Poll of the Day > think I made the wrong decision getting a car

(+) Yeah! (+)

bought it (used) last week, even got a mechanical inspection beforehand so I knew what I was getting into. But as luck would have it, I found out today that it's leaking coolant.

cars just suck I guess? I tried hard not to get burned but like, right away this is looking to be a bit of a money sink. it was only a $2000 car, I don't know how much money I want to spend to keep it in good condition. But I have it insured for 3 months so I don't to get rid of it immediately.

oh and not just money, I guess it's just a lot more stress than I need right now, or ever.
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Car problems can cause stress like no other. Hopefully it's a simple fix. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to cars but, one day my truck over heated on me and it turned out it had been leaking coolant. I ended up paying just over $200 for a new radiator and labor.

if there's a hole in the radiator

crack an egg into it.

seriously.
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You need a car that gets you.
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AdrammeIech posted...

Car problems can cause stress like no other. Hopefully it's a simple fix. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to cars but, one day my truck over heated on me and it turned out it had been leaking coolant. I ended up paying just over $200 for a new radiator and labor.

sounds like a good deal. hopefully it's not much more than that..

helIy posted...

if there's a hole in the radiator

crack an egg into it.

seriously.

I don't think I want a fried egg in my 25 year old engine thank you very much

Firewood18 posted...

You need a car that gets you.

I agree.
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AdrammeIech posted...

Car problems can cause stress like no other. Hopefully it's a simple fix. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to cars but, one day my truck over heated on me and it turned out it had been leaking coolant. I ended up paying just over $200 for a new radiator and labor.

Lets just say that if you let it go too long, $200 is nowhere near what you will be paying. My first car had a warped head gasket because the temperature gauge was broken and I didn't know the car was overheating for like a month (no smoke or anything, just checked the radiator fluid and it was bone dry). Cost me $1500 to get the warp machined out, plus another $500 for a new cooling system and temperature gauge. Which by the way was close to what I originally payed for the car.

I was lucky this happened in the middle of the coldest winter we had at the time or the car might have caught on fire or something.
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acesxhigh posted...

I don't think I want a fried egg in my 25 year old engine thank you very much

it will legitimately seal the hole

it's been in mythbusters, even.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/one-car-too-far/videos/radiator-egg-fix/

this one isn't mythbusters, but it's still shows it working
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Dikitain posted...

AdrammeIech posted...

Car problems can cause stress like no other. Hopefully it's a simple fix. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to cars but, one day my truck over heated on me and it turned out it had been leaking coolant. I ended up paying just over $200 for a new radiator and labor.

Lets just say that if you let it go too long, $200 is nowhere near what you will be paying. My first car had a warped head gasket because the temperature gauge was broken and I didn't know the car was overheating for like a month (no smoke or anything, just checked the radiator fluid and it was bone dry). Cost me $1500 to get the warp machined out, plus another $500 for a new cooling system and temperature gauge. Which by the way was close to what I originally payed for the car.

I was lucky this happened in the middle of the coldest winter we had at the time or the car might have caught on fire or something.

Geez, I really dodged a bullet then. I knew it was happening right away because some red light popped up in my dash and it kept beeping. I remember having no clue what to do so I just finished driving to work and called the mechanic from there.

well if it's the head gasket then I'll junk it lol
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i hate cars
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CountessRolab posted...

i hate cars

me too. literally responsible for the destruction of society but my hour+ long bus ride to work takes 15 minutes by car so I'm buying into this shit. I'm so sad
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CountessRolab posted...

i hate cars

I like them when they work, fuck em so hard when they don't though.

acesxhigh posted...

CountessRolab posted...

i hate cars

me too. literally responsible for the destruction of society but my hour+ long bus ride to work takes 15 minutes by car so I'm buying into this shit. I'm so sad

move closer. I live a 10 min walk away from my work.
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I would love to but can't afford to move out of my parents' house right now.
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Is it foreign or domestic?

I think domestic are a little cheaper to repair nowadays. I drive a Chevy and my maintenance costs are always lower compared to my wife's honda
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Used cars are always a crapshoot.
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Mead posted...

Is it foreign or domestic?

It's a Toyota.

Zeus posted...

Used cars are always a crapshoot.

