Repair or Replace? Daily Driver edition.

The problem:

My daily driver is a regular cab 01 Ranger 4cyl/5 spd. It's got 148k miles on it and suits me just fine. Cheap, basic, easy to work on, can do truck stuff when needed, and gets 30mpg on my 50 mile round trip commute. I haven't bothered to calculate cost per mile, but it can't be very much. The truck is solid overall, but it's been a pain for the last month with a bunch of little things going wrong. I won't waste your time going through the entire list but it's been a melodrama. The culmination of said melodrama came yesterday when I developed a pretty significant misfire (cyl #2 and #3)  and after finding no obvious cause (fuel and spark were fine) I pulled the plugs that had been installed about 3 weeks ago. Cylinders 2 and 3 are black and smell like burnt oil, but all fluid levels are fine.

The background situation:

Mrs STM is pregnant. The truck can't fit a carseat. This is a problem in her eyes. She's probably not wrong. And because of the recent headaches she considers it to be unreliable. She might not be wrong. Doing extensive work  on my daily is not my idea of a good time, (and even if it were, the available time to do so doesn't really exist with baby prep in full swing) so I'd likely take it to an indy shop nearby that I trust and have them investigate. There's a chance that it's just a valve cover gasket leaking oil into the plug wells, but it could of course be something more serious. The truck is probably worth $2500 on a good day. Quite a bit less in it's current condition.

So, talk me off of (or over) the ledge here. Is it worth digging into, repairing the issue and keeping the cheap daily, or is it time to cut bait and get something newer that can accept a carseat? Probably something in the $10k range that gets 35mpg+. A nicer, newer vehicle doesn't sound bad, but it's not something that I feel like I need either. And that $10k could certainly go towards other things with a little one on the way. What say you? Fix or ditch the daily?

 Looks like that engine has wasted spark ignition. Therefore: Companion cylinders (those whose pistons are in the same place at the same time, synchronized) share one ignition coil.  Any 'short circuit' that lets the 'spark' return back to its 'ground' without going through the whole loop can cause both cylinders  on that coil to stop sparking. Cylinders two and three are companion cylinders. It is extremely likely that your problem is simply ignition related and not internal. Remember that just because you can get it to spark in one place (that you can see) doesn't mean it's sparking where it actually needs to, in the cylinder (where you can't see). I would dig into it a little further before getting fatalistic about the truck.

Vigo said:

 Looks like that engine has wasted spark ignition. Therefore: Companion cylinders (those whose pistons are in the same place at the same time, synchronized) share one ignition coil. Cylinders two and three are companion cylinders. It is extremely likely that your problem is simply ignition related and not internal. Remember that just because you can get it to spark in one place doesn't mean it's sparking where it actually needs to, in the cylinder. I would dig into it a little further before getting fatalistic about the truck.

Good advice. The misfire started as a random, minor thing just over a month ago. I've replaced plugs, wires and the coilpack in the last month. Each independently instead of all at once. Each time, the problem would improve slightly for a couple of days before returning. Yesterday it got noticeably more severe and became pretty constant.

Honda Accord. Don’t laugh, buy one and enjoy. 

Or a TSX if you can find a sporty version cheap enough. 

If it passes a compression test on those cylinders i would just keep going with it, personally. New aftermarket parts aren't always great.. it could be something you've already replaced. 

In reply to Vigo :

I agree with this. I would check the coil connectors. Mentioning that it gets better after touching stuff makes me thing bad connections may be at fault. But it is a ford so I also vote for the dumpster with fire. 

To me, the fix it or replace it decision on a DD comes down to:

- How much is wrong with it?

- Can it be reasonably fixed?

- What's the cost of fixing it?

- Is there something you'd like better as a replacement, or would you just be looking for something similar?

If the Ranger was running fine how do you plan to conquer the need for more seating? 

Vigo said:

If it passes a compression test on those cylinders i would just keep going with it, personally. New aftermarket parts aren't always great.. it could be something you've already replaced. 

Thanks for the encouragement. Compression check is on the agenda. Maybe this weekend if I can knock out some house projects quickly before Easter celebrations.

John Welsh said:

If the Ranger was running fine how do you plan to conquer the need for more seating? 

 

If Mrs STM could be convinced that it's reliable, I think she'd be fine with saving the money and continuing on with just one kid hauler in the fleet. At least for a little while. But once she's made her mind up about something, it's tough to sway her.

