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Taiden
Taiden Dork
10/22/11 1:29 p.m.

Alright, I'll just lay it all on the line.

I'm a student who has no job. I know people have done engineering while having a job, but I honestly don't see how that's possible.

I live in the frozen north, and school is in bumberkeley egypt. Being able to get away from school at a moment's notice is a necessity for my sanity.

I used to not mind the regular maintenance involved in older cars. I had ready access to a garage with all of my tools. This is not the case at school. I also had a mostly regular income before and had no problems with spending the cashola.

Well, I'm getting nickel and dimed at school and my bank account has been steadily approaching zero.

Somehow on my last trip home (about 150 mi), I managed to expose cord on my front passenger tire. My rear diff is leaking, and while body rust seems to be totally in check, the gas tank and filler are starting to get rust flakes. That's the '85 318i.

My other car is the 96 subaru outback sport with the eg33 swap. It's literally 95% sorted. All I have to do is run the wiring for the ecu and make a catted y pipe and buy some O2 sensors. I have about $2400 into this project. I doubt it's worth half that the way it sits. If it were finished, it would be worth more for sure.

It costs me about $50 round trip every time I come back home, so each time I come back on the weekends to do work on either car that's my cost. Just to get here.

I keep eyeing the Fiat 500s. I would almost kill to have a new car under warranty, but the car payments are unacceptable and I doubt anyone is giving out cars these days.

I just want something that I feel comfortable in, something I don't have to think about exploding on me, and something that will be cheap to run.

So I don't know what to do. The less time I spend mental energy on this the better. So parting out the Subaru isn't an option. I can't decide between finishing it, or selling it as is.

Also as far as the BMW goes, I love the car but I have no idea if I'd be better off getting rid of it for something else. I doubt I'll find anything with less rust, but I'm awaiting something to break. The transmission and engine are in fantastic shape, as is the body and interior. The speedo doesn't work which can be nerve-racking, the exhaust has this incredibly annoying tendency to fall off or otherwise leak. It also is in need of emergency tires in size 14", which is frustrating because I have a perfectly good set of 15" all seasons in the garage. They just happen to be on 5 lug wheels while the bmw is 4x100.

I had to choose between the school I'm at now, and one in Boston. The only reason I wish I was in Boston now is so I didn't feel like I need a car.

I've considered year-rounding on 2 wheels, but that just sounds like insanity up here.

Sorry for the verbal diarrhea. I'm just looking for advice from people who have made similar oversights in the past.

White_and_Nerdy
White_and_Nerdy HalfDork
10/22/11 1:41 p.m.

Miata with snow tires. (First!)

SVreX
SVreX SuperDork
10/22/11 1:47 p.m.

It sounds like now is not a good tome to be screwing with half running cars. You need to get through school.

Shelf the Subie. I think you are gonna like that car later, you've got a lot of energy invested in it, and modified cars are (sadly) never worth what we who love them think they are worth.

Do NOT take on a large car loan. You can't afford it, even if the dealer says you can.

Can you even trade the BMW for a decent commuter? Find a beater Honda, or Tercel, or the like. Ask one of your southern brethren to find you a rust free car.

BMW's are great, but it can easily be replaced. You'll get better fuel economy with a Honda, etc., and have less in repairs.

Kudos for asking for advice. I'd have just screwed it up entirely on my own.

SVreX
SVreX SuperDork
10/22/11 1:48 p.m.

I've got a decent commuter Miata dd. I'll sell it (cheap), but I don't want the BMW.

Teh E36 M3
Teh E36 M3 HalfDork
10/22/11 2:00 p.m.

Have you looked for a job? That's the real solution. Don't be too proud to take min. wage. I did engineering school too- it was a service academy, but I'd equate the extracurricular military stuff to having a 60 hour a week job on top of school.

Then transfer to Boston for the rest of school.

E36 M3can both cars and find something that is reasonably reliable for what you get out of both of them.

jrw1621
jrw1621 SuperDork
10/22/11 3:48 p.m.

The 318 is the "devil you know" and I would stick with that over another car which too will have problems lurking or "the devil you don't know."
Being a 318 you are already getting good mileage so switching for better mpg is not that much of a savings.

You comment on potential issues with rust flakes at gas tank/filler. Coat/cover this area and hope for the best to get by.
High dollar solution: POR15 paint.
Low dollar solution: motor oil and paraffin wax combination.
Leaky diff: add more diff lube as needed. My guess is that it is not leaking that much or that fast.

