There comes a time when something of yours breaks and you’re faced with the decision to either pay a lot to fix it or let it go. This poor Grand Am had its major malfunction not too far from my house, and not knowing much about mechanics or cost or ease of repair, a voice in my head told me this G/A was probably a goner. I know the feeling. My computer died last week. Fried. Toasted. Buh-bye.
Without going into too much detail about my cyber situation, suffice it to say I had the vast majority of my photos backed up, and it could have been much worse. I’ll be back with more contributions once I get everything all sorted out. I love writing for this site and sharing my finds, reading others’ perspectives, and also the highly entertaining and informative dialogue that often ensues here at CC.
This isn’t a veiled request for technical support (or pity), and I’ve got the situation under control. In the meantime, enjoy this slightly depressing photo of what could have been considered, in the not-too-distant past, the “State Car” of my native Michigan – the once-ubiquitous, red Pontiac Grand Am. I’ll wrap this post by saying that like this car, I’m not going anywhere.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, November 21, 2015.
Every time I see a car on the side of the road with one of the front wheels broken off, I
wonder how long someone had to put up with something really, really wrong with the way the car drove before the final, dramatic failure. “Drive it till the wheels fall off” is sometimes more than just an expression.
I had a massive computer crash a few years ago. Fortunately the hard drive was fine and I had it installed in my new computer to allow for an easier recovery of files. Why do most of us treat our computers like the owner treated the subject car?
I had the ball joint snap on my 77 Chevelle the otherday, no give-away that it was getting flaky or anything, just a bang and it was dragging the control arm on the pavement.
I think the castle nut sheared the cotter pin and then spun off, as I found bits of the cotter pin in the spring pocket on the lower A-arm, no castle nut to be found, and it hadn’t been apart in 5 years.
I too recently had a ball joint snap on a 1992 Mercedes 190e. No forewarning. Fortunaely broke on a slow speed right hand turn. Could have been really ugly out on the highway.
I guess this is really a wake up call to all of us. Check our cars
out periodically. Things like this can happen without warning, but… Had things been checked one or twice a year catastrophic susp failure won’t happen. A loose ball joint is easily checked.
Saw an early ’90s Accord in the same situation just last Friday. A little hint, people… if you hear strange noises coming from your car, DO NOT turn the radio up to drown them out.
At least you can go to the Double Bubble right there to drown your computer-related sorrows!
This is true.
If ever there was a textbook definition of “disposable car”, it’s a ~20 year old Grand Am. I imagine they’re around $1000-$1500 these days. When it has a major failure, you abandon it and go buy another one.
Back in my day, it was Darts and Valiants. I had a buddy who’d buy one for $250, drive it until the TorqueFlite leaked out all the fluid (they all leaked, and he couldn’t be bothered to add fluid). Then he’d junk it for $50, and go buy another.
In my late teens and early twenties I did that with Pintos 🙂 .
I had a buddy that did the same thing with Torinos. He got them so cheaply that he made out like a bandit.
Wait ~ isn’t new ball joints a simple $500 job ? .
I remember a brand new Ford full sizer doing this 1/2 block from the Dealer on a test drive once ~ I was having lunch and watched the driver get out and look at the left front wheel all kattywampus as the salesman in the passenger seat looked mortified .
About 1978 IIRC .
-Nate
Let’s be fair. A ball joint replacement is, to me, one of the more difficult “front end” jobs to do. Shocks, tie rods, steering gear boxes, brake lines-those are simpler jobs. Ball joints, on the other hand, are amongst the jobs I simply don’t do myself anymore-I have the finances to hire it done and I don’t have the patience or motivation to save that money for myself.
$500 is not pocket change to most of us, and to the most likely driver of this car $500 might as well be $5,000,000. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t got it, plain and simple.
+1
I take it he didn’t buy the car then.
“I remember a brand new Ford full sizer doing this 1/2 block from the Dealer on a test drive once…”
I’m guessing that was a workmanship fault (someone screwed up on the ball joint installation) rather than a ball joint failure.
I love owning/driving old cars (old as in 1988-1999) but I have a specific rules. Don’t ignore noises/potential problems. I don’t get sentimentally attached to cars. If the vehicle has a major malfunction, say transmission, or even a heater core, if the repair cost is more than the value of the car, it’s recycled. Period. I’ve found a great company that will pay $200ish to pickup the vehicle and properly recycle it.
My father was the type to just keep driving a vehicle until, yes, the wheel comes off (while driving). Although it makes for a great anecdote.
About five years ago the (second) heater core on my 1990 Pontiac Trans Sport started leaking. It had cost $400 to replace the first time about five years earlier. The GM dealer said something like $800. Another place that specialized in cooling system repairs said they don’t work on cars that old but suggested a guy they knew who did that sort of stuff. It was a small shop in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn. I think he had one assistant. There were pigeon coops stacked up on one wall of the small office. Yes, with pigeons inside. $300 cash only.
