Car market

[bdcolt45er]

I'm starting a new job and a few weeks and am thinking of replacing my car. My current car works fine because I drive like 1-2 miles per day. But it has some mechanical issues and I am thinking I would rather buy a car than invest in repairs for this one.
I've been looking at the market and it seems like there is potential for used car prices to plummet. Wholesale prices have been declining for months, Carvanna has too much inventory, not enough margin.
I imagine I won't get much for my trade in, but I'm not expecting much given mechanical issues.
Any tips or recs. I have only bought a couple cars in my life. I've got "excellent" credit and some cash for down payment. I don't have any car payments at this time.

 

[cfbfan23]

I'm starting a new job and a few weeks and am thinking of replacing my car. My current car works fine because I drive like 1-2 miles per day. But it has some mechanical issues and I am thinking I would rather buy a car than invest in repairs for this one.
I've been looking at the market and it seems like there is potential for used car prices to plummet. Wholesale prices have been declining for months, Carvanna has too much inventory, not enough margin.
I imagine I won't get much for my trade in, but I'm not expecting much given mechanical issues.
Any tips or recs. I have only bought a couple cars in my life. I've got "excellent" credit and some cash for down payment. I don't have any car payments at this time.

1-2 Miles per day?

Get rid of your car. Bike or Uber. Rent a car if you're going on long trips.

 

[Moral]

Ask for the Hank Hill special. Sticker price and not a dollar more.

 

[bdcolt45er]

1-2 Miles per day?

Get rid of your car. Bike or Uber. Rent a car if you're going on long trips.

That's with my current job. My new job I have sites 20 miles away.

 

[Colonoscopy]

1-2 Miles per day?

Get rid of your car. Bike or Uber. Rent a car if you're going on long trips.

Walk.

 

[lucas80]

Carvana is having a bad week. But, to the OP's point, inventory is rising. I am currently looking for a new vehicle, and the make I'm most looking at has gone from 2-3 vehicles, to 12 new vehicles at my local dealer.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/20...amid-used-car-price-declines/?sh=312514616424

 

[QChawks]

so it works fine, but has issues? which is it?

how much in repairs are we walking about?

 

[TJ8869]

What mechanical issues does your current vehicle have? You might be able to fix them for less than what you would pay in sales tax on a replacement vehicle.

 

[Capital1Hawk]

I'm starting a new job and a few weeks and am thinking of replacing my car. My current car works fine because I drive like 1-2 miles per day. But it has some mechanical issues and I am thinking I would rather buy a car than invest in repairs for this one.
I've been looking at the market and it seems like there is potential for used car prices to plummet. Wholesale prices have been declining for months, Carvanna has too much inventory, not enough margin.
I imagine I won't get much for my trade in, but I'm not expecting much given mechanical issues.
Any tips or recs. I have only bought a couple cars in my life. I've got "excellent" credit and some cash for down payment. I don't have any car payments at this time.

We purchased a car and went down 10% from July to now and anticipated dropping another 10 points next year per Kiplinger. The pent up covid demand for cars is over unless it's electric or hybrid. Good time to buy again.

 

[bdcolt45er]

What mechanical issues does your current vehicle have? You might be able to fix them for less than what you would pay in sales tax on a replacement vehicle.

As I understand it the piston rings are leaking causing high consumption of oil. The mechanic I took it to said he would have to take the engine apart to fix it. So thousands of dollars. Performance wise the care drives fine but vibrates and knocks when idling. Sometimes stalls. The mechanic said if it was his car he would just keep adding oil. Particularly since it isn't used heavily. But now that my driving requirements are changing I think I need to address it.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

I would wait it out a while.

a plug-in hybrid might be the ideal car for you.

 

[West Duval Nole]

The last I saw is used cars were about 70% over priced at the peak. They are now down to about 40% overpriced. If you can wait 3-5 more months, it may be back to the norm before the car market went crazy.

 

[OrlandNole]

1. Keep your current car patched together as long as you can (without spending major $).
2. Keep an eye on the used car market (Carvana and Carmax) to spot downward trends.
3. Start saving money now. By the time the low end of the market settles, you should have enough cash to buy a car outright or at least a significant down payment.

 

[bagdropper]

As I understand it the piston rings are leaking causing high consumption of oil. The mechanic I took it to said he would have to take the engine apart to fix it. So thousands of dollars. Performance wise the care drives fine but vibrates and knocks when idling. Sometimes stalls. The mechanic said if it was his car he would just keep adding oil. Particularly since it isn't used heavily. But now that my driving requirements are changing I think I need to address it.

That actually sounds more like valve guide seals than piston rings. Bad piston rings means you need a whole new or rebuilt engine. Valve guide seals are pulling the head, gaskets, etc...but can and do cause high oil consumption.

Hell, knock/ping can be as simple as carbon buildup (direct fuel injected engines need regular combustion chamber cleanings done).

I hope you trust this mechanic telling you this...

For rings to go out on a reasonably modern car engine, it would have to have some serious miles on it (like 300k+ miles if not more) - or be one of a select few engines that are out there that are known to already be incredibly horrible engines to be stuck with no matter the miles.

Just curious, what vehicle/year are we talking about here, and how many miles?