Can you get a more reliable vehicle for $2,500?

In reply to Appleseed :

Probably not one that I'd be as comfortable with. But if it's not going to be a cheap, easy fix does it make sense to spend several hundred or more on a truck that will only be worth $2500? It's still going to have 17 year old truck issues after fixing whatever is currently wrong. Clear coat is struggling, drivers seat is torn, AC doesn't hold a charge, engine front cover seeps oil, etc. I could probably fix it all for less than what I'm looking to spend on a new vehicle, but I'll have spent far more than the truck is worth and I'd have a vehicle that can't fit the family.

I'm still going to do some more checking on the truck before I move on, but I was looking at other options last night and found a couple of tempting choices locally.

Option 1: 2012 Fusion Hybrid (first gen), 30,000 miles, 41 mpg city/ 36 hwy, $10,400

Option 2: 2014 Fusion Hybrid (second gen), 52000 miles, 44 mpg city/ 41 hwy, CPO car would have about 3 yrs or 48k miles of warranty left, $12,000

Option 3: 2012 Volt Premium, 84000 miles, 35 mile electric range would cover about 2/3 of my daily commute using no gas, and the rest would be 40+mpg, $9600

Thoughts?

What does she drive and how much of the baby hauling duties do you guys plan on you being responsible for?  Will the kid be going to daycare or is Mom staying home? Will her and your schedule be flexible enough that she’s the only one with a vehicle that can take the kid around?  Do you plan on having more kids?

If you shop around I’m pretty sure you can get a newer Accord or even a current gen Mazda6 (Sport manual trans) for around your $10k budget. That’s what I’d be doing for multiple reasons, but I wouldn’t sell the truck unless you can’t also keep it.  A paid for beater truck is always a good thing to have if you guys have a house, so fix the oil leaks and the spark issue and keep it around for truck stuff.  

Edit- of those, i’d Lean towards option 2 or 3. The volt is small inside, and car seats take up a TON of room. Also look for a previous gen Prius, they’re almost dirt cheap too. 

In reply to STM317 :

bring baby bucket seat with you to do rear seat entry and eagress type trials before signing on the dotted line.  noone wants to put down the dollars for a car and the stupid seat won't fit..  I'm looking at you CX3 and your idiotically small rear door opening..

Sold my manual '08 Accord for $5,500. Thing was and I'm sure still is crazy reliable and fit my kid just fine. 

If the truck is paid off and you have the space, I'd keep it while looking for a sub $10k family hauler go-tos; Accord, Camry, Fusion, etc. Anything smaller than a mid-size will be a pain to deal with. Not impossible to fit a rear-facing car seat in, just annoying once you start adding a stroller, diaper bag, etc.

In our experience it’s nearly impossible to put Mom in the front seat in front of the car seat because it’s pushed up against the dashboard to fit the baby bucket in a compact car. 

Cars.com has a car seat fit check website that covers most newer cars btw. Big help when internet shopping.  

Oh yeah, congrats OP!

I've been in situations where I've had one of the non-kid-hauling vehicles and midday changes in plan have been made very inconvenient because I couldn't take a child or three in my vehicle.  That's not an everyday thing for us -- wife is stay at home mom and both of our regular cars can carry the whole family -- but when it does happen, it's frustrating for both of us.  It's made a little worse since she's not really down for driving the Oldwing or the Neon so we can't even switch cars in those situations.  What I'm saying is not to underestimate how annoying it can be to have only one car that can transport the little ones.  Although, with a Ranger you should be able to disable the passenger air-bag and transport a child in the front seat no problem.

What about the possibility of getting a 4+ seater car now and then spending some time fixing the Ranger?  If you can float that you might be able to get a little more cash for the truck - or you might find that you like having a little extra trucklet around!

skierd said:

What does she drive and how much of the baby hauling duties do you guys plan on you being responsible for?  Will the kid be going to daycare or is Mom staying home? Will her and your schedule be flexible enough that she’s the only one with a vehicle that can take the kid around?  Do you plan on having more kids?

If you shop around I’m pretty sure you can get a newer Accord or even a current gen Mazda6 (Sport manual trans) for around your $10k budget. That’s what I’d be doing for multiple reasons, but I wouldn’t sell the truck unless you can’t also keep it.  A paid for beater truck is always a good thing to have if you guys have a house, so fix the oil leaks and the spark issue and keep it around for truck stuff.  

