payments suck. Start saving a bit toward a down payment.
Jeep Cherokee--I'll bet you can get 250K on it, easy.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:36 PM on June 8, 2013
Jeep Cherokee--I'll bet you can get 250K on it, easy.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:36 PM on June 8, 2013
there's no way it's only worth $1000 even needing new bearings, if the mileage is that low and it's a 2000. You can't get any car that new that doesn't have something seriously wrong with it for that cheap anymore.
This is a cheap repair, and i'd say get this repair and then start riding it in to the ground. My friend has a jeep like this and basically just doesn't fix anything on it and it's been going for years and years.
I'd maybe say it was worth writing off or just letting it fall apart if it had 215k miles on it, but at 115 definitely fix it.
posted by emptythought at 8:04 PM on June 8, 2013
This is a cheap repair, and i'd say get this repair and then start riding it in to the ground. My friend has a jeep like this and basically just doesn't fix anything on it and it's been going for years and years.
I'd maybe say it was worth writing off or just letting it fall apart if it had 215k miles on it, but at 115 definitely fix it.
posted by emptythought at 8:04 PM on June 8, 2013
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posted by jon1270 at 11:03 AM on June 8, 2013