Yeah that's true. And I guess even more-so if you cheap out and only budget $3000 for one. Going back, I probably would have increased my budget to 5 grand but then again I may have ended up with the same maintenance except hardly being able to afford it.
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CountessRolab posted...

acesxhigh posted...

CountessRolab posted...

i hate cars

me too. literally responsible for the destruction of society but my hour+ long bus ride to work takes 15 minutes by car so I'm buying into this shit. I'm so sad

move closer. I live a 10 min walk away from my work.

It's always funny when people say this. I mean, if people could just move closer to have a 10 minute walk, they probably would.

Not saying that living closer to where you work isn't a good option though. I prefer to live closer to where ever I work if it's possible.
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I would refuse to live close to my work. I live in a nice suburb like 25 minutes away but the hospital where I work is in a not so good neighborhood
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Mead posted...

I would refuse to live close to my work. I live in a nice suburb like 25 minutes away but the hospital where I work is in a not so good neighborhood

I think "close" is different from person to person.

I like driving so a 20 - 25 drive is close enough for me.

Some people prefer to walk to work so maybe a 20 - 25 minute walking distance from work is close for them.
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OP that fucking sucks, i lost my used hyundai after two months, cars can be fickle and luck of the draw
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You generally get what you pay for with vehicles. The cheaper they are, the bigger the gamble. What is that old line? "Cheap, fast, reliable: pick two"...

I've been fortunate with Japanese cars, for the most part, but most expire in 8-10 years (from any company) then you're replacing one thing at a time until it's mostly new anyway.

I had a Dodge SX that was good for about 5-6 years other than servicing, brakes, and tires (obviously), and I sold it before anything big happened. I don't put much mileage on though.
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My 2002 Ford Mustang I bought new lasted me for 10 years with virtually zero issues. The only things I replaced on it were the routine stuff and the EGR sensor twice. It had the original shocks, belts, muffler, everything. I decided to sell it at around 120k miles before things started to go.
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It's just coolant? That's fine and could be a lot worse for a 2k car.

Of the four cars I've owned:

Buick Centry, 96 I think, 76k miles on it. Lasted two months before it and 3 other vehicles were rammed in an attempted vehicular homocide. My car did not survive. It didn't look bad at first. Then when I went to move it two days later the trans axel was broken and it barely wanted to move.

Olds Cutless Sierra S 94. Had 24k miles on it. I had this for about 4 years before the enginee choked out and died. It wouldn't stay running. 3 weeks, one stripped out spark plug, and 2 different shops giving up on it I decided to sell it.

Kia Spectra 2004. 56k miles on it. It currently has 156k on it. The only thing that's gone bad on it is a battery, the upper mass air flow censor, and the lights. So it's been a dream car. I still own it.

Mazda3s 2014 Grand a Touring I bought it with 14 miles on it. It currently is about 41k. Zero problems thus far. But this proves you always want to take a car to a mechanic rather than work on it yourself because you'll end up spending more. When the MO2 censor went out on the Kia, I ended up buying the Mazda because I couldn't get around trying to fix the damned thing.

Hey TC, you should have bought some Louboutins instead. They would have been half the price and caused you less stress.

http://us.christianlouboutin.com/us_en/shop/men/roadie-flat-1.html
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zoom zoom zoom
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Pro tip: when your car fails get your dad to buy you a new one!

If I didn't have that up my sleeve, I'd be the proud owner of a bus pass and maybe a bicycle... The city transit here sucks too, because everybody owns cars and they run it at a heavy loss just as a community service for a few hundred poor people. I understand the economics, but it's a catch-22 that nobody uses the buses because they suck and they suck because nobody uses the buses.
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Cars are a whole lot of money, maintenance and stress. I could actually afford to shop around for a car right now, but I really don't want the trouble. I get by all right on the bus/bike.
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If you don't trust the egg add 2 tsps of ground black pepper, always used on farm equipment ;)
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keyblader1985 posted...

Cars are a whole lot of money, maintenance and stress. I could actually afford to shop around for a car right now, but I really don't want the trouble. I get by all right on the bus/bike.

If I didn't need one, I wouldn't have one.
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Could be a clamp on one of the coolant hoses leading to or from the radiat

Dakooder posted...

Could be a clamp on one of the coolant hoses leading to or from the radiat

yeah it was hard to tell where it was coming from because it seems to have gotten in the radiator fan and sprayed everywhere. or just sprayed everywhere cause of the pressure.

either way, it's everywhere. I'll try to narrow it down tomorrow and then get it looked at if it's not some clamp
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acesxhigh posted...

