Help -- Buy a new car? Or repair the old one?

[psilence]

Hello

I am curious as to whether or not it would be worth my time and money to repair the car I am currently driving, or if I should just sell it off while it's still running and buy a new one. I realize a thread like this is hard to answer, but I would appreciate any input you could give me.

I am currently driving a 1995 v6 Camry LE I purchased 2 years ago. It has the 1MZ-FE engine. I bought it with 156k miles on it, and I am just now at 200k miles. When I bought it, I had all the hoses and cables checked, the timing belt replaced, and the oil cover gaskets replaced.

It does and always has driven wonderfully; it always shifts properly (it's an automatic), always starts, and literally never gives me any trouble at all (knock on wood).

It has the following defects:

-It currently has a very minor oil leak. I am not really great with cars, so I don't really know where it's coming from, but it is only leaking a miniscule amount and only if I leave it parked for extended periods of time (like overnight in the garage).

-It also has always leaked a small amount of power steering fluid from the power steering pump. My understanding is that this is fairly common, and totally replacing the pump for a minor leak is almost pointless.

-It also has quite a bit of body damage. Recently I was in an accident (just me, no other cars) where I slid off the road and took out a road sign. The sign hit the passenger side front quarter panel and dented it in pretty well.

-There is also a large, X shaped crack in the windshield because a plow drove too close to me and something came off the back end of it and caused a small crack, which grew bigger when the hot air from the heater hit the glass. The majority of it is on the passenger side though, and it is almost a hairline crack, because it is difficult to see from the outside of the car unless you're standing right next to it. It's still perfectly fine to drive with the crack, none of it is in your field of vision as the driver.

-The driver side mirror is hanging off the car as well, because I stupidly knocked it nearly off backing out of the garage one time. I tried to repair it with some automotive adhesive and duct tape. As you can guess, that didn't really go well, and it's still hanging off the side.

-The rotors and brake pads on the back two wheels are completely worn through.

-The driver side door handle cracked in half, and then completely off quite some time ago. It's become second nature to me to have to open the window, open the door from the outside, then close the window to get out of the car. This doesn't really bother me, but I figured I should include it for completeness.

Recently, I bought a new set of four tires for the car, and like I said above, it drives wonderfully. It just doesn't look great.

--

Now, to my question. I will have $1000 to spend on repairing the car as soon as I get my tax return back. I realize it will definitely need:

-Timing belt (~$250)
-New spark plugs and plug wires (~$20?)
-Oil leak fixed, if needed ($?)
-New rotors and brake pads on the rear wheels, possibly ($?) (it stops just fine currently, though)

Other than that, I don't really know what else I should be doing for it. I haven't had the radiator flushed in the 2 years I've had it, but I haven't had any ill effect from not doing so either. I also have never had the transmission flushed or worked on in any way, but again, it's always worked perfectly so I've figured that I should leave well enough alone.

I check the fluid levels pretty regularly, and besides having to add a little oil and power steering fluid now and again, everything is where it should be. I make sure I change the oil and oil filters regularly, but that is about where my expertise ends.

Should I spend the money and fix my car, and hope it lasts another 1-2 years? Or should I sell it while I still can, and use the money I'd make in combination with my tax refund to buy something new (keeping in mind, I'd have a total budget of about $3-4k having sold my current car)?

Thank you.

P.S. I can take pictures of my car tomorrow, should that help anyone in making a decision. I would have tonight, but I got home too late and I'd rather have daytime pictures because of lighting.

[swagger_wagon468]

if it runs well and its mechanically sound...keep it.
u have ALOTT less wrong with your than i do with mine. and ive spent about $5-6k on her. (mainly cuz of sentimental value) my grandma bought it new in 94. it now has 370,000 miles. the first motor (same as yours. 1mz-fe v6) and tranny lasted till about 355,000mi. so if properly maintained, it will last a long time.
door handles break in our camrys alllll the time. both inside and outside ones. one of the most irritating things as both my drivers inside and outside are broken. lol. get at junkyard. couple $.
fender can be found at a junk yard for about $30. maybe less. easy to replace.
winshield is about 150-200$ (installed.) mine was $175 i believe.
brakes, easy to replace. not expensive.
so depending on the oil leak... you should be well under $1k. (unless you are haveing someone do your timing belt. (and also...ALWAYS do you timing tensioner and water pump when u do you t-belt.)
prices range in t-belt jobs.
def take some pics. try to get pics of the oil leak and some of us fellow TNers can help you narrow it down for you.

