Our "new" car

[Vela]

Find a salvage yard, you can get the parts for nearly nothing. We got a free hood safety latch for a 1993 jeep grand cherokee that they wanted us to pay 60 dolars for at the repair shop. screwed it in ourselves. We got a new "used" engine installed in our older car, a 1998 Olds for the kids, AND a new flywheel for 1000 bucks, that included labor. Now they have a great car for next to nothng that's still n great shape. You can get a radiator cap for 20 bucks from there, and perhaps many other parts you may need.

Get the repair manual, as was suggested, and it's not that hard. Hell I'm a girl and I've worked on our cars. It's actually kinda fun. I didn't used to know anything about cars, but I do now. Sure saves me when I go into a repair shop too, they can't snow me anymore. They often look shocked when I take it in and tell them what I think is wrong with it and it is in fact that. I once worked on my husband's car, that same olds, while he was at work and had it working by the time he came home. He was shocked, as were all of his friends. It was funny.

Don't be so pessimistic about it, it might turn out to be a great car with a little TLC. It doesn't even have to necessairly be expensive TLC. If it turns out to have some serious problems you really dont want to deal with, a salvage yard will often come pick it up for free and pay you anywhere from 50-200 dollars for it. But I'd sure give it a shot first.

[catnapper]

I can't help but pessimistic... the car used to belong to my nephew. My nephew is a professional mechanic who builds cars from scratch or tears them apart to turn them into something cool like on that one show where they steal your car. He gave up on it for some reason, and knowing my nephew, its because he just couldn't keep up twith the repairs. Hubby is not remembering the time and money his nephew already put into it. I am rembering the trouble he had with it.

So call me pessimistic. Call me cheap. We dont have the money for necessities half the time, but somehow we're gonna repair a junker?!?! All I can say is the kids want it, and hubby's deal is they have to pay for it. He's been putting his foot down this summer thanks to his short-fused Blood Pressure problem. So maybe they will actually fork over the cash to repair it!

We'll find a junk yard for parts. Personally, I'd like to eave the car behind at the junkyard! If they need a car so bad, then let me borrow $5000 for one from a reliable second-hand dealership. The payments would be do-able each month and they'd have a decent car that doesn't always need something. Remember, we know NOTHING about car repair and would rely on our friend's good heart to put in whatever parts we get. My nephew has already stated he doesn't ever want ot even LOOK at the car ever again.

[Vela]

Well that information about your nephew already working on it a lot was something we didn't know before so that sheds a bit more light on the situtation. I didn't call you cheap =P Without knowing the whole scenario then it makes a difference. Definitely try to find a salvage yard and DEFINITELY have the kids pay for the parts etc. if they want it. Hopefully it will work out but if it turns out to be too much trouble, do let them know the option is there for the salvage yard to come get it for 50 bucks or so and then maybe you can all work out arrangements for a different car down the road.


I didn't know anything about cars before I messed around with them either, so as long as the parts aren't very expensive, maybe they could at the very least have fun trying to work on it.