In some cars this could be a terminal failure. In a minivan, at least this one, there’s lots of room to get in there, and I think it’s right under a plastic cover you can see on the firewall under the dashboard.
Then the dealer closed.
Grand Am beaters have disappeared from Chicago-land streets in past 2 years since this pic was taken. Especially pre-99’s. G6’s are the current “Ponti-beater”
Some banks wont give loans to old defunct brands, so BHPH lots don’t sell them. Off to the bone yards.
Did it hit a pothole? That’s the “big thing” in my neck of the woods that leaves cars in this predicament.
Just spent money on replacing the CV joints on my 86 Calais. And a whole lot of niggling things as well. New hoses, belts, fluids. Even a Blackstone Labs analysis of the oil.
It’s what keeps an old car from becoming junk in the first place.
And my brother gave it back to me for nothing. It’s been 17 years since I last owned it.
At best a $500 car, but it will get new paint weatherstripping and other things in time. At some point even a new engine and transmission. It almost made the trip to Salt Lake recently instead of The ONION, but I delayed a trip like that until get the next oil analysis back.
It’s a sickness, but the pleasure I derive from bringing it back is more valuable than the money I’ve spent on it.
And it IS a Deadly Sin after all, so that ups it’s value to me as well.
Joseph: I hate the idea that someone would ignore such an obvious mechanical problem. It could have happened at speed on the freeway or any number of other instances.
I am the same way! I love to keep an old “boring” car looking and preforming like new! I will spend more than the car is worth to do this because it brings me satisfaction. I have learned that your better off buying a more expensive example than a $500 one because you will spend any money that you saved on the cheap car quickly and it still won’t be as good as the more expensive car was. The last car I did this with was a 87 Buick Electra Estate Wagon. It had 130k miles on it and a reman engine with 25k miles on it. The interior was in excellent condition but the paint was shot. I ended up having to sell it for scrap after my girlfriend (now wife) blew up the engine. I was planning on ditching the 307 anyway because it was so under powered but we got married and moved and I couldn’t take it with me. I tried hard to find someone who would care for the car and would have given it to them but I couldn’t find any takers and ran out of time.
Tom (or Ray) Magliosi (you know, Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers) once said every time he puts gas in his car he’s putting more into it than it’s worth. The relevant question is how much it would cost to replace instead of repair.
Of course when the Trans Sport is 27 years old, leaks in several places (old door and tail gate gaskets), and has rear axle spring mounts way too rusted out to pass inspection in my new state, has an AC leak no one can find, a radio that doesn’t work, a tailgate you can’t open because the unlocking handle broke off…well even with only 140K miles it’s time to go to the crusher. Although the spring mount rust would be enough.
Another consideration: new cars crash way better and have airbags all over the place and can have lane watch and rear view cameras and radar cruise control and auto braking. And get better gas mileage while being more powerful and less polluting.
Give it up with the oldies unless it’s a 1961-63 Lincoln Continental or a Shoebox Ford or something.
Winter in the North is when most old cars die out. Separates the ‘cockroaches’ from the ones on last legs.
“… someone would ignore such an obvious mechanical problem”
Happens more often. Some people only care if car “starts” and drive it into ground, even if they have a “good job”.
This was common on Ramblers circa 1960 or so even when new. As I recall the lower suspension trunnion would separate due to a supplier providing defective parts. Today this kind of thing would result in a recall.
This past Sunday I came upon a Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry stopped in the left turning lane. It was apparent that one had rear-ended the other.
Then I pulled ahead, and saw a lone wheel, on its side, ahead of them. A little ahead of that wheel, in the lane to the right, was an old Hyundai Accent missing its driver’s side rear wheel.
No doubt that will be an interesting insurance claim for everyone involved.
This is a somewhat common sight in the Portland-Vancouver Metro Area and I have become somewhat desensitized to vehicles missing wheels.
I always wonder how much warning it gives before it lets go. Apparently some do and some don’t.
In my late teens I replaced an upper ball joint on my notoriously cheap Uncle’s AMC Concord. We were visiting and I thought the front wheel was on a funny angle, looking closer the ball had burst up through the cup and had worn about half way through the control arm, it must have been like that for years.
He protested, but I came back later and fixed it.
I can see an AMC weight – bearing ball joint (on the upper arm) might not give warning, because the weight is in compression on the joint. It may not get loose or knock in normal driving, accordingly.
Most cars with weight- bearing ball joints have them on the lower arm, so its in tension – the weight tries to pull it apart, not squish it together, so perhaps such joints give more warning through noise and a loose – feel.