[mr1114]

- An oil leak that leaves drops on the ground overnight I would say isnt small

- Timing belt replacement interval on my 1MZ is 90k miles. If its the same for a 95, then it shouldnt need one any time soon

- Check the color of the ATF. If its pink or red, it is still ok. Brown or black means very dirty.

The car sounds like its free of major mechanical problems, and should last at least a couple more years. However, the non cosmetic repairs and maintenance work it needs can be pricey. Oil leaks are annoying and there can be a lot of labor involved in fixing them. And they'll only get worse.

My recommendation would be to sell and get something newer and in good cosmetic shape. $4000 should buy a very nice late 90's and newer Toyota.

[heartdisease]

Wow, a running driving car with a rock solid reputation and new tires, just starting to get some personality and you want to get rid of it?

Keep it

Unless you just want to buy someone else's problems you Don't know about yet. Although 4k might buy you another nice Camry.

Seriously I would do the timing belt, water pump and drive the tires off of it and then look at where things were at then. I wouldn't even mess with the oil leak or fender etc yet, I have had a slight rear main seal leak on my 1997 gmc for about 100k and it has never gotten worse. I attribute it to synthetic oil personally. I would get the door handle though shouldn't be that big a deal and the winter has got to suck when you have ice etc on the window.

[carsrus]

If the body is pretty messed up I wouldent dump to much money into it. Repairing a rear quarter will not be worth it under any circumstance. Keep on driving it and keep the fluid levels topped off and you can probably get another couple years with just basic maintenance. A 95 camry in poor shape isnt worth much anyways. Youll be better off financially driving it till it dies.

This site has an immense amount of DIY articles that can help anyone with limited experience fix their car. In general its not worth keeping an old car if you take it to a mechanic for repairs, but if you do all the labor by yourself (working on camry's is a breeze), you can get alot of the essential stuff done with little money. Timing belts , tune ups and brakes are really inexpensive parts. Interior and body parts are plentiful in junk yards as well as on craigslist, and are ridiculously cheap.

[LynchburgCSI]

The windshield needs to be addressed ASAP. See if you can have the crack repaired. It may cause you to fail inspection.

[swagger_wagon468]

Originally Posted by carsrus

If the body is pretty messed up I wouldent dump to much money into it. Repairing a rear quarter will not be worth it under any circumstance. Keep on driving it and keep the fluid levels topped off and you can probably get another couple years with just basic maintenance. A 95 camry in poor shape isnt worth much anyways. Youll be better off financially driving it till it dies.

This site has an immense amount of DIY articles that can help anyone with limited experience fix their car. In general its not worth keeping an old car if you take it to a mechanic for repairs, but if you do all the labor by yourself (working on camry's is a breeze), you can get alot of the essential stuff done with little money. Timing belts , tune ups and brakes are really inexpensive parts. Interior and body parts are plentiful in junk yards as well as on craigslist, and are ridiculously cheap.

he said front quarter panel. so im assuming fender?

[psilence]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I appreciate all the input. I had thought about trying to do some of the work myself, although I don't know if I'd feel comfortable doing major work on my own. Maybe I can take pictures and turn this post into a work log? We'll see.

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

The windshield needs to be addressed ASAP. See if you can have the crack repaired. It may cause you to fail inspection.

I live in rural Illinois and we are not required to pass emissions or inspections, so I'm good there. My biggest worry would be getting pulled over if I drove out of the county but that doesn't happen too often, and like I said the crack is hard to see from far away.

I will get some pictures up ASAP.

[psilence]

As promised, some pictures. I noticed some oil is pooling in the second picture on the top row. Maybe the leak is worse than I thought?

http://imgur.com/a/EL3Ky

Let me know what you all think. Thanks again.

The picture of the dipstick is (at least, I believe) the transmission fluid dipstick. The fluid is a dirty orange color. At the top of the dipstick it reads "CAUTION: PLEASE CHECK DIFFERENTIAL FLUID AT THE FILL VALVE. CONSULT OWNERS MANUAL."

[mr1114]

I imagined the body being worse than that.

I would still go with another, newer vehicle. As I said, you could easily get something with a lot less miles, in excellent mechanical and cosmetic shape. What was said about inheriting someone else's problems is not necessarily true. I am picky when it comes to used cars, so its definitely possible to buy something in almost perfect condition for a few thousand bucks (see picture below )

[Mister_Perkins]

wow, i really like the color of your camry! wish my 95 was that color

As far as the transmission oil . It looks like crap. If you aren't experiencing any slipping or harsh shifting, etc.. with the transmission I would suggest flushing it as soon as possible!

