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Should I get rid of this car?

DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss.Registered User regular
I've got a 2007 Saturn Aura XE with almost 130k miles on it. Mechanically it's fairly reliable, but it's got a boatload of other issues:

1) Driver's side headlight doesn't work. We've had both the bulb and connector replaced, but it died a few months later. One mechanic told me the previous owner installed some ghetto aftermarket adapter or something for brighter headlights (who tricks out a Saturn, so it's not a simple matter of just swapping out the bulb.
2) Third taillight - the one in the rear window - is out. It went out before and one shop wanted like $300 to fix it. I wiggled the wires around a bit and it came back on, but it's out again.
3) Front catalytic converter needs to be replaced. I've been told it's more cost efficient labor-wise to replace them both at the same time, and that when one goes the other isn't usually far behind. With the check-engine light permanently on, I'm not sure how to divine when that might be, but at the same time I don't want to replace an expensive part that doesn't need to be replaced. This issue is important because NC requires inspections, and I suspect a bad converter might fail it.
4) Sometimes when turning the turn signal doesn't return to normal position automatically. Easy enough to just give it a flick.

NC Inspections are probably due soon, and that's forcing my hand a little bit. We owe 4800 on it, so it's a little underwater. Sale price estimates are between 3000 and 3500. We could cover the difference, but that would cut into the down payment we'd have available for a replacement.

But given that in the next few months I could be more or less forced to spend 500-1000 on repairs, I'm trying to decide if I should offload it to a dealership and accelerate the process of getting a replacement. While just getting the repairs done is probably the smart money, it's definitely up there in miles, and I'd be extremely upset if I got the repairs done, passed inspection, and then started having transmission problems.

I'm not looking for a decisive "sell/keep", just trying to get some other viewpoints and figure out if there are any other factors I should take into account.

Posts

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    You should sell, but it's worth way less than 3500. I don't know who quoted you on that. Saturns have terrible reputations and you are probably just at the beginning of a long list of problems coming from that car.

    A 130k mile saturn with a laundry list of service issues is destined for either the scrap heap, or the lowest tier of "buy here/pay here" dealerships.

    Get rid of it and get a car that doesn't break. Saturns break like a motherfucker

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    I'm a technician up here in Canada, for the most part the 3.5L engines in the Aura (and Relay, Uplander, and others) is pretty solid. Most common repairs needed on those is a coolant crossover pipe that can sometimes leak coolant.

    Do your NC inspections require you to pass an emissions standard? That should be the only reason the catalytic converters would fail your inspection...

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Also you may want to shop around different shops. I've never had getting a rear tail light replaced for 300.

  • kaliyamakaliyama Left to find less-moderated fora Registered User regular
    Delzhand wrote: »
    I've got a 2007 Saturn Aura XE with almost 130k miles on it. Mechanically it's fairly reliable, but it's got a boatload of other issues:

    1) Driver's side headlight doesn't work. We've had both the bulb and connector replaced, but it died a few months later. One mechanic told me the previous owner installed some ghetto aftermarket adapter or something for brighter headlights (who tricks out a Saturn, so it's not a simple matter of just swapping out the bulb.
    2) Third taillight - the one in the rear window - is out. It went out before and one shop wanted like $300 to fix it. I wiggled the wires around a bit and it came back on, but it's out again.
    3) Front catalytic converter needs to be replaced. I've been told it's more cost efficient labor-wise to replace them both at the same time, and that when one goes the other isn't usually far behind. With the check-engine light permanently on, I'm not sure how to divine when that might be, but at the same time I don't want to replace an expensive part that doesn't need to be replaced. This issue is important because NC requires inspections, and I suspect a bad converter might fail it.
    4) Sometimes when turning the turn signal doesn't return to normal position automatically. Easy enough to just give it a flick.

    NC Inspections are probably due soon, and that's forcing my hand a little bit. We owe 4800 on it, so it's a little underwater. Sale price estimates are between 3000 and 3500. We could cover the difference, but that would cut into the down payment we'd have available for a replacement.

    But given that in the next few months I could be more or less forced to spend 500-1000 on repairs, I'm trying to decide if I should offload it to a dealership and accelerate the process of getting a replacement. While just getting the repairs done is probably the smart money, it's definitely up there in miles, and I'd be extremely upset if I got the repairs done, passed inspection, and then started having transmission problems.

    I'm not looking for a decisive "sell/keep", just trying to get some other viewpoints and figure out if there are any other factors I should take into account.

    how long have you owned the car?? what's your interest rate?

    fwKS7.png?1
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    Jasconius wrote: »
    You should sell, but it's worth way less than 3500. I don't know who quoted you on that. Saturns have terrible reputations and you are probably just at the beginning of a long list of problems coming from that car.

