Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

Mr_Shiftright

Well I guess the words "rare" and "beautiful" have now been rendered useless, along with "classic".

Actually not a bad "chore car", an old Corolla wagon, if they aren't all beat to hell already. He might get his price after all.

Give a kid an '82 Fairmont? Why not just send him to military school and punish him properly?

texases

Maybe he could use those 20" wheels off that BMW on that Fairmont....now that would be a "rare" and "beautiful" "classic"!

Mr_Shiftright

True, true, you could pimp the Fairmont to the point where it might just be tasteless enough for a teenager to risk driving it in public.

On the other hand, I do see the point of the suggestion: "Dad, I just totalled the Fairmont"

"Oh well I'm glad you're okay. There are 4 more in the backyard...just take another one".

au1994

Could not agree more. My wife's car comes off lease in about a year so we're kinda starting to look around.

She has decided that she wants a wagon "ish" vehicle. We've looked at the Forester and really like it, but they are not cheap (for the LL Bean Edition), looked at the CR-V in the Cute-ute world. Nice looking but you've got to spend to get the leather. Not great lease deals on either of these right now.

Mazda 6 wagon is just ok. No way on the Focus wagon. Other than going upscale to the Volvo V50 (we have the S40 now and are looking for something less expensive) or BMW3 Series or Audi A3, there's not much out there.

VW dropped the Jetta wagon and the Passat wagon is pricey.

Mr_Shiftright

Any Takers?

Install a Gas Pump in your Backyard?

Worst Benz Ever Made

Oh Please Don't Sell It--I'll Be Right Over!

Mr_Shiftright

Mazda3Speed!

texases

That Ranchero would be interesting IF the rust was minimal (fat chance). Could make a classy gofer truck for a garage or body shop.

au1994

Nice ride. However as the better half is more concerned with it being "cute", this one did not make the cut.

Remember, I'm just the messenger.

texases

Always fun trying to find a car for the wife when the criteria are unknown, and in my experience, unknowable.

boomchek

I saw the new Jetta wagon at our Auto Show. Should be out for 2008.

You can also try a Saab 9-3 wagon, Legacy wagon, or a Magnum :P

texases

Definition of gun-slit windows: Dodge Magnum. The rear windows are half the size they appear from the outside! Yes, we looked at it...

au1994

hmmm...did not know that there was a Jetta wagon on the way.

Re: Saab, i know this is strange coming from a Volvo owner, but the reliability scares me.

texases

Here it is:
Jetta Wagon

au1994

Not bad at all!

Tail lights look like they are from a mid 90's Chrysler Cirrus though.

andres3

has shoddy reliability, but Saab 93 sport combo wagon probably is even worse.

Mr_Shiftright

I think the Saab comes with a folding cot for when you're at the dealer.

WIFEY NEEDS......the new MINI "Clubman" coming out for 2008. It's CUTE, it's FUN, it's a WAGON.

210delray

"oh please don't sell it"

Man, that has to be one of the worst hack jobs I've seen on the first-gen Mustang.

akangl

After fielding dozens of phone calls about the Sebring but no one coming out to see it I'm having second thoughts. Should I sell it?? I want to have a car to drive sometimes in the summer, so do I sell it and buy a different car? Or do I just pony up the $$$ and fix the car I have? The closer summer gets the more I want to have a car with a sunroof to drive (nuts huh?)

I'm thinking this: Take it into Fairbanks next week and have the alignment done, if its good, then have the airbag light turned off, and order tires. If its bad, like way more wrong with it, then drive it to the junkyard and sell it to them for around $650 or drop it on craigslist for $750ish.

Why am I so darn attached to this old car??? Please, someone smack me!!! Talk about a project car gone bad!!! :sick:

fintail

A parts car that comes with a parts car

210delray

Sell or junk it -- it's not worth it! Am I right- you've got 4 other vehicles and there's just 2 of you? What is wrong with this picture? Or is this normal for Alaska?

For that matter, why not dump one of the trucks too and get a newer, nicer CAR?

akangl

Sell or junk it -- it's not worth it! Am I right- you've got 4 other vehicles and there's just 2 of you? What is wrong with this picture? Or is this normal for Alaska?

For that matter, why not dump one of the trucks too and get a newer, nicer CAR?

We have 4 vehicles total counting the Sebring. We have a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 (hubby's truck), a 2001 Dodge Durango (mine), a 1997 Ford F-250 (our business beater truck), and the Sebring (which hubby refuses to claim any ownership of).

