c/car-trash-or-treasure

Torn between fixing the AC or just junking my 2005 Civic

I bought a 2005 Civic for $1500 three months ago and the AC compressor gave out last week. A shop in Phoenix quoted me $900 to fix it, which is more than half what I paid for the car. Do I drop the cash to keep it cool through summer, or should I just sell it to a scrapper and start over? Anyone been in this spot with an older car and a big repair bill?

1 comments

sage_dixon•2d ago

Found a 2002 Honda Civic with 200k miles and a cracked head gasket for $800

I was driving through Springfield last weekend and saw a clean little Civic sitting in someone's driveway with a "for sale by owner" sign. Guy wanted $800 because it overheated and he didn't want to deal with it. I popped the hood and saw the milky oil, but the body was rust-free and the interior looked like new. Is it worth throwing a used engine in from a junkyard for around $500, or am I just buying a money pit that should get scrapped? Has anyone else taken a gamble on high-mileage Hondas with engine problems?

2 comments

reesemoore•2d ago

Wasted $400 on a transmission flush that killed my car

I bought a 2012 Honda Accord with 130k miles, clean title, drove smooth. The seller said it needed a fluid change but I ignored the warning signs. Took it to a shop in Austin last month and they did a full flush instead of just a drain and fill. 3 days later the transmission started slipping bad and now the car is basically a paperweight. I could have just swapped the fluid myself for $60 or left it alone. Has anyone else had a transmission die right after a flush like that?

2 comments

the_ryan•2d ago

Rant: Took me 5 years to realize I was setting my parking brake wrong

I always thought you just yank the handle and that's it. Then my neighbor Carl, who runs a shop over in Springfield, saw me park my 2005 Camry on a slight hill and laughed. He told me you gotta push the brake pedal down hard first, THEN pull the parking brake, or you're just relying on the pawl. I tried his way and my car stopped rolling those extra 3 inches every time. Anybody else grow up never learning basic stuff like this?

2 comments

jennys72•4d ago

Hot take: People keep calling every dent a 'total loss' without doing the math first

I was browsing local classifieds last night and saw a guy offering $500 for a 2012 Civic with a dented rear quarter panel. He said it was 'basically totaled.' But I looked up the parts, a used panel in decent paint goes for maybe $150 at a junkyard near me in Phoenix. Factor in a weekend of borrowing a slide hammer from AutoZone, you could fix it for under $200. Why do people jump to scrapping a car that still runs fine over one cosmetic issue? Has anyone else noticed this trend of overestimating repair costs?

2 comments

the_jana•5d ago

That $200 transmission flush nearly killed my Subaru

I dropped $200 on a transmission flush at a shop in Portland last spring thinking I was being proactive. Two weeks later my Outback started slipping gears on the highway and the mechanic said the flush likely dislodged sludge that clogged a valve body. Anyone else had a fluid service backfire like that on an older car?

3 comments

derek_schmidt6•5d ago

Almost junked my '04 Accord over a $12 fuse

I used to just give up on anything electrical in a car over 10 years old assume the whole harness was shot. Took my 2004 Accord to a scrapyard quote because the radio and interior lights went dead got offered $400 on the spot. On a whim I pulled the interior fuse panel found a blown 15A radio fuse swapped it for 12 cents from AutoZone. Everything worked fine. Now I check every single fuse before I even think about labeling something a lost cause has anyone else had a cheap fix that almost got scrapped?

3 comments

grantschmidt•5d ago

My $600 alternator job lasted 3 days before the bearings went again

Replaced the alternator on my 2012 Civic last Friday at a shop in Tucson and now it's making that same grinding noise. Think I got a bad reman unit or should I just scrap the whole car at this point?

2 comments

walker.max•8d ago

I finally caught myself buying a parts car for the wrong reason

I found a 2004 Civic with a blown engine for $300 in Portland. My plan was to strip it for parts to fix my daily driver that had a dented fender and a bad radio. Then I realized the parts car needed a tow ($150) and I had nowhere to store it except my driveway for 3 months. My neighbor pointed out I was about to spend more on the parts car than just fixing my own car at a shop. Has anyone else talked themselves into a junkyard project that made no financial sense?

2 comments

joseph_adams66•8d ago

Blew a head gasket on my 97 Civic on the highway last Friday

I was driving home from work in Austin when smoke started pouring out from under the hood. Pulled over and saw coolant everywhere, ended up having to tow it to a shop and they quoted me $1,800 to fix it. Has anyone else been stuck deciding if an old car with a blown motor is worth saving?

2 comments

piperb93•9d ago

TIL that weird rust on my Kia's frame is actually a recall issue

I was all set to junk my 2012 Kia Soul because I saw this nasty rust spot on the frame near the rear wheel. Figured it was terminal, you know? Then I overheard a guy at the auto parts store talking about how Kia had a recall for frame rust on certain models. He said they'd even buy back the car if the rust was bad enough. I went home and looked it up, and sure enough, my car was on the list. So I took it to the dealer and they gave me $4,500 for it on the spot. That changed my mind real quick about what counts as "trash" on a used car. Has anyone else found a hidden recall that saved a car from the scrap yard?

3 comments

bennett.noah•13d ago

Warning: Thought I could save a 2005 Civic with a blown head gasket for $300

Picked up this beater last month from a guy in Tacoma, figured I'd just swap the gasket and drive it another year lol. After pulling the head I found the block was cracked in two places, plus the timing belt was original with 180k miles. Ended up selling it to a scrapyard for $150, so I basically lost $150 plus my whole Saturday. Anyone else ever waste money on a 'quick fix' that turned into a total loss?

