My car died. a lot.

david.

@unknownuser said:

see cracks and a valve laying sideways in there

So you can't play the insurance company ?

So, you're suggesting insurance fraud?

solo

Chris,

What millage?

Those F150's are supposed to be hard working machines.

Whatever you do if you get another truck stay away from Ram's, from experiance I will say they are an oil leak with a ten ton body built around it.

I like the Toyota Tacoma, from what I've seen here in Texas Toyota seems to be creeping in on the 'old boy' competition fast.

bjornkn

I've had two engines blow up like that (due to register belt breakage) and they were both on my last VW (camper). I wouldn't say that VW is more reliable than the others
BTW, I had a Triumph that blew the engine too, back in the early 70s, but that was because of oil leak and faulty oil pressure gauge.
But on a 6 year old car such things shouldn't happen?

Krisidious

do not pay a mechanic to put a new engine in an explorer... it's not worth it. buy a new car.

Chris Fullmer

Mileage was 112,000 (180,000 km).

I think unless they give us a really good price, we are just going to get a new one. I've been on the phone with my bank (credit union) and they sound more than pleased to have me back as a customer, which is bitter/sweet.

Do you guys know if there are any programs or caompanies in the states to sell a car like this to? The interior is decent, and probably lots of the other parts work. It should be able to sell for parts or scrap metal or something, right? Would a dealership take a non-working like this?

Krisidious

lot's of dealerships do "push it, drag it, pull it sales"... salvage yards will buy it, but they will only give you a fraction of it's true value. autotrader.com and ebay motors might be a good place to look and see what a comparable model is going for, they very may well have some with no engine or blown engine. and you could try selling it on one of those sites first.

the valve stem inserts into the valve, and the valve is in the head. only the heads should need to be replaced and perhaps just one head. that would be pretty cheap and not considered an actual rebuild. I wouldn't pay more than 1500 to have the heads replaced. mechanics will cheat you in a heart beat, they know you can't tell the difference in new and old parts and you have no idea of knowing exactly how much work needed to be done; and the prices for a shop are outrageous, 30 to 60 an hour... if you like the truck like I like mine, then you may consider running an ad for a local shade tree mechanic to fix it. the cost will be more reasonable but the time frame of course may suffer. a running 4x4 truck is normally worth a minimum of 2000 to 4000 no matter how old... and to replace your exact 2005 truck at a lot may be as much as 15k depending on variation, I thought you had an older truck, yours is still worth fixing... if the price is right.

solo

Chris,

I gave two cars to our PBS station KERA, they have a 'cars for kids' program. They clean them and fix them then give to underprivileged kids, families that need transport (especially here in the south where we have dismal public facilities)

They give you a reciept that you can claim on your taxes the next year.

Chris Fullmer

@solo said:

They give you a reciept that you can claim on your taxes the next year.

That would only help if I paid my taxes

hehe, j/k. That might not be a bad option. I think I would prefer a little cash up front, but I might jsut take wahtever I can get (if anything). Heck, giving it to the lcaol PBS station I think includes free towing - that alone might be worth it

pmiller

Explorer replacement? Honda or Toyota -- good for 250 K miles at least. And they never let you down.

Jim

Sorry to hear about your ride. New cars are attractive, but never make financial sense. Unless you pay cash, you will be paying interest on a loan for something that quickly loses value.

I would try hard to find a good used car before going with anything new. Ask everyone you know if they happen to be in the market for a new car, and if they are interested in selling their old one to you. If you make it easy for them, you might get lucky.

Sometimes you do come across a decent price on a new car - such as if you find a "new" one, but it's last-year's unsold model.

Good luck! We want pictures when you do find something.

Chris Fullmer

Well, its over.

I got a low mileage 2010 Toyota Sienna.

I am now the proud owner of a minivan....

Its actually pretty cool, I'll post pics in the morning.

Krisidious

off subject and congrats on the new ride... but did I ever tell you I did the millwork in all the dorms at Cal Poly Pomona? Maple banded countertops and maple cabinets... did you by chance ever see any? saw your sig and it came to mind... back to the new ride I bet you're gonna save some money on gas.