When should I give up on my car?

TAMMYN

MEMBER
DODGE INTREPID

1997 Dodge Intrepid 150,000 I took the car in for repair of water leaking and overheating. I was told it was the water pump which would cost $630 to repair. They informed me I also had serious safety issues with the outer tie rod ends $290, front tires $200, rear bushings $330, and a very bad oil leak that they were not sure where it was coming from because there was oil everywhere. Total $1457.00 (not including the oil problem). Is it worth all that money? Should I just give up? Will I be able to get anything out of this car? :Cry:

1 Reply

BRUCE HUNT

MECHANIC
3,753 POSTS

Hey I don't want to dampen your spirits too much further. Let me say that these things you are experiencing with the car did not happen overnight. I would suspect that a lack of maintenance and attention to detail on the car has sort of snowballed. You are now finding a lot of major problems. The mechanics could be wrong and they could be right, but I would suspect they are in the ballpark. I find issue with a lot of their prices but I never take a car to a mechanic. So what should you do? I personally can't speak for your financial situation but based on what I have read I would turn a new leaf and start fresh with a different vehicle. Get what you can for the car by either selling it outright, trading it in, etc and comitting yourself to watching the new car closely to fend off the expensive repairs.

I wish you good luck and I hope we can help you some other time.