At what point do you stop putting money into a car ?

[Tommy Fits]

Here's the situation I'm in, I have a 2005 Nissan Altima with 103k miles on it. Since around 70k it just seems like I have been pouring money into the car. I've replaced the radiator, blower motor, AC compressor, alternator, 2 or 3 tie rods, hub bearing, U joint in the steering column. Right now I have a bad transmission, it's been giving me trouble for a while now and surprised it hasn't gone yet. Get a lot hard shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. When I shift from from reverse to drive sometimes there will be a 2-3 pause and a violent jerk into gear. I know the transmission is shot. I also have to change the motor mounts and the shocks and struts need to be changed. Also I had a AC hose leak so I need that changed and recharged. I know all this work is going to cost me a nice chunk of change, at what point should I stop putting money into the car ? As for the engine, I always stayed on top of engine maintenance so the engine still runs great. Right now I could swing a new/certified used car but it would be something small and cheap like a Versa or Civic, not something I want though. I was ideally hoping to get at least another 2-3 years out of the car and by then my finances should be in order to get a car I would actually want.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Damn thats a lot of issues bruh

Im actually really surprised, my brother has an 05 Altima (V6 doe) and it runs great. Less miles though. A lot of those issues are just maintenance though (inner + outer tie rods). Where do you live? Somewhere w/a lot of salt?

I feel + understand your frustration, but on the flip side, you might be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with a new car. Plus you will get slapped with sales tax, registration fees and depending on how you sell it the hit on trade in value vs sale value. You go to a dealership and they test it, they will dock like 2-3K for the bad trans. So I would keep it.

To fix the parts you have to shop around. I would look online for a rebuilt transmission. Shouldn't be more than $1000 for the trans and maybe $1000-1500 for someone to install. Motor mounts should be like another $1000 bought + installed. So $3500 to keep the car running for a few years. Like I said between the trade in hit, transaction fees, and depreciation over the same period on a newer car there's no way you'd only spend $3500 on an upgrade over the same period. And again that upgrade could end up having different issues.

Something else to look into (I have no idea how they actually are) is a warranty or maintenance insurance. You pay a little each month and if something goes wrong its covered.

 

[the mechanic]

Here's the situation I'm in, I have a 2005 Nissan Altima with 103k miles on it. Since around 70k it just seems like I have been pouring money into the car. I've replaced the radiator, blower motor, AC compressor, alternator, 2 or 3 tie rods, hub bearing, U joint in the steering column. Right now I have a bad transmission, it's been giving me trouble for a while now and surprised it hasn't gone yet. Get a lot hard shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. When I shift from from reverse to drive sometimes there will be a 2-3 pause and a violent jerk into gear. I know the transmission is shot. I also have to change the motor mounts and the shocks and struts need to be changed. Also I had a AC hose leak so I need that changed and recharged. I know all this work is going to cost me a nice chunk of change, at what point should I stop putting money into the car ? As for the engine, I always stayed on top of engine maintenance so the engine still runs great. Right now I could swing a new/certified used car but it would be something small and cheap like a Versa or Civic, not something I want though. I was ideally hoping to get at least another 2-3 years out of the car and by then my finances should be in order to get a car I would actually want.

Cost it out breh ...looks like youll need

a tranny replacement/rebuild $2k-3k
motor mounts $500
2-4 struts $1-2k
total $3500 to 5500 but lets pick $4500 since there will be miscellaneous shop supplies like fluid and bolts and you will be left with a 8 year old car with 100K+ miles that will still need maintenance eg like your timing belt should be replaced at 120k miles

05 altimas are selling for about 4500-5K so youre right on the edge where repairing it will cost you about what the car is worth but if youre not in a position to finance then i say repair it.

If youre repairing Start calling around and find a reputable tranny rebuilder BEFORE the car stops moving..they will give you a better when youre not desperate..ive taken on weekend rebuilds for cheap when there was no pressure to get it done fast and my workload was light.

thats my 2cents

 

[LordTaskForce]

If you're even asking that question its time to stop putting money in it

 

[88m3]

damn that's crazy. do you have a loan? I would buy a new car.

 

[unit321]

Here's the situation I'm in, I have a 2005 Nissan Altima with 103k miles on it. Since around 70k it just seems like I have been pouring money into the car. I've replaced the radiator, blower motor, AC compressor, alternator, 2 or 3 tie rods, hub bearing, U joint in the steering column. Right now I have a bad transmission, it's been giving me trouble for a while now and surprised it hasn't gone yet. Get a lot hard shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. When I shift from from reverse to drive sometimes there will be a 2-3 pause and a violent jerk into gear. I know the transmission is shot. I also have to change the motor mounts and the shocks and struts need to be changed. Also I had a AC hose leak so I need that changed and recharged. I know all this work is going to cost me a nice chunk of change, at what point should I stop putting money into the car ? As for the engine, I always stayed on top of engine maintenance so the engine still runs great. Right now I could swing a new/certified used car but it would be something small and cheap like a Versa or Civic, not something I want though. I was ideally hoping to get at least another 2-3 years out of the car and by then my finances should be in order to get a car I would actually want.

That's a lot of problems for a car with 100,000+ miles.
How do you know your struts need to be changed? Who said that? You or a mechanic. How to test... press down on one corner of the car so that corner of the car is depressed. Then, let go. If it comes up and stops, the strut is fine. If it comes up and then down and up. You need to change it.

As for the transmission problem, one "cheaper" way to get it replaced is to find a used transmission from a wrecked Altima. Then, buy that and pay to get it swapped in.
But for now, in your existing transmission, replace the ATF (automatic transmission fluid) and see if that helps your shifting issues.

 

[Wildin]

Here's the situation I'm in, I have a 2005 Nissan Altima with 103k miles on it. Since around 70k it just seems like I have been pouring money into the car. I've replaced the radiator, blower motor, AC compressor, alternator, 2 or 3 tie rods, hub bearing, U joint in the steering column. Right now I have a bad transmission, it's been giving me trouble for a while now and surprised it hasn't gone yet. Get a lot hard shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. When I shift from from reverse to drive sometimes there will be a 2-3 pause and a violent jerk into gear. I know the transmission is shot. I also have to change the motor mounts and the shocks and struts need to be changed. Also I had a AC hose leak so I need that changed and recharged. I know all this work is going to cost me a nice chunk of change, at what point should I stop putting money into the car ? As for the engine, I always stayed on top of engine maintenance so the engine still runs great. Right now I could swing a new/certified used car but it would be something small and cheap like a Versa or Civic, not something I want though. I was ideally hoping to get at least another 2-3 years out of the car and by then my finances should be in order to get a car I would actually want.

How long do you plan on keeping her? Most cats have a plan like graduating college or moving, starting a family. If your fixing goals won't get you to that point then go ahead and go through the hassle of copping a new one. But 3gs worth of repairs and another 5 years to keep is pretty good...but think about how much your gonna spend. are you gonna use the 3gs you have for repairs for a car. Or use that 3g plus more an upgrade?