A friend of mine lives in Goose Bay, Labrador. He does not drive his ’90’s Honda Accord in the coldest winter months, because the ball joints get brittle in extreme cold and break in two. The shaft will shear off in normal winter driving. This does not happen to his Chevrolet, though.
The Honda will survive average Goose Bay January temperatures of 0 degrees Fahrenheit. But sub-zero weather is risky.
Ball joints are fairly easy to do, especially on a smaller FWD car. But I’ve seen enough wheels fallen off to know some people simply are not aware of the defect or the risk.
Personally, I like working on older cars and am happy to do ball joints. A ball joint press and a really good floor jack make the difference. I often find my old projects need ball joints when I buy them. I’ll do them as part of my personal refurbish service and they’ll last the life of the vehicle with me.
Up until 2 years ago, I had a 97 Civic that was your stereotypical “hoopty”. It had over 270,000 miles on it, and a cracked windshield that in some states would have not allowed it to remain licensed. But the clutch was good, it had a great stereo, and the A/C worked like no bodies business.
Then one afternoon, I pulled into an interstate rest area and as I turned the wheel to get into a parking space…..BANG. For the cost of the repairs, I considered junking the car right there. But being 50 miles from a bus station, needing to wait overnight for the bus to complete the 900 miles left to get home… I got the car fixed.
When you think the next big repair isn’t going to be cost effective, you put it off and try to save enough for a newer car. When you hate your car, you just don’t care if it might need repairs soon.
Probably a ball joint failure, I manage a parts store and we often ponder “are trouble prone cars bought by customers or do customers cause trouble prone cars?” We get a lot of customers that are really clueless about maintenance and have no ideal that some things are normal wear items–brakes, chassis parts and exhaust. Some folks come in complaining they just changed their wiper blades 2 years ago and now they streak. (window washers clean their squeegees every wipe, try cleaning your blades once in a while and they won’t streak).
A rather ratty 90’s Camaro in this same predicament appeared by the side of the road in my neighborhood a couple weeks ago. Gone two days later, whether destined for the repair shop or the junkyard (or perhaps the city impound lot if the owner abandoned it) I know not.
Absent sentimental value, the numbers often aren’t in your favor. When the Crown Vic failed inspection earlier this year, the shop quoted me $1500 for the repairs. That’s about the value of the car in total. For the average person who can’t (or hasn’t the desire or time) to do their own work, that’s next stop junkyard (or perhaps posted on Craigslist as a $500 “mechanic’s special”). I, being hardheaded and cheap, got all the parts needed for about $450. Now the car’s been sitting for several months because I haven’t yet gotten around to it, but if I can get the parts replaced I can probably sell the car for…$1500 or so. It even has working A/C.
But for those who don’t have the advantages I have (the ability to buy a replacement car on rather short notice, an off-street spot to store this one without a valid sticker, some knowledge of auto repair, funds to buy the replacement parts) that wouldn’t even be an option, and that $1000 or so of return I might see wouldn’t be a possibility. It’s amazing how many things, in the end, fall down to at least partially a matter of privilege, isn’t it? Even the ability of making a few bucks on a cheap car rather than taking a loss.
I think that’s called “circumstance” not privilege, Chris.
I had a sudden wheel collapse just like in the picture – absolutely no prior warning, let out the clutch, CVJ shattered and down the car dropped.
I should say that the car was a 20 year old Austin Ambassador …
“Craigslist as a $500 “mechanic’s special”
In 70s/early 80s, $500 was a 10 year old used car. Earlier was a 5 year old car!
When I was 16 way back in ’79 I begged my father to loan me the $1500.00 for an absolutely MINT ’73 Mustang coupe. Car had less than 30k on it too. He thought $1500.00 was too much…
Was a Sr. in HS in ’79 and $1000 was most of my classmates’ limit. Only richer kids got newer and some had brand new cars. One T-Bird and another Cutlass Supreme.
Most had a late 60’s 2 door, average price $750. Most popular model year was “1969 anything”
In summer ’77, buddy got a ’65 Impala for $75! But, needed paint, and burnt some oil. Was a 2 door hardtop and he painted it rattle can “beater flat black”. Only had it a couple months and junked it, was just “for fun”.
$500 in 1970 equals $3,264.80 today.
Transportation Specials in The Tradin’ Times (Ye Olde Used Car Newspaper) started at $750 in the late 1980’s – early 1990’s IIRC. So I shudder to wonder what $500 would buy you today. ?
In my part of the Universe during the late 1990s, it was almost axiomatic that a car that ran and drove was worth $500. We were far enough off the so-called beaten path that the local classifieds or spotting something on the side of the road with a sign were better than the Tradin’ Times, but I always did enjoy looking through them to see what sorts of interesting stuff was out there.