Can't sell either of the trucks (although we did almost total one today, nothing like trying to dump it in the creek) need them both. The Durango I need in the winter, but for summer..........well, I'd like to have a car, kind of. LOL

Mr_Shiftright

I think the two cars together would make a great pair of doghouses.

fintail

A doghouse is probably more resistant to the elements

And to think, in England both of those would be viable nut and bolt restoration projects

Mr_Shiftright

An eccentric island people

xwesx

I'm thinking this: Take it into Fairbanks next week and have the alignment done, if its good, then have the airbag light turned off, and order tires. If its bad, like way more wrong with it, then drive it to the junkyard and sell it to them for around $650 or drop it on craigslist for $750ish.

That sounds like the best bet. Though, taking it to the junkyard is preferable over craigslist again. I still think that much of the problem in selling it (other than your distant, if not remote, location) is the uncertainty involved with the "intermittent CEL." If you do decide to put it on Craigslist once more, perhaps if you have a friend in town that can hold it and show it to potential buyers, you would get more bites. Just speculating, of course....

If it was a 4-door rather than 2, I would at least take a look at it. As it is, the thought of strapping toddlers into the back seats is less than appealing.

gsemike

"There are quite a few things wrong with it" What exactly is right about it?

Should have junked this $700 ago

Good luck

Mr_Shiftright

Oh man, satire is dead: "it needs a differential, transmission, paint and bodywork, but other than that...."

RE: "good luck" -- well he could find a Lebaron convertible for that, or a beat up old Miata or Alfa Romeo.

T-Bird: Ah, the old "just needs head gaskets" routine...as if overheating and 144K engine miles has no effect whatsover on valves, heads, guides, radiator core, tune up parts, intake gaskets, exhaust gaskets, coolant, oil, filter, thermostat, hoses, belts, etc.

texases

Given the current definition of "Classic", I propose Mr. 'good luck' acquire a Mas biturbo convert, or perhaps a Chrysler TC by Maserati - should fit his budget :P

fintail

Kind of interesting

I could maybe see Andre in it

texases

The Malibu - if they did everything they say they did, how much money did they put into it? $1500? Hard to believe a well-kept car needed all that. Would be a nice car, if you like that kind of thing.

lokki

Hmmm or "You can have her, I don't want her..?

Power disk breaks! You have been warned!

What's that engine worth?

Ready for /final assembly completetion

1949 Cadillac Imperial Limo

Finish it the way you want!

akangl

That sounds like the best bet. Though, taking it to the junkyard is preferable over craigslist again. I still think that much of the problem in selling it (other than your distant, if not remote, location) is the uncertainty involved with the "intermittent CEL." If you do decide to put it on Craigslist once more, perhaps if you have a friend in town that can hold it and show it to potential buyers, you would get more bites. Just speculating, of course....

If it was a 4-door rather than 2, I would at least take a look at it. As it is, the thought of strapping toddlers into the back seats is less than appealing.

The CEL is the O2 sensor, I had the code read a while back. Its intermittantly dead for whatever reason, probably just needs a new one. I can get it fixed for $150 parts/labor and probably will if I keep it.

Figure I'll start with the alignment, if there's a lot more wrong in that dept then off it goes.

I too wish it was a 4 door, that's the biggest gripe I have with it. I found a 95 Maxima on craigslist for $3250 obo, looks like a nice car, has about 120k on it. Thought about dumping the Sebring and going after something like that, but that seems stupid, its got over twice the miles of the Sebring on it.

isellhondas

There once was a man from Boston who drove a little Austin...etc..

Maybe he would like two more! :P

au1994

at least you did not start with the man from Nantucket...

Mr_Shiftright

Ah but the code coming up for an 02 sensor does not mean it is the 02 sensor....only means that the 02 sensor is not happy. Could be lots of other things.

akangl

Ah but the code coming up for an 02 sensor does not mean it is the 02 sensor....only means that the 02 sensor is not happy. Could be lots of other things.

Don't tell me that!!! The original owner did tell me the car has a history of CEL and O2 sensor issues. She said she finally just ignored it, kinda like what I did all last summer, lol.

There's a guy with an appt on the 20th to come see it, so who knows, it might still go. I'm just torn between keeping a car that I do kind of like and selling only to turn around and buy something else that might be worse. Can a car get worse than this one??

On the bright side, our other project vehicle has turned out to be pretty good. Just needs another new front axle (long story, but we knew it when we put the one in it last fall that was given to us) and a new throttle pedal and sensor. Runs great though and does its job very well.

Mr_Shiftright

Well that's why she never solved it...she kept replacing 02 sensors and they weren't bad.

Don't kill the messenger, please!

oregonboy

I don't know enough about Alfa's to know if this is a worthy project.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/car/309983978.html

akangl

Well that's why she never solved it...she kept replacing 02 sensors and they weren't bad.

Don't kill the messenger, please!

I'm really starting to not like you, LOL. Just kidding! Could very well be another issue with the car I suppose, she said the dealer would just replace the O2 sensor and say that was it. She said that after the warranty was up on the car she just ignored the CEL.

