MrFun needs car advice . . .

[MrFun]

I have a 1988 Chevy Celebrity that I obtained from my mother about four years ago. But don't laugh at me, damn you!

Anyway, I have two major problems with my car -- one, the floating meter that measures how much gasoline I have in my tank is WAY inaccurate -- it will cost me $830 for the repairs.

Second, my car's entire brake system needs to be replaced -- and that will cost me about $380 for those repairs.

Now, considering the piece-of-sh*t car I have in the first place, I know that these repairs will be more than what my car is worth.


I already paid an entire semester of monthly rents on my student apartment with a small loan, and now I live off of about $820 every month with no utilities to pay for -- already paid for those too.

The past year, I have been thinking off and on about buying another, MUCH BETTER used car. So why should I get these EXPENSIVE repairs if I can just pay for a better used car?

Could I afford to do this? I would pay maybe $500 a month on a used car, just to get it paid in a shorter amount of time.

But I'm also looking in the range of $5,000 to $7,000.

Thanks for any help.

[Az]

get a Subaru. our 91' Legacy hasn't let me down yet. (we have it for 2-3 years or so ) *knocks on wood*

[SlowwHand]

Get you a Toyota Tacoma pickup.
My '96 has never failed me.

[MrFun]

A pickup truck??
A pickup truck??


Oh, and I do know a friend who got a used 2000 or 2001 car for about $7,000.

So I thought I could try to find something around that price for a 2000 or 2001??

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Buy German or Japanese.

[Az]

Japanese is cheaper, and has got cheaper spare parts. Reliability is similar ( in both cases, the cars are reliable ).

The costs vary, of course.

[chequita guevara]

Do you have any friends who know how to fix cars? (probably a stupid question)

[MrFun]

One gal who is a friend of mine has a boyfriend who knows how to fix cars -- and he and I are friends, too.

But he does not have the major tools that my repairs would entail.

I'm just about ready to say "fvck it" with this car I have, since the past year, I have been thinking of buying a used 2000 or 2001 car.

[-Jrabbit]

Definitely time to move on. I buy American, but that's more of a personal problem.

in your situation, a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Nissan Sentra would be the best samll cars. If you can move up in class a bit, the Accord and Legacy are good calls.

My mother in law drives Honda Civics and has gotten at least 150K miles with no problems on the 2 she's had...

[MrFun]

UGH -- one of my other friends said that Honda is utter KRAPOLA.

[SlowwHand]

Toyota Tacoma (ahem, another plug) is assembled in the USA.

[-Jrabbit]

My real advice is to suck it up and get a real car.

Free financing for 5 years is easy to get on a new car, but you'll pay 7 to 10 percent financing someone else's problems.

[Japher]

Toyota Tacoma (ahem, another plug) is assembled in the USA.

Still, gay men don't drive pick-ups. Though I know a gay guy who drives a 89' Ford Bronce... Last year they made the hard top convert... I think. Nice car, apart from it being a Ford...

Get a hybrid you pansy.

[rev]

I've got an '89 Honda Accord that just passed 220,000 miles. It is, of course, falling apart now, but all in all it's lasted a long time.

I'd recommend against a 2000 or 2001 used car if you're only spending $7k or so. Remember, there's a reason why such cars are cheap, even when they're new.

Go for something in the early- to mid-90s.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Japher


Still, gay men don't drive pick-ups.

BIG deal.
Here's probably his one and only chance to be a trend-setter, and not a follower.