Son of a cracker jack.
In November our garage door opener died. It cost us over $250 to purchase and install a new one.
A week ago our dishwasher died. Purchasing and installing our new Bosch cost about $500, after sales and rebates. Hopefully it gets installed soon.
Just now the good folks at DuTeau called and gave us the worst news of all: RUNRGAL, our 2001 Chevy Prism, needs an heart engine transplant. Crapsicles.
Now, my family has always said that bad news like this comes in threes. Family history has pretty much supported the claim. This is number 3. So we're done, right? Right?
You may recall that I was somewhat excited a couple months back about the possibility of shopping for a new car. That's because I thought my car -- a 1993 Ford Tempo -- was dying. It was supposed to die. The decision to (a) put money into it, or (b) scrap it was very easy. But it didn't die. It's still going, just like all the other '93 Tempos you see around town. (There are a bunch!) The Prism was supposed to be our "good" car that would last us a few more years. I'm not prepared to decide whether it's worth throwing thousands of dollars at the car.
*sigh*
Anybody have a good car for sale at a great price? How 'bout a cheap engine for a 2001 Prism?
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See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Ouch. Maybe GM will have a closeout on spare RUNRGAL engines to make some quick cash 😉
Buy a Prius while they’re at a reduced price due to low gas prices 😊
Call around to the local salvage yards and see if they have any Prizm (or Toyota Corolla, as they share the 1.8L I4) engines. For what it’s worth, I’ve had a good experience with Four Brothers Auto Salvage (70th & Cornhusker).
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a car, the state vehicle auction is a good place to look. The downsides are that the next auction is in May and the car selection is largely limited to: Ford Taurus, Focus, Crown Vic; Dodge Stratus; Chevy Malibu.
What is the mileage like those? I told myself Id buy a car to replace my 86 cavalier LAST year at tax time, and didn’t…and it still runs and had under 100,000 to spite me. Ive never gone to the State auction for vehicles. Do you have any pointers? You can email me if you don’t want to post here.
That’s a good suggestion I would have never thought of that.
I’ve driven the Ford Focus several times and they are not too shabby.
It depends on the agency, but vehicles that come from the Department of Administrative Services (which is the source of nearly all non-Crown Vic cars) are about 5 years old, have 50-100k miles, and are in above-average condition for vehicles of their age/mileage.
One of those is pretty much what I am looking for-economy car, with the necessary space for car seats if I need them, and traceable maintenance history, and no car payment. The trick is: what do they usually auction for? Ill pretty much have my tax return, and whatever I can save until then.
I bought my daughter’s car at the auction. Do your homework and realize that the cars are not necessarily showroom quality. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good cars, but don’t be surprised if you find a McDonald’s bag in the backseat (like I did).
Her car, Taurus, runs great and I bought it at a great price.
Bought my first car on my 16th birthday at the state auction. Drove it all the way through High School and College and sold it for exactly the same amount I paid 7 years prior. Was a long time ago but was the single best auto deal I ever got.
Sounds promising. Do they post a manifest before the auction day to research the vehicles?
The sale bill goes out a month or so before the auction; a listing of each car with its mileage comes out a couple weeks later. The lot is open to the public in the days before the auction. If you decide to go to the one next spring, check the surplus auction Web site from time to time.
As to how much the cars go for…obviously this depends on many, many factors, but most (non-Crown Vics) go for $2500 to $5000.
Perhaps the best thing with a state vehicle is the maintenance. Transportation Service Bureau is extremely fussy when it comes to getting regular/manufacturer suggested service, which is really a good thing. If a state car fails mechanically it’s difficult to claim “non-maintenance” as the reason.
Don’t lose confidence in the Tempo. I saw one today that had to have been a mid-to-late 80s model, and it was still in great shape.
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