For tires - used. Here are some links:
4 snow tires on rims for $25
http://maine.craigslist.org/pts/2614306054.html

2 for $50:
http://maine.craigslist.org/pts/2628941129.html

None of the solutions are perfect but they are "get by" answers and that seems to be where you are at right now; just a need to get over a hump. Good times and newer cars will come.
As noted, hold on the Subaru for now. If possible, sell it. The cash may come in handy.

stuart in mn
stuart in mn SuperDork
10/22/11 4:21 p.m.

How often do you commute between home and school? Any possibility of taking the bus or catching a ride with someone else? I remember when I was in college there was a ride board in the student union where people could hook up with others for rides.

docwyte
docwyte Reader
10/22/11 4:48 p.m.

I didn't have a car at school. I suggest you don't either.

pres589
pres589 Dork
10/22/11 4:50 p.m.

Being able to get away from school at a moment's notice is a necessity for my sanity.

Find localized solution for sanity.

ValuePack
ValuePack Dork
10/22/11 6:14 p.m.

95% there is pretty close. I've seen how you work, it's a hell of a pace. That 5% may not be as bad as you think.

Considering the work you've got into it, I'd continue on with it and send the E30 packing. Get the Subie literally to a point that it runs, drives, and stops. Heave a few weeks worth of tools in the boot, thrash on it during your off hours at school. I know parking lot work in NE at night during winter blows, you'll just appreciate it more when it's done.

Best of luck, sir.

Edited because I apparently never read the first post thoroughly

Teh E36 M3
Teh E36 M3 HalfDork
10/22/11 6:16 p.m.

Sanity is overrated. Engineers aren't anyway, so join the club, enjoy FSAE, or another club and live local. Best advice yet.

Osterkraut
Osterkraut SuperDork
10/22/11 7:05 p.m.

Date a girl with a car.

ThePhranc
ThePhranc Reader
10/22/11 7:29 p.m.
Osterkraut wrote: Date a girl with a car.

Or two.

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
10/22/11 7:44 p.m.
Osterkraut wrote: Date a girl with a car.

"Can't get a girl cuz I ain't got a car, can't get a car cuz I ain't got a job, can't get a job cuz I ain't got a car, gotta find a girl with a car and a job...and cable."

As the old adage says: "Get a berkeleyin job." You're a kid in school with no job and two cars??? Good luck finding sympathy. I know it sucks, but deal with it. I sacrifice every day to make sure I can stick a few extra bucks in the bank. It hurts. I'm in my thirties, and I'm probably grabbing a 93 Festiva this weekend for DD duty. Can I afford a 2011 whatever? Sure. Will I buy it rather than making sure I've got a few bucks in the bank? No.

Sell one car. Use the proceeds to fix the other. Get a berkeleyin job. You can study while working graveyard at the gas station. Every successful mother berkeleyer here has done it.

Send me a thank you card when you're the berkeleying man.

SVreX
SVreX SuperDork
10/22/11 7:54 p.m.

In reply to poopshovel:

How come you're always so indirect? Do you have to continuously beat around the bush?

Taiden
Taiden Dork
10/22/11 8:06 p.m.

Thanks all for the help. I appreciate it. I got the short term figured out

I'm trading my 15" all seasons for a set of 14" snows that a friend has. I'm throwing those on the e30 wheels. Same friend also got me a collection of parts for the Impreza while at various junkyards all over New England. He's selling me a huge amount of parts for $50. I think I owe him some beer.

My front tires are both getting munched hard on the outside edge. Alignment only or also struts?

I have a few things lying around that can be sold, I'll be doing this first. I have a Miller Maxstar 150 STL with an SSC Controls pedal that I really don't want to have to give up, but seeing as my bottle lease is up it might be time for that to go. We have all the welders I could want at school anyway so...

Get a job. Yeah. Somehow I haven't figured out how to avoid the random 16 hour school day. They tend to jump out at me at random times. I'm so used to flipping parts and doing so on my own time. I've been racking my brain to try to figure out how to make money on my own time without delving into illegalities.

Again thank you all. Any help on what could be causing the strange tire wear would be appreciated.

Teh E36 M3
Teh E36 M3 HalfDork
10/22/11 9:01 p.m.

