Old cars and busted engines, dilema!

[skeetz]

Sorry in advance for the tldr

I own a 2002 Astra SRi 2.2
1 year ago *something happened*. I had an overheating problem caused by a punctured overflow reservoir, Lube Mobile came and fixed it.
1 week later the temp guage is climbing into the red again and the engine sounds strange. I pop the hood and find there is plenty of coolant, but no oil :(. I put some oil in and let it sit overnight, then started it up in the morning. All looked good, oil level tested good when warm.
I am driving to work, 40 mins at 100k down a highway. Exit the highway and and turn a few corners, hear a godawful knock/ping/something from under the hood, put the clutch in and roll to a stop and the engine just falls past idle all the way to dead. I had it towed, and it's been sitting at my mum's since that day.


I now own a 1990 Nissan Pulsar Q which I bought about 6 months ago. It has a leaky radiator (combined with inherent overheating issues in the model), and I fear I may have done some damage to the head gasket yesterday. I had the starter motor replaced and payed 1 year of rego just last week.

Here is my dilemma: I have no cashflow until July, but I need a car to get to work. I'm taking the Pulsar to my mechanic tomorrow for to be diagnosed. I told him that pickapart offered me $450 for my Astra, and he said he would match it. I'm thinking about just giving him the car in lieu of payment for any work that the Pulsar needs (plus the inevitable work it will need to keep it going for the foreseeable future). Is this a dumb decision? Or is it even dumber of me to have pipedreams of replacing/rebuilding the engine in the Astra?

Any suggestions more than welcome.

[guy 27]

by the sounds of it with the astra you might be needing a replacement motor (about 3.5k for a brand new one + fitting)

as for the pulsar. depending how much damage has been done you could easily be looking at 2k for fixing it up (presuming radiator and head need replacing)

maybe get a quote on what it would take to fix the pulsar and see if you can get financial help from a relative as trading in the astra on the repairs would in the longer term be a loss.

[skeetz]

No financial help available :(
I looked at sourcing a reco motor, was running about $1200 + fitting.
Will get mates rates from my mechanic, he is putting in a stock radiator tomorrow for $160. I know the current one has a pinhole, so I'm hoping that it just developed into a bigger hole, thermostat went bung. I'm relatively confident that I haven't done a head gasket, maybe just wishful thinking!
Agree on trading the Astra would be a loss. It's really a last resort, I just have to get a car on the road by the end of the weekend :( and I'm thinking if I have to just bin the Astra, it may as well help me out of this hole right now if I'll just end up doing the same thing in a year or so anyway.

[benzino]

Is riding the bus an option till everything gets fixed.

Trading the astra for $450 is like pissing in the wind in regards to your current situation and I think the last thing I would be doing is spending money on a 22 year old car with a history of running issues...

How about getting a refund on rego for the pulsar, then trade that for stock that should get you close to the 1200 needed for reco... and maybe ask the mechanic very nicely if you can pay it off week by week, you seem to be on good terms with them (or were they just being friendly because they thought they were getting an sri for less than $500?).

At least if you get the astra fixed up you should be able to sell it for a hell of a lot more than what you will outlay on repairs

[skeetz]

That's probably the crux of my issue: I need my car for work. This is not an option :(

I hate the thought of pissing the Astra away, but I just feel like if that's what going to happen at some time any way, now, 6 months, 3 years, I may as well just get it over and done with.
I am on good terms with the mechanic, although have never asked for any type of payment plan. He knows that I am not flush with cash, so he does repairs and work very cheap for me, usually I just need to leave my car there for a few days.

Regarding the Astra, everyone I have spoken has just said "new engine" but I get the feeling it's because I'm a girl :rolleyes:
I'm pretty technically minded, could I at least diagnose the problem myself?
Even then, a car that has been sitting still for a year...
Gah I just don't know what to do :(

[benzino]

but would you rather spend $1200 now on a car you can sell for $5k or $6k when you decide to sell it or would you rather pour money in to a car that will never be worth more than $1.5k... (btw 1200 for a reco engine is pretty damn cheap especially incl. labour)

is car pooling to work a possibility or do you use the car for work? maybe you could hire a cheap car for a few days while the work is being carried out

[skeetz]

I absolutely have to have my own car for work, I'm a roving computer technician.
The 1200 isn't including labour, that's just the engine. I would obviously much rather go down that route but I just don't have the funds to lay out.
I think I might just suck it up and keep the Pulsar running for the time being while I make a decision on the Astra. Considering Taking 2 weeks annual leave and trying to rebuild it myself when my tax return comes through.

[chris_r]

Other potential solution: Scrap the Pulsar, get another cheap runabout till you can get the Astra sorted. As benzino said, pouring money into fixing an older car that has next to no resale value isn't really worth it.