    A 130k mile saturn with a laundry list of service issues is destined for either the scrap heap, or the lowest tier of "buy here/pay here" dealerships.

    Get rid of it and get a car that doesn't break. Saturns break like a motherfucker

    woah woah

    anecdote incoming .... I own two saturns and have had friends and family owning a combined 6 more of various models.

    not one single issue. ever. My 2004 Ion has 170k miles on it with nothing but standard upkeep. The 2007 VUE has about 70k miles on it with no problems outside of standard stuff like oil changes, etc.

  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    zepherin wrote: »
    Also you may want to shop around different shops. I've never had getting a rear tail light replaced for 300.

    That's not too crazy for one of those ones that sits right under the rear windshield. Comparatively hard to get to and a lot more expensive than a normal bulb. At 130K you might be looking at a lot more than just a catalytic converter replacement and some electrical work in the near future though. Is there anything funky about the transmission or the engine? If those are both fine you might want to hang on to it-- my parents' Saturn was a workhorse that lasted for ages.

    aTBDrQE.jpg
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited April 2014
    Skeith wrote: »
    zepherin wrote: »
    Also you may want to shop around different shops. I've never had getting a rear tail light replaced for 300.

    That's not too crazy for one of those ones that sits right under the rear windshield. Comparatively hard to get to and a lot more expensive than a normal bulb. At 130K you might be looking at a lot more than just a catalytic converter replacement and some electrical work in the near future though. Is there anything funky about the transmission or the engine? If those are both fine you might want to hang on to it-- my parents' Saturn was a workhorse that lasted for ages.
    The price is more expensive for the bulb that's true, but fumbles mcme can do those in about an hour, and a quick search on the internet shows the price of one of those to be between 50 and 90 dollars. A mechanic is going to have an hourly rate around $90 at a more expensive place, 60-70 at a cheaper place. Even at 90 for labor and 90 for parts it should be at $180, but more likely something like that should be in the range of $150-160. 300 is ridiculous. That's close to $210 an hour rate. Your getting car work done, not an escort, although in both cases you can get your "oil changed".

    Still, if you know what work you need to do. Call around and ask how much would you charge to do x.

    zepherin on
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    Could you buy a haynes manual and do some of it yourself?

  • TerrendosTerrendos Decorative Monocle Registered User regular
    If I'm not a car guy, but if fiddling with the wires on the tail light made it work again it could just be a loose wire. If you can, crack that sucker open and see if one of the connections seems obviously bad. You can solder a connection like that pretty easily and save the 300 for that repair.

  • RoyalRoyal Registered User regular
    I've always been of the mind that you do what you can yourself, and drive a vehicle until it presents problems that either make it unsafe or expensive to drive. You can call an inspections place to see if the potential issues could prevent you from passing inspection. If you're not on site and potentially going to pay them the answer is more likely going to be honest.

    If you're underwater on the car and could sell it and only cut into a potential down payment then I would recommend using the potential down payment to have whatever work you can't do yourself done maybe even pay off some extra payments so if problems persist you're in a better position? That's how I would handle it.

    steam_sig.png
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  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    Google to the rescue on the taillight at least: http://www.justanswer.com/saturn/6c10k-third-brake-light-07-saturn-aura-out-we-ve-checked.html

    I'm not averse to doing my own repairs. The most complicated thing I've done is replace a radiator in a Kia though, so any chance of my replacing my own catalytic are out. I also don't have a good way to get under the car. I can maybe fix the headlight myself but the front bumper assembly is a nightmare in this car.

    Talked on the phone to a mechanic I trust, he said in NC if the check engine light is on it's an automatic fail for inspection. I wonder how hard the auto dealership lobby fought for that one.

    I guess I'm leaning towards keeping it. If I can accelerate paying it off, not having a car payment would be pretty nice. The interest rate on the loan is only 3.15, so it's not too onerous.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    edited April 2014
    Delzhand wrote: »
    Google to the rescue on the taillight at least: http://www.justanswer.com/saturn/6c10k-third-brake-light-07-saturn-aura-out-we-ve-checked.html

    I'm not averse to doing my own repairs. The most complicated thing I've done is replace a radiator in a Kia though, so any chance of my replacing my own catalytic are out. I also don't have a good way to get under the car. I can maybe fix the headlight myself but the front bumper assembly is a nightmare in this car.

    Talked on the phone to a mechanic I trust, he said in NC if the check engine light is on it's an automatic fail for inspection. I wonder how hard the auto dealership lobby fought for that one.