3 comments

wyatt_green31•13d ago

Shoutout to the guy at Pull-A-Part who talked me out of a bad buy

Last Saturday I was dead set on pulling a transmission from a 2002 Camry at the Pick-n-Pull on Lynchburg Turnpike. This older worker walked over and asked what I was doing with it. He pointed out the bell housing had a crack I couldn't see from the top, and said that car had been sitting there for 9 months with water inside. Saved me about 6 hours of work and a $150 mistake. Anyone else ever get saved by a random stranger at a junkyard?

3 comments

rowan725•14d ago

Pro tip: use a heat gun on a stuck alternator bolt

I had a 2005 Civic sitting in my driveway with a dead alternator for 3 months. Tried PB Blaster, breaker bar, even a 4 foot pipe. Nothing moved. Then a guy at AutoZone in Austin told me to hit the bolt with a heat gun for 2 minutes. Came right off with a normal ratchet. Anyone else spent way too long wrestling with rusted bolts before trying heat?

2 comments

the_oscar•15d ago

Hit 100,000 miles on my beater Civic last Tuesday, still runs but the rust is taking over

I was driving home from work and saw my odometer roll past 100,000 exactly. The engine and transmission are fine but the rear wheel wells are pretty much gone, you can see pavement through the holes. Is it worth welding in patches or should I just let this thing go to the scrapyard?

2 comments

patricia317•17d ago

Spent 4 hours cleaning a rusted tailpipe on a 2002 Civic

Last Saturday I was at Pull-A-Part in Phoenix and found a 2002 Civic with a perfectly good muffler but the tailpipe was caked in rust. I spent 4 hours with wire brushes and vinegar getting it clean enough to weld back on my own car. Now I'm wondering if that kind of time is worth it for a $40 part or should I just buy new next time?

3 comments

grant_hart•17d ago

Seat belt buckle broke off in my hand and I fixed it with a zip tie

I was pulling into my driveway last Tuesday and my driver's side seat belt buckle just snapped right off the plastic housing. Old Ford F-150 from 2006, so parts are getting harder to find. I looked up a replacement buckle online and they wanted $85 for a used one, plus shipping. Figured I'd try something crazy before dropping cash on that. Grabbed a heavy duty zip tie from my shop, ran it through the metal loop on the belt and around the buckle mechanism, and cinched it tight. Three weeks later and it's holding just fine, clicks in and releases like normal. Has anyone else used zip ties or random hardware to keep a beater car on the road?

3 comments

murphy.blair•17d ago

My timing belt snapped on the highway last Tuesday

I was cruising at 65 on I-35 when the engine just died, no warning lights or weird noises before it happened. Cost me $2,800 for a new engine since the valves got destroyed. Has anyone here ever caught a timing belt issue before it let go?

3 comments

perez.willow•18d ago

Went to a salvage yard in Phoenix yesterday and noticed every single car under 10 years old had the same transmission failure pattern

I counted 14 cars with smashed front ends that all had the same snapped CV axle on the passenger side, so if you're looking at a used Honda or Nissan from 2015-2020 in Arizona, check that joint before you buy or you'll be junking the whole thing in 6 months like everyone else out here.

2 comments

tyler_wilson•20d ago

Overheard a guy at the salvage yard say 'that car still has 50k miles left' about a 1998 Taurus with a hole in the block.

I was at Pull-A-Part in Nashville last Saturday picking up a mirror for my truck. This dude was staring at this beat up Taurus with rust holes you could fit a fist through and tells his buddy it's got 50k miles left. I almost laughed out loud but then I thought about it. Has anyone else ever actually driven a car after declaring it totaled just to see how far it would go?

3 comments

ross.felix•21d ago

The guy at the auto shop told me something about those rebuilt transmissions

I was picking up my brother's car from a shop on 4th Street last Tuesday and overheard the mechanic talking to a customer. He said that if a rebuilt transmission costs under $1,500, you should walk away because they're basically just cleaning the old parts and slapping on a new gasket. Kinda made me wonder how many people get burned by those cheap swaps, especially for older Hondas. Has anyone else heard similar warnings from their mechanic when debating a rebuild vs. junking the whole car?

2 comments

sage_dixon•22d ago

Am I the only one who thinks fixing a dented bumper is usually worth it?

I see so many posts on here saying to just junk a car over a big dent in the bumper. But last year I had a 2005 Honda Civic with a crushed rear bumper from backing into a pole in a parking lot in Spokane. Body shop quoted me $900 to replace it all. I found a used bumper off a same model at a salvage yard for $40 and bolted it on myself in an afternoon. Car ran fine for another 2 years after that. Now a busted radio I can understand, but for a bumper? Seems like people give up too quick. Anyone else fix something like that instead of tossing the car?

2 comments

abby_wilson51•23d ago

People keep confusing rust with surface dirt on used trucks

I see posts all the time where someone wipes a spot on a 2005 Ford with a rag and calls it "just surface rust." If it bubbles the paint, that rust is already eating through from underneath and will cost you $600+ to fix right. Next time scratch at it with a key first.

4 comments

simonp47•25d ago

Spent $600 on a used car with a blown head gasket, now I'm $2,000 deep into fixing it

Last month I bought a 2008 Honda Fit off Facebook Marketplace for $600. The guy said it just needed a head gasket and I thought I could DIY it in my driveway. Three weekends later I'm $2,000 in parts and tools and still haven't gotten the engine back together. Did I mess up by trying to fix this thing or should I have just sent it to the scrapyard?

3 comments

perez.willow•25d ago

Took 5 hours to swap a serpentine belt because I didn't have a breaker bar

Was trying to get the tensioner pulley off on my 2008 Civic and ended up stripping the bolt with just a ratchet so had to borrow a breaker bar from my neighbor which turned a 20 minute job into an afternoon nightmare, anyone else get stuck on a simple fix because you didn't have the right tool?

2 comments