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If the truck needs an engine, why? Was it not well maintained? If not, then what kind of condition is the transmission in? Lack of maintenance gets to everything.
I'm a DIY type and I've swapped engines, rebuilt engines and manual transmissions, but there's a lot of time invested and parts aren't cheap.
If an old, rough car needed an engine, I'd probably to go a wrecking yard and get a used engine. Almost certainly cheaper than rebuilding one. Same for a transmission. That's one reason I like manual transmissions much more than automatics - easier to pull and replace, possible for anyone with a good manual to rebuild.
Do you have the time? Do you have the facilities? Can you be sure it will run long enough for you to diagnose what's wrong, get replacement parts and wait until Spring to do the work?
I'd rather find a $3000 car that will run a couple of years than the $1500 car that will need $2000 worth of parts and days of labor.
I'm a DIY type and I've swapped engines, rebuilt engines and manual transmissions, but there's a lot of time invested and parts aren't cheap.
If an old, rough car needed an engine, I'd probably to go a wrecking yard and get a used engine. Almost certainly cheaper than rebuilding one. Same for a transmission. That's one reason I like manual transmissions much more than automatics - easier to pull and replace, possible for anyone with a good manual to rebuild.
Do you have the time? Do you have the facilities? Can you be sure it will run long enough for you to diagnose what's wrong, get replacement parts and wait until Spring to do the work?
I'd rather find a $3000 car that will run a couple of years than the $1500 car that will need $2000 worth of parts and days of labor.
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If you want a project vehicle to work on during those long winter nights? Yeah, OK, I suppose... If you want reliable, turn-key transportation? Uh.. no, not a real good idea, I'm thinkin'...
Run away from both. Buy something that runs & drives and be done with it.
I've bought more $500 "project" vehicles than I care to remember and by the time I was done fixing them, I had changed everything but the radiator cap. I would have been money ahead if I had just bought something decent to begin with.
I've bought more $500 "project" vehicles than I care to remember and by the time I was done fixing them, I had changed everything but the radiator cap. I would have been money ahead if I had just bought something decent to begin with.
I'm the same way. Once I start it's hard to just do a few things. I pull a head for valve work and next thing you know I'm down to a short block just for cleaning or to replace a couple of parts because it's simple when the thing is torn down, and hey they were old anyway so why chance it? I've done a few swaps without going down the rabbit hole, but not many, and when it comes to motorcycles, forget it, I'm either riding it or stripping it and sandblasting the frame to start a complete redo, very few exceptions to this. If I want to ride/drive I just buy new and do it. If I want to piddle, I get a beater and don't worry about much other than figuring out what to do next, but there was a time when I couldn't afford the luxury and I'd make every penny scream before I'd let it go. I got an old 4 door Corolla that ran good but had been graffitied really heavily by a disgruntled girlfriend when she caught her man stepping out. It was so thick you couldn't see out to drive it so I scrapped a couple holes big enough to get it to the car wash, then drove it home and painted the thing with spray bombs. Scraped the rest of the glass and running lights, masked it with a sunday paper, then painted it with gray rattle can primer and the did the wheels in flat black. I drove it for five years and spent about $500 a year keeping it up, not counting regular maintenance. It allowed me to save enough to pay cash for a new truck and with few exception I've always bought new since then, but before that, I drove as cheaply as possible.
Thanks all for the input. This whole insurance thing has really been stressing me out, but I did find a better insurance policy for $120/m full coverage. My last company wanted to charge me $250!!! I have been thinking about buying a truck for a while now and I am letting the stress get me to the point of making impulsive decisions. It might just be better to pay off the Audi asap and get the repairs done. I think I am still on the market for a truck, but I want an 80s-90s chevy with a 350 engine manual trans and 2wd. Don't care much about rust as long as the cab and grill are good, wouldn't mind learning how to rebuild an engine or swapping, but I don't have a garage to work on it right now and I don't want to be standing outside in the cold South Dakota breeze doing that kind of work. I will keep my eyes peeled. Ya never know what you might find.
