My car is a money dump

[tireburner163]

It seems that every time I fix something on my car, something else breaks. I've had to replace the starter, the water pump went out Wedsday, I noticed last night that radiator was leaking, my rear main seal has been leaking for several months now, I just got a small rip in my driver's side seat that I just know is gonna spread, and the small sag in my headliner has turned into 1/3 of the headliner sagging, I need a new belt tensioner, and the OD band in my tranny is on it's way out.

I'm begging to think I got riped on buying the car in the first place. I just wanna kick myself in the ***, everytime I remember that I spent $3,000 bucks on this car.

I can't sell it, because I after the payoff I won't have enough to get a decent car.

O well maybe a 5.0 sway will cure my problems

*sigh*

Do any of your cars ever do this to you?

[1BAD89]

Man I hate to break it to you...but that's how it goes. Stuff breaks on old cars. You think if you get a 89,90, fox 5.0 nothing is going to break? Shi* , my mustang was mint, and all sorts of things went wrong, to name a few: clutch, tranny, water pump, radiator, power steering pump, alternator, brakes, mounts, bushings, door locks, window motors, heater core, air conditioning, moon roof seals, fuel relay, etc...etc.. I could keep going on for a while, but I won't. All the things that I just named cost me thousands and thousand of dollars to fix. It sucks when things break, but ohh it's worth every penny of those aluminum heads, nitrous refills, and suspension work, roll cage, etc... when they don't. That's what mod'ing, and being a car enthusiast is all about. You just have to ask yourself, how far do you want to go, and what is your budget. You have to step back and say "my car is over 10 years old and things are going to break." if you have too small of a budget, do what it takes to get the money to mod and run 10's.(legally)Pick up a 2nd job, or work more. The money is there if you want it, you just gotta earn it.

[srv1]

your not alone Tireburner. it happens to all of us! Sincerely, Crazy MF...

[MidNiteBlu 5.0]

I know exactly how you feel man. I bought my car for $4750. Since September I have replaced the radiator, hoses, thermostat, t-stat housing ( $50) wires,plugs,cap and rotor, almost tires time, and i have a coolant leak from somewhere and my rear main seal is leaking. Oh yeah and i had to get the exhuast raised up and fixed from a crappy install of the flowmasters. (150)

i have thought to myself that i got ripped off but then i realize that i rarely see LX 5.0 hatchback 5 spds around for as cheap as i got mine. Plus mine is in pretty good condition for a 12 year old car i would guess.

I am not gonna sell it though. I think i may have paid more than i should have because i think the owner was trying to get money back for the mods he already did too it (flows, k+n, clutch, shifter,springs) but i am happy with it. I get a lot of compliments so its all good.

Later

[6T9PONY]

Ohhh yeah...this is definitely common. My car's 33 years old. When we restored my coupe I thought we replaced about everything we could, but sure enough, after awhile things started breaking that were fine before. I'm sure I'll deal with the same thing with my fastback that's gonna be completed soon.

Although 15 years is a lot different than 30 or 35...

[WADS56]

I can't agree with you more. That is one tof the reasons that I am giving up the race car thing. For a while I was dumping 100.00 in it every week for months I quit!

As for my 93... it has been good to me. Only problem I had (in the 1 1/2 years that I owned it) with the car was a bad egr valve and a gummed up radiator. It looked like it was the origanal too (108000 miles).
Almost forgot, the crappy AOD blew but that dosn't count. They suck and I don't even count it as part of the mustang. It is somthing that I expected whin I bought the car.
POS AOD

[Ponygirl67]

Yep name of the game is fixin' things as they break......just had my carb rebuilt and now I need driveshaft/universal joints done...good thing I love this car so much!!!!

[mustangman65_79]

My '79 was/is the same way. I was always dumping money into the motor. It knew when I got paid. I'm not kidding. I would run fine, right up till payday, then the next day, it would break. SO now I'm putting in a 302, this should fix my problems.

[tireburner163]

Yea, I guess your guys are right. Maybe I'm just spoiled or something. My old dodge had 256,000 miles on it and it didn't give nearly as much trouble. I love my new car, but when you have to shell out $120 bucks for a starter and you only make $140 a week. After filling up, I've got jack sqat left.

O well at least with a 5.0 it will be fast

[mustangman65_79]

Maybe I'm just spoiled or something.