 

[cfbfan23]

I hope you trust this mechanic telling you this...

For rings to go out on a reasonably modern car engine, it would have to have some serious miles on it (like 300k+ miles if not more) - or be one of a select few engines that are out there that are known to already be incredibly horrible engines to be stuck with no matter the miles.

Just curious, what vehicle/year are we talking about here, and how many miles?

1997 Dodge Stratus

 

[West Duval Nole]

1997 Dodge Stratus

 

[Slappy Pappy]

Get an electric that's a couple years old. The battery will still last a long time if you drive that little, and you will never have any "mechanical issues" or gas/oil/fluids/flushes/belts/hoses maintenance to deal with.

 

[yiana]

1997 Dodge Stratus

Yikes. Even if it was mechanically fine I’d say get rid of it

 

[JMNSHO]

1997 Dodge Stratus

I like this guy.

 

[QChawks]

why on earth would someone get rid of this beauty??

 

[Lindemann]

As I understand it the piston rings are leaking causing high consumption of oil. The mechanic I took it to said he would have to take the engine apart to fix it. So thousands of dollars. Performance wise the care drives fine but vibrates and knocks when idling. Sometimes stalls. The mechanic said if it was his car he would just keep adding oil. Particularly since it isn't used heavily. But now that my driving requirements are changing I think I need to address it.

Keeping the oil topped off is solid advice.

I'd drive it until it won't move anymore then sell it for scrap.

 

[TJ8869]

Keeping the oil topped off is solid advice.

I'd drive it until it won't move anymore then sell it for scrap.

It’s a Dodge Stratus. Don’t even sell it for scrap. Set fire to it and roll it off a cliff.

 

[Joes Place]

What mechanical issues does your current vehicle have? You might be able to fix them for less than what you would pay in sales tax on a replacement vehicle.

Yep.

Unless you just want "something new"

But car payments and higher insurance on a higher valued vehicle generally cost you a lot more, over time, than just investing in repairs on a functional and otherwise reliable vehicle.

If you start spending $3k-4k every year in major repairs, it's time to move on. But the cost of a new transmission is still less than what $300/month payments run you on a new one. And not many people are paying that little, anymore, for monthly car payments.

 

[Joes Place]

Yikes. Even if it was mechanically fine I’d say get rid of it

If the engine is failing, then ride it out while you save up $$ for something 3+ yrs old that's in good shape.

20+ yrs is a good run for most any car.

 

[bdcolt45er]

That actually sounds more like valve guide seals than piston rings. Bad piston rings means you need a whole new or rebuilt engine. Valve guide seals are pulling the head, gaskets, etc...but can and do cause high oil consumption.

Hell, knock/ping can be as simple as carbon buildup (direct fuel injected engines need regular combustion chamber cleanings done).

I hope you trust this mechanic telling you this...

For rings to go out on a reasonably modern car engine, it would have to have some serious miles on it (like 300k+ miles if not more) - or be one of a select few engines that are out there that are known to already be incredibly horrible engines to be stuck with no matter the miles.

Just curious, what vehicle/year are we talking about here, and how many miles?

It's a 2013 Equinox and this is a common problem with the engine. Apparently there were a number of class action law suits over this issue. I did get quotes on fixing it years ago from both the dealer and a private mechanic. I honestly don't recall the costs at this point. The impression I got is that GM's solution wasn't that great.

I might be inclined to just replace the entire engine at this point if I decided to fix it.

 

[Funky Bunch]

What are your chauffeur's thoughts?

 

[bdcolt45er]

What are your chauffeur's thoughts?

My rickshaw man can only accommodate 10 miles.

 

[Scott559]

Try adding to oil

 

[Hawk_4shur]

For decades I have known, and advised my children, that the smartest way to buy a car is to buy a 2 year old car and drive it for 6 years. Since I am not smart, I always buy new and drive it until I'm tired of it, which is normally about 3 years.

Yeah, I'm dumb, but I can afford it.

In this market, I told my son he needed to look at 4 year old cars - 2 year old cars are almost (or more) expensive than new ones.

 

[themelrosemauler]

Put a RR Merlin in it.

 

[cfbfan23]

My rickshaw man can only accommodate 10 miles.

Don't you have a second rickshaw man?

 

[bagdropper]

It's a 2013 Equinox and this is a common problem with the engine. Apparently there were a number of class action law suits over this issue. I did get quotes on fixing it years ago from both the dealer and a private mechanic. I honestly don't recall the costs at this point. The impression I got is that GM's solution wasn't that great.

I might be inclined to just replace the entire engine at this point if I decided to fix it.

Somehow I knew you were going to state it was a GM vehicle that might have the 3.6L engine. Wouldn't happen to be the 3.6L LFX V6 by chance? That's the V6 with 2013 Equinox's.

I know GM has had a LOT of issues with the 3.6L engine family through the years. If my memory is good the timing chains are the main culprit and a leading symptom of bad timing chains/guides are excessive oil use.

My fear is replacing the engine is all well and good, but you'd need a brand new engine, not a used one - simply because a used engine may have the exact same issue. They supposedly have fixed the issue, but I just don't know if I'd trust any replacement unless I knew the timing chain/guides etc were literally brand spanking new.

Yeesh. I feel your pain.