Choke, Gasp, Cough...

Our car repair person just called to give me the diagnosis and estimate for fixing our poor baby Honda CR-V.

• replace front brakes and rotors = $395
• replace battery = $100
• evacuate AC to see if failed compressor has done any damage = $145
• valve adjustment to see if that fixes misfiring check engine light issue = $100
• oil change = ?? forgot to ask

Total cost of things we're actually having done = $740 plus

For once, we actually have the money, so no worries there.

On the other hand, the thing's we're not fixing right now:

• replacing the AC compressor = $1395
• fixing the rear engine mount = $225
• fixing slight bend in muffler and b pipe = $575

Total = $2195

Things we will have to decide about after he calls us back:

• if the thing causing the valves to misfire is much more expensive than just an adjustment

Things we need to fix from the last time the car was in the shop and still haven't:

• replacing the driver's side window motor
• rekeying driver's side lock bc it's sticking badly

Total = um, I don't quite remember, somewhere between $500 and $1000?

So basically, we owe abt $4000 on it and, if we wanted to do it all up right, would need to spend abt $3500 to who knows how much to completely overhaul it. (Not the car's fault--we've put abt 30K miles on it every year.)

How do I know where the line is? I mean, there's got to be a point at which getting it fixed is not longer the best decision, right? Or does the part where the car will be paid off soon make any amount of repairs cost-effective, or more cost-effective than buying another (used) car? I guess if the valve issue will cost, say, $3000 on top of everything else, then we should reevaluate? My hope was to keep this car in good working order for another 2 years, when it would have 250K to 300K miles on it, and then buy a hybrid FIT, which supposedly will only be a bit more than the regular FIT. And I guess if we can get the essential repairs done, and get it paid off, then it should be worth it to not have car payment for the next two years.

(no subject)

Well, the good news is that the valve/check engine light issue seems to have been resolved with the adjustment. Yay! That could've potentially been really expensive. And more good news, the compressor failure did not cause something they called "the black death" where shards of metal are shot into the engine. However, I do need to replace it and sooner rather than later. But the cost of the AC evaulation is part of the replacement charge so I don't have to pay the $145 and the $1395, just the $1395. And they gave me a 10% discount, although I tried for more. So abt $1800 total and she should keep on running for a while.