If your planning on selling it. I may be interested. maybe camry #5 . hehehe

[psilence]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

wow, i really like the color of your camry! wish my 95 was that color

As far as the transmission oil . It looks like crap. If you aren't experiencing any slipping or harsh shifting, etc.. with the transmission I would suggest flushing it as soon as possible!

If your planning on selling it. I may be interested. maybe camry #5 . hehehe

Thank you! I may sell it, but from what I am seeing on the local craigslist, there isn't much up worth replacing it with. Like I've said before, it drives perfectly, and I don't really care what it looks like.


One thing I've noticed over the last few weeks is, when I start it, the oil light will come on for one to two seconds, then turn off and never come on again. I assume this has something to do with the leak. I am using Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic 5W-30 oil.


I will replace the transmission fluid as soon as I'm able to, likely with the next oil change. I'd do it now but, I am flat broke.

I imagined the body being worse than that.

I would still go with another, newer vehicle. As I said, you could easily get something with a lot less miles, in excellent mechanical and cosmetic shape. What was said about inheriting someone else's problems is not necessarily true. I am picky when it comes to used cars, so its definitely possible to buy something in almost perfect condition for a few thousand bucks (see picture below )

I was picky as well when I bought this car; I got a carfax for it, checked www.autobeef.com and the nhtsa recall website http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallsearch.cfm for any problems related to that car. I also made sure to check www.repairpal.com for reviews of the car and what it would cost to fix things that commonly break on it.

Again though, I don't really care what the car looks like, as I'm already a married man. My issue is that it is the only car we have, and I just need it to run and run reliably for as long as possible. If I can put a little bit of money into it and be assured of that, I would prefer that to selling it.

[Mister_Perkins]

Yeah looks to me as if you do a slight engine overhaul and get a few exterior parts you will be good to go. These camrys are reliable as long as you take care of them. At 199,000 miles your camry seems to be holding up quite well.

I would look into changing the timing, cam / crank seals, waterpump, Valve cover gaskets, intake gasket to start with. Maybe do a tune up since you will be removing the plenum to get to the back valve cover. for the Tune up do Plugs, Wires, fuel filter.

Go to a salvage yard and pull a fender and a drivers side mirror and have them color matched.

a windshield should run you between $175.00 - $275.00 for a complete removal / install.

[psilence]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

Yeah looks to me as if you do a slight engine overhaul and get a few exterior parts you will be good to go. These camrys are reliable as long as you take care of them. At 199,000 miles your camry seems to be holding up quite well.

I would look into changing the timing, cam / crank seals, waterpump, Valve cover gaskets, intake gasket to start with. Maybe do a tune up since you will be removing the plenum to get to the back valve cover. for the Tune up do Plugs, Wires, fuel filter.

Go to a salvage yard and pull a fender and a drivers side mirror and have them color matched.

Thank you. Are these things major work? I hardly have any equipment to do mechanical work; I got a mechanic's toolbox recently but I don't even have jackstands or hardly anything else.

Is it possible to do all that with basic tools? I know it would cost a lot to have an independent shop do all that for me, and I'm willing to at least try it myself.

If not though, I am willing to spend about $1000 at a shop (and there are several reputable ones near me according to repairpal) to have them do those things.

[Mister_Perkins]

I would also suggest to DIY (Do-it-yourself) If you have the tools, time, and general knowledge. You can save yourself a LOT of money and end up having a little extra to play with from your Tax return. And there's a lot of people on here who are very knowledgeable who are on here every day who can help you if you run into a problem.

Basic set of tools required to do the tasks at hand:

1.) 10-21mm 3/8" Socket set
2.) 3/8" Ratchet
3.) 20mm 1/2" Socket -- or whatever size the Crankshaft bolt is
4.) 1/2" Breaker bar
5.) Flat head screw driver
6.) Pliers
7.) Wrenches (10-18mm should do)
8.) Jack stands
9.) Floor jack or scissors jack
10.) Dirty rags to clean stuff
11.) 6-10" C-Clamp (if doing brakes)
12.) Brake Clean (for rotors) or Starting fluid (for cleaning parts) : You can use brake clean to clean parts too, but its more expensive than starting fluid
13.) 3/8" Extensions
14.) optional : Ratchet Wrenches
15.) Gasket Scraper
16.) high temp silicone
17.) A wife / girlfriend to make you lunch and bring you drinks
18.) A Radio to jam to
19.) optional : A buddy to help you out


You can pick up jack stands relatively cheap ($20.00 on harbor frieght).

If you have 10-21mm Sockets, a 1/2 ratchet or breaker bar, a 3/8 ratchet, a few extensions, and a few wrenches you should be able to get it done.