No, It just gets old real fast.

[Topless In Texas]

Yah, it happens to everyone...
I'm glad I didn't throw in the towel last year when it seemed that EVERY FRIGIN' WEEKEND I was having to dump hundreds of dollars into Topless for one thing or the other. With 100K on it, I guess it was time for alot of that stuff to go.....
I just had to buy the new top and glass last week, another $400, and Late Model Resto. just called me to ask me if they sent the right glass! I went to check, and lo and behold, they sent me the wrong glass. i ordered the rear defroster, and they sent it w/out! But, they are sending a new one out today and will pay for the shipping of the other one back to them.
BTW: I have dealt w/ Late Model Restoration many times, and they are WONDERFUL!!!! They are helpful in finding what I need and every time I talk to someone, they are SOOO nice. I"m not used to Parts places calling me all the time to let me know when they ship things and if theres any problems to call them!!!!
Just wanted to get that plug in!!! I've been very happy w/ thier products and thier customer service has been Top Notch!!!!!
Good luck w/ your repairs, Josh!!!!!! It WILL get better, eventually! TNT

[Maroon 5.0 LX]

My '89, which I bought new, has 72k on it.... still has original brakes and clutch. Only thing not original is battery, spark plugs and tires, which were replaced at 55k. Oil changes at 3k, coolant change every year, air filters changed every 10k.

[Mr 5 0]

I've had little to complain about with my '90 LX, but I bought it brand new and have maintained it religiously, which helps a lot.

Basically, the bottom line is: Cars cost money.

You can buy an old car for cheap and expect to put money into it - or go for a new or almost-new car and make payments for three, four, five years with little to repair but a lot of money spent on interest and wasted on depreciation. Either way, you pay.

On some rare occasions, you'll get a trouble-free car that runs forever with little to fix but that's an exception, not the norm at all, no matter the make.

Mods make your Mustang more fun and offset having to fix the basic stuff, but they cost and can age the engine quicker, too.

As I said, cars cost money. Fact of life.

[Crazy Horse GT]

hey my car is only a year old, even though it's an 00 but now my oil press gauge is acting wacky,i smell warranty, but i still gotta make those payment's so it's give or take, either make payment's or spend for part's. 120.00 for a starter? where did you buy it macy's, geez they ripped you off , oh well take it easy, from the # 2 crazy m f

[Mustangbelle306]

Um...that's nothing....

Most of you probably know about my car problems...I'd give anything to have your amount of problems. $8000 purchase price, and thousands and thousands of dollars, and still counting..

Somehow, I can't find it within myself to pity you

Don't think he was asking for pity.......just wanted to know if its happened to anyone else, I'm sure, I know I am tired of putting money out on the car, but wouldn't sell it for anything, guess its the price we pay for something we want....odie

[joe4speed]

LOL stick with it.. soon there'll be nothing more to replace... That's my thinking anyways!! I think I've replaced everything in my car already!!!

[Topless In Texas]

Originally posted by Mustangbelle306
Um...that's nothing....

Most of you probably know about my car problems...I'd give anything to have your amount of problems. $8000 purchase price, and thousands and thousands of dollars, and still counting..

Somehow, I can't find it within myself to pity you

Yeh, i know how that feels. I paid about $14,000 for mine and am up to about $8000 into it. But regardless how much you have into it, it still sucks when things keep going wrong week after week. Especially if you dont have the available cash to take care of it.
I feel for ya' Josh!!!! Hang in there man! Dont get discouraged! TNT

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

I need a new pan gasket, new rear main seal, new driveshaft, new paint, subframes, four new tires, a new wheel, a new alternator, a new power steering pump (sort of), a new exhaust system, new clutch, flywheel, and quadrant, and the water pump might be going. Oh, and I paid way too much to buy the car itself.

[MetalHead]

man i feel really lucky after reading all these posts. I bought my car 3 years ago for $3500 when it was bone stock and I haven't had any problems with the car at all since. The only thing that has broken on my car is the transmission, and its not even broken, its just starting to make some weird noises and i was going to replace it anyway. Luckily that means i've been able to spend all my money on upgrades that i wanted, and not replacement parts out of necessity. my car, which is now 35 years old, has been more reliable to me than both of my parents cars.