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Well, for a different perspective, are you mechanically inclined at all? Do you own, or have access to decent tools and a place to work?
If so, buy (or borrow from the library) a Chilton's or Haynes manual.
I learned to work on cars when I was young and poor as I could never afford to take my car in to have it repaired.
Granted, cars then were less complex, but the fundamentals are still the same....
It may not be completely FUBAR.
Seriously, read up and start turning wrenches. The beauty of this situation is that you really can't make it much worse and you may just learn something.....
If your note is up in November, what's the remaining balance?
Can you sell the car for scrap or as a fixer-upper for enough to cover what is left?
About $1700 left on the car. I would love to just sell it for scrap so I can move on with my life, but you need the title to do that, which I won't have till I pay it off.... so that's where I'm stuck! It's a pickle.
Well, for a different perspective, are you mechanically inclined at all? Do you own, or have access to decent tools and a place to work?
If so, buy (or borrow from the library) a Chilton's or Haynes manual.
I learned to work on cars when I was young and poor as I could never afford to take my car in to have it repaired.
Granted, cars then were less complex, but the fundamentals are still the same....
It may not be completely FUBAR.
Seriously, read up and start turning wrenches. The beauty of this situation is that you really can't make it much worse and you may just learn something.....
Good Luck!
I'm not the least bit mechanically inclined - clearly, LOL!! I can change a tire- that's about as mechanic-ey as I get.
I live in an apartment complex and they prohibit that sort of stuff in the parking area anyway. But, you're right, it might be a good idea to start to learn. I might have been able to change my own belt and avoided this entirely if I just had some knowledge about what to do originally!
We had a similar situation a few years ago with our Jeep Cherokee. It had major electrical/wiring issues and transmission problems. It was close to 3 months before it was PIF. At that time we had absolutely no extra income coming in and only one person working in the house. So I know what you mean about ZERO extra money.
I contacted the bank and explained the situation. They agreed to reduce the payments based on economic hardship however they added more monthly payments as a result. We had it fixed and took the extra money from the reduced loan payments and made payments to the repair shop and picked it up when the balance due was paid. You could try that and see if it works.
Hey, I like this idea! I wouldn't mind extending the loan if it would put a few extra bucks in my pocket right now, to be put toward repairs. Worth a try! Thank you!
Honestly, you are so clueless about cars, you need to live somewhere with public transport. You managed to parlay a simple broken belt into at least a head gasket job, maybe more, you didn't "take a chance", you ran the car and you knew, or should have known, that no alternator belt means the water pump also is not turning, and modern engines won't cool well enough without the pump as you demonstrated.
Who exactly held a gun to your head and made you drive the car in this condition? Those 50 miles cost you as much as $100 per mile, Buckwheat.
Quit paying on the car, you would be better off without a car and without credit.
Gee whiz, I asked for no lectures, and yet I got one anyway.
Looks like my car knowledge is better than your reading comprehension. Buckwheat.
Can you give us any details of how the thing behaved? Did the engine suddenly stop with a jerk, or did it gradually lose power, or just cut out and coast, or what? Were other electrical components working right up to the end? What happens if you try to start it now---does it crank? If it does, and it cranks really fast, it's the timing belt. If it doesn't turn at all, even though the starter is getting juice, it's seized.
Can you give us any details of how the thing behaved? Did the engine suddenly stop with a jerk, or did it gradually lose power, or just cut out and coast, or what? Were other electrical components working right up to the end? What happens if you try to start it now---does it crank? If it does, and it cranks really fast, it's the timing belt. If it doesn't turn at all, even though the starter is getting juice, it's seized.
Let me see if I remember. After the belt went, the battery light came on and, after about 10 minutes of driving, the temperature gauge went all the way up. That's when we pulled over and checked to see how hot it was under the hood- not hot. So we kept driving. We did notice the lights got dimmer if we put on the radio or vents or anything that took power away (this was at night, so we had the lights on the whole time). I think it was the last 10 miles or so that the lights got really dim, and there was knocking right at the end, and it sort of slowly lost power and we pulled over, and finally, smoke. When you turn the key, nothing happens. At Sears they charged up the battery, but still nothing, except maybe a click.
What failed is most likely an idler or tension pulley, hence the squealing. When that failed it snapped the serpentine belt, which despite someones comment drives both the alternator and the water pump. At that point the car's electronics were running solely off the battery, hence while everything got dimmer. Wihtout the water pump working, the engine slowly overheated on your ride home. Once you've overheated the engine it could be a multitude of things that actually failed, but the best repair option is to replace the entire engine with a remanned unit. This can be pretty cheap if you find a good indie shop, but still be in the $2k range.
Even if the car was still under the 10 year / 100k mile warranty (there would be no warranty if you bought it used as the Hyundai/Kia warranty is not transferrable) this repair would not be covered as the damage was caused by you driving the car overheating.
I understand why you went to Sears, but that is the last place I would go for any work like this. If fixing the car is your goal, you need a good indie mechanic.
As for what I think you should do, I would continue to make payments until the car is paid off, letting it sit where it's at. You only have about 6 months of payments of left, so there is no need to trash your credit. Even if you let them repo it, you would still be stuck owing them the balance after they scrap it, so you'd probably still be on the hook for $1,500 or so to the finance company and would have bad credit.
Once it's paid off you can start saving to get the repair done, or if you have a job at that point, maybe trade it in or sell it for scrap and get something else.
Usually bad years are the result of bad decisions.
Wow. Deep! Have you thought about writing a self help book with all those pearls?
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Lighten up Francis...the kid said it was a bad year.
