Cars are the bane of my existence...

**mombottoo** · 06-13-2010, 05:21 PM

My car now needs the entire exhaust system replaced...ugh! DH wants me to just buy a different car but, I personally like my car. It's paid for, has 189,000 miles on it but runs like a charm...therefore, I don't see any sense in buying someone else's problems...I know the beast I have

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So tomorrow I get to call the garage & see how much they are going to soak me to put a new exhaust system on the beast. The parts alone are over $400 not including tax if we do it ourselves. But, it's hard for dh to work on cars and I don't want him to be laid up for days afterwards...good thing I love him

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**lparker** · 06-13-2010, 07:50 PM

bring er down here & I'll have my boy put it in parts and all for $400 (if that was the retail cost of parts)

**lparker** · 06-13-2010, 07:53 PM

You should make friends with a mechanic that does jobs on the side. He can get the parts at discount and do a lot of jobs for what the parts cost retail.

**frugalwarrior2** · 06-13-2010, 08:37 PM

So sorry to hear. From one motor city girl to another i understand. I just spit out $604. for struts and shocks. Then DH says what about the compressor? It runs the air shocks. Leave me be.lol

**JanieD** · 06-14-2010, 11:15 AM

Love the title of this thread!

I do understand where you're coming from. Been there & can't find my way out.

I love my beater (its my 1st car) & I'd rather fix it than replace it. At least that was my decision about 2 years ago when I had the engine rebuilt. I figured it would be the most expensive repair. I didn't plan on it have one problem after another. Its sort of a bad dream. Can't find parts, the engine is still not fixed, on & on it goes. Not sure what advise to give, but had to share. Good luck on the repair & deciding your car's fate.

**mek42** · 06-14-2010, 11:57 AM

That seems low for an entire exhaust. Is it just the muffler?

Regardless, could you look for whatever needs to be replaced at a junk yard?

My local Monro was estimating $400+ for an aftermarket muffler just for parts - I took a recip to the parts car and it was $60 for labor to weld it on.

**druthb00** · 06-14-2010, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by mombottoo

My car now needs the entire exhaust system replaced...ugh! DH wants me to just buy a different car but, I personally like my car. It's paid for, has 189,000 miles on it but runs like a charm...therefore, I don't see any sense in buying someone else's problems...I know the beast I have

.

I think your DH and my BF would get along. Our only vehicle is currently in the shop getting a new fuel pump as well as a new caliper and hose for the brakes. This job will be about $660 and 2 weeks ago we just got a new harmonic balancer and belt tensioner, $475. All BF keeps saying is, "lets get rid of it, lets get a 'new' car." I don't WANT a new one. It only has 135K on it and it was given to me for crying out loud. Even after all the repairs, we still haven't forked out enough cash to "pay" for it. But before I highjack your thread, I'm just saying I feel your pain LOL.

**mombottoo** · 06-14-2010, 06:39 PM

Thanks all...that's my issue, car is paid for & even if I bought another one (which I could) I figure I would be buying someone else's problems...at least I know the beast I have! She has a solid, good running engine, the body isn't in too bad of shape & she has never left me stranded...which is a big plus!

I did check out ads for cars...a couple of them about killed me..."good running car, needs head gasket" and "very good running car, needs transmission"...plus they each wanted $2000 for their car LOL.

So, I will pay to have her fixed, I'll pay a little under $700 to have the entire exhaust replaced, which is a heck of a lot less than buying another car.

**mndtrp** · 06-14-2010, 07:56 PM

As long as you are cognizant enough to realize that after a few $700 projects, it becomes cheaper to buy a new/used vehicle.

**druthb00** · 06-15-2010, 08:06 AM

Just out of curiosity, have you taken it anywhere else for an estimate? I'm with you on having it fixed, but it just seems like a little bit much to me. A year or so ago I had the exhaust done on this car, from (and including) the cat and back. And I remember it was $300 or $350. We took ours to a muffler shop to get it done. Also, did your DH go with you or call for you, or did you call? The reason I ask is sometimes mechanics will take advantage of the situation if a female gets the pricing. I had this happen to me with my old car. There were 2 Chevy dealerships in my area back home and my father called one to get a price on replacing the head gasket ($300.) He asked me to call the other dealership. Well, by mistake, I called the same one he did. They quoted me at almost double; I believe around $700. Needless to say, Chevy didn't get that sale LOL.