Dakooder posted...

Could be a clamp on one of the coolant hoses leading to or from the radiat

yeah it was hard to tell where it was coming from because it seems to have gotten in the radiator fan and sprayed everywhere. or just sprayed everywhere cause of the pressure.

either way, it's everywhere. I'll try to narrow it down tomorrow and then get it looked at if it's not some clamp

Look at the underside of your hood and your belts. If there is coolant on them, it may be your water pump. Depending on the model and year it could be a 1 hour fix or and 18 hour fix. It took me about 45 minutes to replace the pump in my 93 4runner, but if I had an 09 prius it would require pulling the engine out.

What car is it? I just bought a Lexus IS200 for $325 and despite rough paintwork it's running really nicely.
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$2000 for a car isn't exactly pocket change. I get it it's mandatory in USA in order to get anywhere but yeah, it's a money sink anyway you look at it. I'm not gonna get a car until I absolutely positively need one
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It's a 93 Camry. Looks like I need to replace the timing belt also if I want to replace the water pump. Canadian Tire tried to sell me a timing belt replacement job for $500... I'll shop around
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$2000 for a car made in 93? You must feel like you've been ripped off, dude
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well it's very clean and relatively low kms (220k), plus it was a reputable dealer who gave me a free third-party inspection. Private sales are a headache. Maybe prices are different where you live but I was looking at things like 03 Honda Civic with 250k for 3500. Cars are a rip-off no matter how you look at it, I guess.
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I guess you do have a point. In most of Europe cars that old rarely go over a thousand but yeah the mileage on that thing is decent if it's accurate. I only know about cars what I heard from dad but he died years ago
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Sorry to hear bout your dad. My dad took me to fill my tank but that's about the extent of his car expertise. lol
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acesxhigh posted...

It's a 93 Camry. Looks like I need to replace the timing belt also if I want to replace the water pump. Canadian Tire tried to sell me a timing belt replacement job for $500... I'll shop around

Dude, the belt should cost $40 and take half an hour to install. Go to a Toyota dealership.

A radiator is cheap, or do what helly said.
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Dakooder posted...

Go to a Toyota dealership.

Ok, so I called the toyota dealership and they said it was $120/hr just for diagnostics.

I went for a drive today. and there was the maple syrup smell but I didn't find any puddles of coolant and the level in the reservoir didn't go down by any noticeable amount so... I think I should be good to go for a while? I'll see if it gets low again before the end of the week and then I can take it to the shop.
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I've had a car for a couple of years that leaks coolant. I don't know anything about cars, but it leaks from the place you put coolant in (I think it's the radiator?), and the leaked coolant flows into a separate coolant container. All I have to do is dump the overfilled coolant back into the first coolant receptacle before I drive anywhere. I don't do long distance driving, though.

Maybe you will have an easy fix like that.
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That sounds incredibly strange. I suppose I could just dump water in for the rest of the summer but I'm trying to make this shitbox last at least 2 more years
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An aftermarket radiator isn't very expensive or hard to install and you'll get improved cooling.

Toyotas are famously bombproof, as long as you look after it (i.e. not dilute the coolant while it's hot) it should be able to double its mileage.
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helIy posted...

acesxhigh posted...

I don't think I want a fried egg in my 25 year old engine thank you very much

it will legitimately seal the hole

it's been in mythbusters, even.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/one-car-too-far/videos/radiator-egg-fix/

this one isn't mythbusters, but it's still shows it working

It will also very likely end up clogging your coolant lines and ruining your heater core. So no, don't put an egg in your radiator unless it's absolutely your only choice to get you to safety. Like if youre in the dessert, out of water and need to stop your radiator from leaking so yoi dont die. Not when there are legitimate products on the market that are inexpensive and do the same thing far better without the side effect of fucking things up.

I guess if your junking the car anyway then sure, go ahead just for shit and giggles.

Very afraid of buying used. Just bought my first one (other vehicles I had were brand new) and it did have some problems, but the dealership fixed everything that was safety-related.

zebatov posted...

Very afraid of buying used. Just bought my first one (other vehicles I had were brand new) and it did have some problems, but the dealership fixed everything that was safety-related.

Just don't trust car salesmen and familiarise yourself with the car before you buy it.
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