Cry me a 16 hour school day river. We all did it. Teh poop is correct- a job must be in your future. We only tell you this because we love you- there are thousands of engineering students out there with jobs. You should be one too. If not for the present car and life situation, for future employment. I'd look suspiciously on a person who couldn't hold a job and school at the same time were I looking to hire.

bastomatic
bastomatic Dork
10/22/11 11:02 p.m.

yep - get a job. You can and should. Even just working on the weekends - EVERY weekend. To better yourself you should be willing to give up free time, sleep, "sanity," one or both of your cars, or some of the other extraneous luxuries you have.

Many people I know got a second and third job, slept a couple hours a night, sold off their possessions, AND raised a kid while getting a degree, most of whom are now MDs or DVMs.

Or you could do what most kids seem to, and just max out your school loans so you really can't afford anything when they come due. You aren't doing that, are you?

poopshovel
poopshovel SuperDork
10/22/11 11:39 p.m.
We only tell you this because we love you

Troof. We also tell you this because it makes us feel like badasses for fighting through that sh*t :) Sorry if it comes off as condescending. Just want to see everyone do well. Those rough times are a good reminder of where you don't want to be.

Also: Good bit of old-guy wisdom I hope you never learn on your own: If you have to, skip some scheduled maintenance...but don't berkeley around with tires and brakes. Really. I'll send you a pair of tires if you need 'em. I mean that.

Snowdoggie
Snowdoggie Dork
10/22/11 11:41 p.m.

I had three cars when I was in college and if I was lucky at least one of them would be running. But back then tuition for an entire semester at the University of California was all of about $500, and running MGs and Triumphs could be had for about the same price. Gas, tires and just about everything else was a whole lot cheaper then too. And I had a warehouse job every summer at a cannery that paid ten bucks an hour that was about twice what everybody else I was going to school with was making.

rotard
rotard Reader
10/23/11 1:27 a.m.

waaah waaah "16 hour school day" my ass.

novaderrik
novaderrik Dork
10/23/11 2:02 a.m.

get a job and keep the best running car that you have running- you already have it, and you already know it..

the "fun" comes later.

Luke
Luke SuperDork
10/23/11 7:35 a.m.

I gave up my weekends for a job, to afford to keep going to school. My grades have definitely suffered a bit because of it, but it's a necessary evil. What can ya do .

bastomatic wrote: Many people I know got a second and third job, slept a couple hours a night...

berkeley that, though. Sleep is important.

Teh E36 M3
Teh E36 M3 HalfDork
10/23/11 9:02 a.m.
Luke wrote: I gave up my weekends for a job, to afford to keep going to school. My grades have definitely suffered a bit because of it, but it's a necessary evil. What can ya do .
bastomatic wrote: Many people I know got a second and third job, slept a couple hours a night...
berkeley that, though. Sleep is important.

Sleep is important, but don't fool yourself into thinking that you must have 8 hours a night. It sounds like others share my experience, but I got 5-6 hours a night on average during the week- Sunday was the only day I got up after 6.

You're not getting a lot of sympathy here, but don't get too down on yourself. Re-rack your priorities and get through school. School was only "fun" because we're looking back through the lens of professional life. School is about discovery, and that's what was so great about it. Also, we packed a lot more into those long days than we do now.... everything just slows down. So enjoy the intensity of it all. You'll have higher and lower times in school than you will ever again in your life. Immerse yourself in the experience- move to live near the school, get rid of your E36 M3cans, get a job locally that you can bike to, and save motor stuff until you graduate and get a job, unless you can participate in FSAE. $60k a year will feel like gold when it's all done. And it will be worth it.

jstand
jstand New Reader
10/23/11 10:04 a.m.

The job I had in college that worked for me was as a freight handler for a trucking company. Not UPS or FedEx, but Roadway, Yellow, ABF i.e. freight companies not package companies.

If you don't mind getting dirty and can get your foot in the door it can work well. The work was dirty, physically demanding, and the hours aren't great (24/7 operation, with part timers typically called for 3rd shift and weekends), but $15/hour part time couldnt be beat.

It was on call work, and no seniority among part timers. When work was available the foremen would call in the guys that worked hard, had good attitudes, and were reliable. If the foreman liked you, there was usually a couple days a week to work.

You may want to look into some of the local freight companies to get the most pay for your time.

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