How in the heck do I figure out *what* it is if its not the O2 sensor? I mean if the dealer couldn't figure it out...... ARGH, this car is a headache sometimes! It runs great though which is why I don't think that the CEL is anything serious.

isellhondas

It could be something poisoning the O2 sensor. Perhaps a bad catalytic convertor?

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, a good scanner (as opposed to just a code reader) gives you a diagnostic "tree" to examine...so you work through the circuit connected to the code, testing each component in the tree, one by one, by using the various methods described in the workshop manual, factory bulletins or on alldata.com.

this is called "fixing" the car as opposed to standing ten feet away and throwing parts at it while running up the customer's bill, hoping one part will "hit".

'59 Alfa Spider: Seems pricey for the deplorable condition. This is at best a $25,000 car all nice and shiny, maybe $30,000 concours. So what have you got here?

Interestingly, if it were a '57 or older, I would say "YES!" because Alfas (and other sports cars) of that age are eligibile for European historical re-creation events and are thus highly prized.

So same car, two years newer, all the difference in the world to a collector.

Still these are sweet cars....I'd give $3,500 for it if I could examine this "pinhole" rust.

texases

Yes, something else must be wrong, but isn't the O2 sensor upstream of the cat? Could be a bad spark plug or wire or distributor cap or injector (does it have one/cylinder?)? Intake manifold or vacuum leak? Bad computer (God help you!)? Using odd/bad gas additive? Love these diagnoses from 4233 miles away (so says Mapquest!).

oregonboy

Here we have a needy GTV runner with a rather steep asking price... plus it's a bad color. But that's okay, because it needs paint too. :P If I really wanted a GTV, I would keep looking for a nicer one.

1974 GTV

Mr_Shiftright

Delusional pricing.

texases

Similar ones on Ebay at seeing bids about half that, so good luck to him...

Mr_Shiftright

Alfa shoppers are savvy buyers...you are absolutely right on target...it's a $4,500 car at best.

You can buy a SMASHING GTV for $12,000, so get real, seller!

akangl

Yes, something else must be wrong, but isn't the O2 sensor upstream of the cat? Could be a bad spark plug or wire or distributor cap or injector (does it have one/cylinder?)? Intake manifold or vacuum leak? Bad computer (God help you!)? Using odd/bad gas additive? Love these diagnoses from 4233 miles away (so says Mapquest!).

*banging head on desk* Maybe I should just cut it loose, you guys are scaring me! How harmful is it to drive the car with the CEL on?

I'm pretty sure it needs a TPS, the RPMs jump when going down the road, it'll be doing 60 mph and the tach will be bouncing up and down by 200-400 rpms. Same thing our 99 Ram did and my Durango does. The Ram had the TPS replaced and was fine.

I think it might need a cat, its kinda stinky when driven, although that could just be from sitting so much, its been driven 1500 miles on the last 4+ years.

texases

Don't be worried, many of these things are easy/cheap, just get a good (non-dealer) mechanic that'll spend an hour seriously diagnosing it.

210delray

Shifty and the others are on to something -- if the code says the O2 sensor is bad, it could very well mean there's something causing the sensor to go bad. Especially if several have been replaced in the past.

The CEL on my '98 Frontier came on last spring soon after I hosed off the engine (oops)! Never had that problem before with any vehicle, but from then on, I've been much more careful with water under the hood.

Anyway, we have a code reader at work, and combined with my service manual, I found the problem was supposed to be in the 02 sensor or its integral heater. I thought about buying a replacement on eBay. But after I read more about 02 sensors on the web, I learned what shifty has already said.

Well, we turned off the light and it came on a few more times since, giving the same code. But Nissans have a system in that after 25 engine starts without a recurrence that sets a code, the light will go out.

It's been off since October now (keeping fingers crossed)! We don't have emission checks in central VA, and the vehicle is running fine with no degradation in gas mileage.

But as for your LeBaron, I think it's time to let it go.

xwesx

Jolie, don't bother throwing good money after bad. For your purposes, it does not matter if the CEL is coming on. I was thinking along the same lines as Shiftright on this one - the oxygen sensor throwing a code is at least as likely to be a symptom as the cause. That is why it would be tough to sell it to someone in Fairbanks or Anchorage areas - they need the car to pass an I/M test, so the CEL could be a real headache.

If it runs fine and gets decent mileage, ignore the code, address the alignment and reset the airbags (if you want them to deploy again, should you need it!), then drive it into the ground. Or, sell it if/when you find the right buyer who is going to take it in exchange for cash-in-hand.

As for another car, look at the price point. Is it cheaper to get a car for summer driving or just use the Durango? How long would it take for the benefits of a car to surpass the added cost to obtain and operate it?