Also, I am not super obsessive about fixing every single issue. If I was going to rebuild an engine, I'd only replace damaged/failed parts and parts that may fail soon. I have never stripped an engine down to the block... I've only done work on the front of the engine... alternators, belts, pumps, etc. I think I'd be up for it if I had the space, but I don't know about doing transmission work. I've never serviced a transmission and I only know the basic gist of how it works.
If I was going to replace my car with another car, yeah I'd probably go with a Honda Civic. I'd prefer to get a Camaro, though! I really like the 2015 Civic, but it wouldn't save me anything on ins rates unless I went with an older one. I know that because my ex wife bought a couple of them with me as the co-signer and put them under my insurance policy.... her damage claims from 3 years ago are mostly why my rates are so high. I prefer 4 cylinder inline engines on cars. Simply the fact that spark plugs are a PITA on subarus is enough for me to not want one. I like to do as much maintenance and repair on my vehicles as possible so it's important to me that it's easy to work on. The Audi is set up pretty well - I didn't know anything about cars when I bought it, so I got lucky there. The one thing I don't like is how cramped the engine bay is... I took the whole front end off the car to service the timing belt. That's why I don't have AC. Novice mistake.
That's a big reason why I'd rather just get a pickup, plus at least 2-3 times per month I come across situations where it would be much more convenient to have one (plus hauling my gear to shows). The only thing is gas mileage for long distance trips. I don't drive a lot for work (2 miles down the road/10 minutes stop go traffic), and when I do, I get paid mileage, so I don't really care about gas that much.
Considering it's been removed I will go with a no unless you are the reason for the removal which in that case it's a too late.
The least expensive car to drive is an older model that has been well maintained, may be high mileage but runs well. If it has been taken care of, high mileage brings the price down, you'll be able to just drive it, do minor maintenance and repairs as needed, and NOT make car payments---or make them for maybe 12 months and then be done.
Insurance is less, you don't have to carry full coverage, and the car will last. Much cheaper than buying a POS that you have to worry about and work on.
Insurance is less, you don't have to carry full coverage, and the car will last. Much cheaper than buying a POS that you have to worry about and work on.
I'll agree with this to a point....... Cars/trucks will cost $ to drive no matter what - either you're getting nickel and dimed to death on repairs/maintenance with the older one or you have a thick payment book on the new one. Take your pick.
Now, if you are somewhat handy with a wrench then an older vehicle that needs simple stuff may not be a bad way to go...... you can save a ton of $ if you can do repairs yourself, however engine and transmission swaps or rebuilds are usually not something the average weekend warrior is going to tackle.
Absolutely true! Cars are NOT an investment, they're always an expense. The trick is to minimize expense and inconvenience.
In addition to the time, tools and room needed, not everyone can afford to have a vehicle down for days when doing a major mechanical procedure.
I often wonder how people who are not DIY types and can't do routine mechanical repairs to their cars, home and belongings can afford to live. I make a decent living and I don't have an interest in paying people to do everything for me. But if I lived in an apartment building which had a prohibition on doing mechanical work in its parking area, I'd be SOL when it came to working on my car. That's one benefit of having a house.
+1.
I don't know how people can afford to take their cars to a shop for work other than routine stuff like oil changes and tire rotations. The insane markup on parts and $90+ per hour labor rate would freak me out if I had to pay it. I've probably saved myself tens of thousands of dollars over the last 35 years of being a professional mechanic...... I can fix it myself for a fraction of shop prices. My daily drivers are typically cars I've gotten for free that customers gave up on...... yeah, I drive junk. My wife and daughter drive newer stuff, I won't take the chance of either in an old $hitbox.
Yeah I hear you guys. I like to save money wherever possible. I still have not found a truck at this point, but I'm working to save up some money to purchase over the winter at some point.
