Kid sister apparently overheated the piss out of her [correction] '01Taurus (base model 115k). I assume she popped a head gasket at least, probably worse. I'm going to have to bail her out, either by footing the bill to have it fixed or making a substantial contribution towards a replacement.
What's a ballpark for a re-manufactured engine including install?
Seriously? A reman engine with a labor warranty plus install from a shop? Way more than the car is worth. 4k at least. Shop i just quit charged $95/hr if they liked you and the job is probably 10+hours (ive done some motor jobs that were like 23 hours) so you're looking at over 1k just in labor and not counting any hangups encountered along the way. Friend of mine just sold a NICE looking 03 taurus with ~140k and the pretty blue color with chrome SHO wheels in good running condition for $2500 and i told him that was pretty good to get for a car like that.
What would it cost you to just figure out yourself if it really needs ANYTHING other than a coolant hose and some coolant? If it still has compression i would drive it until it doesnt. If you dont do your own work a car like that is definitely a throwaway at this point due to the cost of repair, so drive it til it dont drive no more.
Yep, punt it down the road. Buy a Honda or Toyota and point her to a local shop that can take care of them for her.
If you want to teach her the importance about vehicle maintenance, paying attention to gauges, sounds and smells, then tell her that she can help you fix her car and that no work gets done unless she is around to help (then make her help out) Then proceed to replace the coolant hoses, belts, replace the radiator, thermostat and the headgasket and of course change the oil (assuming the head isn't cracked) Assume this will take two weekends worth of work.
Just buy another......we even treat sho's as throwaway cars
Edit: I wouldn't hesitate to buy another taurus either.....the OHV ones are dirt cheap, and the duratec, while a little more, will run forever.......just keep her from overheating things and tell her to pay attention.
Base, so it should be the Vulcan 3.0
Those last forever, see if new hoses/coolant/ect fix thing and if not pull one from a yard.
Yeah, I'm just second-guessing myself. I'm looking at 7-10 year old sedans with less than 100k on the clock and not coming up with much under about $7500, which made me think that throwing $3-4K at this POS might make sense.
Mostly I'm trying to keep her from spending money she doesn't have and can't afford to borrow.
turboswede wrote: If you want to teach her the importance about vehicle maintenance, paying attention to gauges, sounds and smells, then tell her that she can help you fix her car and that no work gets done unless she is around to help (then make her help out) Then proceed to replace the coolant hoses, belts, replace the radiator, thermostat and the headgasket and of course change the oil (assuming the head isn't cracked) Assume this will take two weekends worth of work.
Good advice but won't really work here - she's 2 hours away and needs a replacement right away. She's also over 50 - I don't know how many new tricks we can teach this dawg.
In reply to bludroptop:
Don't know until you try, eh?
I just hate the crap where you get to rescue a family member that screwed up because they were lazy or ignorant without expecting they put some skin in the game. Even if it is to provide good food, cold beverages and pay for the parts at least.
Are there any good salvage yards in the area? Call around and see if any of them install. We've got them with under 100k miles, and we charge $1,100 installed for them. Oh, and it would probably be a good idea to find out why it overheated in the first place to make sure it doesn't happen again.
turboswede wrote: In reply to bludroptop: Don't know until you try, eh? I just hate the crap where you get to rescue a family member that screwed up because they were lazy or ignorant without expecting they put some skin in the game. Even if it is to provide good food, cold beverages and pay for the parts at least.
Yes, her lack of mechanical sympathy is frustrating but she does her part by taking care of our Mom, so I take that into consideration.
I'm going to take the day off tomorrow, get a first-hand peek under the hood, maybe talk to the tech that evaluated it and then drive her around to look at a couple of possible replacements.
Maybe I'll ultimately have the Bore-us towed here and tinker with it in my spare time (like I have any spare time). If I can get it running decently, maybe I can recoup some cash. As is - where is, it is worth scrap value.
Well, if she's two hours away you're going to be in it for scrap value just by having it towed that far. Not saying which way to go, just something to keep in mind.
You should be able to get into quite a few 7-10y/o sedans for less than $7500...
I typed 7500 max and some model years into local craigslist and started seeing the first viable options at 2009 and by 2008 the market has a decent variety of sub-$7500 cars that would satisfy someone who would drive a taurus.
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/search/cto?sort=pricedsc&maxAsk=7500&minAsk=3500&query=2008&srchType=T
Man, it is hard to find and buy a car in 5 hours, particularly for a BIG girl that doesn't fit in a lot of cars.
Ended up pulling the trigger on possibly the most boring car in the world. '03 Buick Century, clean as a whistle (one small scratch), one owner, fresh tires, full dealer service history and traded-in with 80K for a new model at the same dealer that sold it new. $6500. I'm sure that I overpaid, but I trusted my gut.
The Taurus started and ran with no horrible noises but immediately started puking from the coolant overflow tank, even when stone cold. Looks like AAA might tow it to me for free, so we'll see.
Big brother's wallet hurts from riding the white horse all day.
Well since you already know im not going to talk about the price on that century.
But i WILL say... read up on lower intake gaskets on that motor. If it starts leaking internally and you dont catch it quickly the motor will be ruined. It is a E36 M3ty job, too. I won't take them as side work anymore. Told my cousin to sell his 3100 cutlass over it. We got him a caravan. He's ~400lbs.
If it's already been done in those service records, that would be a major point in that car's favor.
Isn't '03 right in the thick of the Dexacool fiasco???
We can hope the coolant is not original after 10 years, but if theres any kind of muddy looking junk visible under the radiator cap, flush it before it gets worse.
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