and it also makes me mad cuz theres so many things i would love to do to my car such as a brickyard spoiler.. potentially save up for a 3.8 SC swap but all these are draining me considering i dont make alot of money to begin with, and most of this gets done by my work (dodge) where i discount on parts, labour.. so everyone knows it has 208,500km on it (122599 miles.. so the online conversion tells me

 

Ive done the intake gaskets on mine, replaced the tensioner and serpentine belt, all 4 rotors and pads, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs and wires, evap purge solenoid, water pump and the battery. I also had the transmission rebuilt shortly after I bought it. Stupid pressure control solenoid went and wrecked my trans. It seems like alot of things to go wrong but for a 14 year old car its really not bad. What has saved me is that I did it all myself except the trans rebuild. Only paying for parts is alot cheaper than paying for labor as well. I cant complain because only once has the car not started for me, and thats because the battery was bad. Other than that I think the car has been pretty reliable.

Sounds like you have had a few more problems than me with the radiator, oil pan gasket, and what sounds like the oil pump drive seal. You would be surprised tho how much of your expenses are going to labor. You probably would have about 1/3 of the money into repairs if you didnt have to pay the labor. I think including the trans rebuild I have less than 2200 bucks into repairs and 1600 bucks of that was the trans.

I understand your frustration. I think tho if you saw how often we get the same cars come in over and over again in need of repairs, you wouldnt feel so bad. Maybe a newer car would temporarily solve your problem but eventually you will be at the same place, with repairs starting to pile up. All cars need repaired eventually. One of the mechanics at work has a mid 90s BMW with almost 300,000 miles on it. He is constantly working on it but if you ask him he will tell you its definately cheaper than a new car payment.

 

Man. With a parts list like that, at least you have a new engine! I hope that fixes things for you.

 

Ya I hope so to as far as doing work myself,,, I'm not mechanically inclined to that my self lol my dads usually off at work and my bf just sends stuff to the shop to get fixed.. The tranny was rebuilt just before I bought it ( got it off my bf).. But it could be worse I suppose my old white Monte blew up( sold it to my sister) my car has a check engine light... Says no flow while purging.. Dunno what that means but the light shuts off once in a blue moon lol, the Monte has never ever left me stranded always gets me where I gotta be or gives me fair warning on something breaking.. I keep fixing it cuz I love it so much, it's in amazing condition

 

I think at 122,000 miles your parts list is fairly small. Alot of cars are completely wore out by that mileage. Your car does look like its in great shape for its miles, I wouldnt hesitate to spend the money on it either. Mine just turned over 56,000 miles and is in excelent shape which make me not hesitate for a second to put money into it. Im still chasing a minor but annoying intermittant miss. Thats the only problem I have with mine at the moment.

I think doing the work on your car now while its still in good shape will pay off because once the car is a bit older and you may be less inclined to spend money on it, alot of the parts that would fail will already be replaced. At least thats how I view it.

I hope to never get to the point where the car is too wore out to be worth fixing. Im going to do some body work on it in the spring and repaint the suspension so the car will look new again. I wish I had leather like yours, then again I would probably trash the seats with my dirty work clothes. Keep your monte in the great shape its in. I love red 5th gens and yours is gorgeous. Keep it on the road as long as possible!

 

I don't know.... some cars are crap by 122,000, but that sounds like a lot considering I'm at 116,000 and haven't had no where near that much done yet. I've had an a/c go out, flushed my coolant, and done regular maintenance. That's all!

 

Your car is also 6 years newer Duane. Mileage isnt the only factor, age is a big part too.