Edit- of those, i’d Lean towards option 2 or 3. The volt is small inside, and car seats take up a TON of room. Also look for a previous gen Prius, they’re almost dirt cheap too. 

The main family hauler is her 2013 Santa Fe. Mrs STM will be returning to work after maternity leave. We have identical commutes, but I work 4 days and she works 5 days per week. MIL is super excited to watch the baby Mon-Thurs, and Friday's will be dad/baby bonding day. As it is now, I'd be unable to take the kiddo anywhere or leave the house on Fridays. Switching rides with MrsSTM on those days isn't a strong option. She's not adept at driving a stick, and more or less refuses to trade vehicles anyway. As for more kids, we're going to see how baby #1 goes, but I'd say that another is likely at some point.

If we sell my daily, that still leaves my racetruck and a 72 Chevy Longbed in the fleet that can handle light duty truck stuff. Borrowing my FILs Chevy half ton is also an option.

Ill look around at 6s, Accords, Camrys, etc but I'd like to get one with lower miles all else being equal. If a Fusion with 30k is the same price as an Accord with 80k, it's pretty tough to turn down the Fusion you know?

I'd definitely do a car seat fitment check before buying. Mrs STM and I are both taller, so having to move seats up a bunch to fit a car seat behind isn't always feasible. We borrowed one when we were shopping for a mom mobile last year, and she felt silly the entire time but it was really helpful.

Not to sound like a broken record, but you need a Rondo.  This thing was made for car-seat duty...mine has had one in the back since 2009.  And don't forget that you will also need to haul a stroller, a diaper bag, and 20 other things.  Mine is a 2-row, so there is a TON of underfloor storage in the back.  I kept a supply of diapers, wipes, spare onsies and a changing pad under there.  The height of the floor in the back is perfect for changing a little one, and the rear door acts as a roof in bad weather.  Access to the back seat is easy because it has large doors, not quite a minivan, but easy.  

As for reliability, mine has 110,000 miles on it.  It had an issue with the injectors, but they were replaced under warranty.  The ignition/park lock-out switch started to fail, I fixed it in 20 minutes for $25.  One coil spring failed, taking out the brake lines and strut.  I pulled an assembly from a junkyard for $35, bought new lines and fixed it myself.  I take that as a real fluke, not something the Rondo is prone to.  And that's it, no other mechanical issues in 10 years of ownership.  I am patching up the first small rust spots, not bad for spending your life outside in PGH.  

Find one with low miles and the bigger V6 and you will never regret the $4000 you spent.  

In reply to STM317 :

I had three across the back two boosters, one big protective seat for a vacation about 1.5 years ago in a fusion.  It worked well.  it's a good kiddo machine.

skierd said:

In our experience it’s nearly impossible to put Mom in the front seat in front of the car seat because it’s pushed up against the dashboard to fit the baby bucket in a compact car. 

Cars.com has a car seat fit check website that covers most newer cars btw. Big help when internet shopping.  

Oh yeah, congrats OP!

With one car seat you can sometimes put it in the middle of the back seat, such that it pokes between the two front seats.  This let us put the passenger seat on my B5 Audi in a normal position, vs having it slid 3 inches forwards.  That doesn't help when the second one comes along though -- then it's time for a minivan.

STM317 said:

In reply to Appleseed :

Probably not one that I'd be as comfortable with. But if it's not going to be a cheap, easy fix does it make sense to spend several hundred or more on a truck that will only be worth $2500? It's still going to have 17 year old truck issues after fixing whatever is currently wrong. Clear coat is struggling, drivers seat is torn, AC doesn't hold a charge, engine front cover seeps oil, etc. I could probably fix it all for less than what I'm looking to spend on a new vehicle, but I'll have spent far more than the truck is worth and I'd have a vehicle that can't fit the family.

Between how much work it needs, the lack of time to perform such repairs yourself, and that it doesn't seem to fit your needs in the near future, I'd vote for replacing over repair.

STM317 said:

John Welsh said:

If the Ranger was running fine how do you plan to conquer the need for more seating? 

 

If Mrs STM could be convinced that it's reliable, I think she'd be fine with saving the money and continuing on with just one kid hauler in the fleet. At least for a little while. But once she's made her mind up about something, it's tough to sway her.

This, I have found, can be said about many vehicles and many women after they experience a failure.

It's weird.