    I guess I'm leaning towards keeping it. If I can accelerate paying it off, not having a car payment would be pretty nice. The interest rate on the loan is only 3.15, so it's not too onerous.

    Swapping out a radiator is a much bigger job than swapping out a catalytic converter. On a car like yours, the cat shouldn't require more than 4-6 bolts to remove and replace. Put it up on ramps, undo said bolts at each end of the cat pipe, fit new cat pipe, do up bolts. If you're terribly unlucky there might be an electrical plug you have to unscrew and then put into the new pipe.

    Some WD40 and a pair of 9/16ths spanners should do the trick.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nmzq7gZJ20

    Donovan Puppyfucker on
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    Hmm. The converter on a saturn aura seems considerably more wacky than whatever his car is using.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=saturn+aura+catalytic+converter&espv=2&es_sm=94&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H7xOU7vfEsObyAS31YCICw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=656

    I've got a pair of ramps though, so maybe I can put it up on those and at least take a look.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    Have a look, but it looks like the converters are attached directly to the exhaust manifold on the front of the engine. It won't be a "six bolt, wham bam thank-ya ma'am" kinda replacement.
    ezak4rusksa0.gif
    That's going to be more complicated than a radiator replacement. Not to say it can't be done, but it's not a simple repair. Standard labor guide times are between 2-3 hours per converter.

    There are other options to getting that light shut off as well though. It's possible on some vehicles to program the rear oxygen sensors to be ignored (they are the sensors that identify when the catalytic converters are going bad). They also make aftermarket equipment that can generate a false good signal for the rear oxygen sensors. It won't fix the failing cats, but it will make the vehicle's computer think that every thing is good, and shut the light off. You should ask if they can get someone in to do the re-programming (my personal recommendation).

    Given that the majority of this car's depreciation is past it, I think you'd be better off repairing it, IMHO.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    I took it to the local AAA shop since my wife has a membership, and they quoted me 770 to replace the cat. 590 of that is the part cost. But I found this one online for $400.

    http://www.autoanything.com/exhausts-mufflers/61A4168A0A0.aspx

    I've got a local mechanic who would probably be okay with putting on parts I bought myself. This way I have the part warranty info. Plus I guess old converters are worth money, and I think the one I'm taking off is probably worth 40-80 bucks, so all in all this could be a lot worse.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Delzhand wrote: »
    I took it to the local AAA shop since my wife has a membership, and they quoted me 770 to replace the cat.
    That's a bit pricey for a 96 calico.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    BouwsT wrote: »
    Have a look, but it looks like the converters are attached directly to the exhaust manifold on the front of the engine. It won't be a "six bolt, wham bam thank-ya ma'am" kinda replacement.
    ezak4rusksa0.gif
    That's going to be more complicated than a radiator replacement. Not to say it can't be done, but it's not a simple repair. Standard labor guide times are between 2-3 hours per converter.

    There are other options to getting that light shut off as well though. It's possible on some vehicles to program the rear oxygen sensors to be ignored (they are the sensors that identify when the catalytic converters are going bad). They also make aftermarket equipment that can generate a false good signal for the rear oxygen sensors. It won't fix the failing cats, but it will make the vehicle's computer think that every thing is good, and shut the light off. You should ask if they can get someone in to do the re-programming (my personal recommendation).

    Given that the majority of this car's depreciation is past it, I think you'd be better off repairing it, IMHO.

    There's three bolts on the manifold flange, the oxygen sensor just after the converter, and (presumably) the three bolts on the flange from the converter pipe to the exhaust pipe. There is probably also a support bracket under the motor somewhere, just like that guy in the video's Honda Odyssey had, a mechanic should be able to swap it out quite quickly. Especially with air tools to undo everything. The deal with factory quoted service times is that the actual job takes much less time than they quote. Do you really think it takes 3.5 hours to do a basic service on a passenger car? It takes about an hour, maybe an hour and a half if you take it easy and are thorough. The rest is just pure profit on the labour charges.

  • BouwsTBouwsT Wanna come to a super soft birthday party? Registered User regular
    There's no doubt that a talented technician with the right tools can do a job faster than quoted, but that video shows a straight cat pipe. All I'm saying is that these manifold style pipes are tougher than the straight under-body style (the rear ones, tucked in by the firewall especially). Even that front one's picture is deceptive because of how close it likely is to the radiator which isn't shown in the picture.

    Regardless, this thread is for advise on whether or not Delzhand fixes the car. I'm putting my voice in for repairing the car.

    Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
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