[DarkTriad]

(12-10-2014 09:53 PM)Ensam Wrote:  

Sounds like you're thinking about it the right way.

It's largely a judgement call.

Not really. Someone already crunched the numbers, comparing average bluebook resale value for each year of every make and model along with maintenence etc. They "Moneyballed" it and came up with a number called "True Cost to Own". For example, a reliable car with good resale value like a Lexus may actually cost less to own each year than a shittier car after you crunch all the numbers.

You could make a judgement call about whether your personal care of the car was above or below average, but other than that, the averages have already been calculated.

[Ensam]

Neither KBB or Edmunds cost to own calculators go back far enough to cover any car I've owned or would consider owning. Is there another source for older cars?

[DJ-Matt]

(12-15-2014 09:24 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

Yeah take it to someone who knows you trust. Stall test? If you can't tell if a car has a junk drivetrain auto or standard you're retarded.

I love you all though so just ask.

I've owned very few automatics so I do not consider myself an expert on how to tell what their condition is, although I do look for a few things:

- ATF Fluid leak / low level
- Bad slippage (could be low fluid)
- Rough shift into all gears (I've known several trannys that lasted for a long time with just a rough 1-2 shift)

Any others I should look for?

[poledaddy]

(12-18-2014 08:32 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  

(12-15-2014 09:24 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

Yeah take it to someone who knows you trust. Stall test? If you can't tell if a car has a junk drivetrain auto or standard you're retarded.

I love you all though so just ask.

Yeah, no shit.

To the OP, have you contacted the dealership and asked how much they charge in labor hours to change the clutch? Then figure out how many hours cheaper your mechanic is offering to do it. If he's not offering to do it cheaper, why exactly are you going to your mechanic?

If you posted the year and exact model of your car people might have enough information to help you. Honestly, I'm surprised with how important of a financial decision this is that you haven't called around to different shops to find out what they'd charge you.

There's no reason you shouldn't get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

Yeah my bad, it's a 2000 Toyota Celica GT, 165K, manual trans. I've done my research since starting this thread and figured out enough about clutches/drivetrains to know the clutch is just not responding like it should. Reason I haven't called around a bunch? Because I just found out about this shit and I'm moving to AZ next week with a hundred other things to deal with, some of them with similar or greater financial impacts than this dilapidated car.

I've been getting a decent amount of interest on Craiglist since I posted it at $1200, got some people coming tomorrow. Not a flood of responses so I'm thinking I priced it appropriately, maybe even a little high. I already booked the flight to AZ next Saturday at 8pm, so the car is not coming with me - the question is how much I get for it.

Worse case I take it to a junk yard on Saturday before I fly out and get a few hundred bucks.

Oh and if any DC-MD area RVFers are reading this and think they might want it hit me up, I'm in south Baltimore 2 minutes off of I-95.

[Sonoma]

I worked as a car salesman and my advice is always stick with your beater POS if possible, unless you NEED a good car for work, and in that case I'd say find a cheap vehicle to lease