These days, $500 won’t get you very far. I scrapped a 2003 Taurus about two years ago after the head gasket failed. I got $360 cash money in my hand when the truck took it away. With a lot of careful Craigslist searching and a bit of luck, one can pull out a decent vehicle for a grand here. Even then, you’re throwing the dice a bit. My $1,500 Taurus was a dud. My $1,500 F-150 will rust to pieces before anything major gives up on it, I’m convinced of that.
I was at my garage getting an oil change done on Monday. Heard the mechanic telling someone on the phone their childs car was ready. Listed of a bunch of work and ended by saying “the engine noise was just they ran it out of oil…again”
When I asked, he said this was the second time the car had been brought in with engine noises that turned out to be less than a half a litre of oil in a four and a half litre crankcase.
Doesn’t matter what noise the car makes if no one is listening. You can’t fix stupid.
How about being faux busted, who’s been there?
When with your pessimistic negative thinking you’ve been half expecting major failure? So at the first slight hiccup, without thorough evaluation, you condemn and write off the engine/rod/head gasket/transmission/drain-field/girlfriend/computer/whatever, and so you move on…
Then finally when you or someone else gets around to scrutinizing things a bit more it’s discovered that the symptom was a red herring and the problem was actually minor and would have been easy to correct. Unfortunately, by then it was too late to matter.
Like a Grand-Am that may have been clunking for a minor fix?
I’m sure CCers have seen a lot stuff that was written off as hopelessly busted junk due to obviously having symptoms of some usual major failure that doesn’t even deserve further study, and then at disassembly -oh no!- a minor problem becomes evident. Got one to tell?
Uh oh….. My ’93 Marquis has been making happy knocking sounds from the front end for a while. Both me and my mechanic have been through the front end and cannot see anything wrong. I think its the lower control arm bushings – I can see the rubber sleeve is a bit compressed.
My mechanic is honest and refuses to change them because he thinks they’re fine and won’t take my money (even if offered) if he thinks its not required. Hope he’s right.
My ’97 Vic made threatening noises from the front suspension for the better part of three years. It passed two inspections while making those noises, so I basically learned to ignore them. Then it didn’t pass this year, needing several suspension bits and pieces. So the noise is probably leading up to parts needing replacement, sure, but you may be a ways off if my experience is any indication.
I’m suspecting worn ball joints. It’s almost as if by design as an audible early warning that the era’s Fords with worn ball joints emit a snap-crackle-pop with low speed maneuvering.
A limousine operator pointed it out to me, they used it as a maintenance alert with Town Cars.
The ’97 Town Car that I mentioned the other day was such a car. Seller thought they were unloading a car with a failing transmission and, of course, couched that with “just needs a tune-up.” Sold a rust-free car with working air conditioning for $900.
Turned out, it DID just need a tune-up. Number 8 plug wire wasn’t connected well, mass air sensor was super-crusty, and the transmission fluid looked like barbecue sauce. New plugs with correctly-connected wires, a few squirts of MAF cleaner on the sensor, and a fluid/filter change on the 4R70W (of course changing to Mercon V in the process) and that car ran like a kitten to a can of tuna.
That car gave us two years and 52,000 miles of absolutely faithful service. It ferried four adults and luggage across several states and through the mountains of Tennessee in 71 degree comfort with absolute zeal. We could take it across multiple states on a moment’s notice without a second thought.
For $900!
At 17 years old bought a two year old (1962) Cadillac convertible for $350 from a lot with normally, very used cars. This dealer got the car from a Cad dealer, it was a repo that looked unwashed since new and would barely pull itself, after the beater dealer got it the tires all went flat twice a day, and it was soon parked next to a dumpster behind the back row of cars. It only showed 14,000 miles. I had a feeling the owner of the car screwed with it when he knew it would be repossessed. After getting it to my friend Norms place, found out the timing was off, carb out of adjustment, plug wires changed around. In an hour it purred and with two days detailing it looked new, the near new tires had tubes put in to hold air..
Also at 17, I got my Taos turquoise 57 Lincoln Premiere coupe airborne (about 6 feet off the ground) by accident when I went through a severe dip to avoid a car. It tore the shock off, but seemed okay otherwise. Two days later on a winding bumpy road, the entire left front suspension unit, including a-frames came off and disappeared down a 200 foot cliff. I could do my own work then and repaired it.
On my 66 black Imperial, twice over the years I’ve had upper ball joints shatter while making violent evasive maneuvers around cars that ran stops right in front of me. One of the shattered ball joints had only been installed two days before. My mechanic stated the Imperial was capable of making the violent move, but at 6000 pounds the ball joints can’t take the strain. Without these moves the ball joints last 15 years or more. It did not cause collapse, the joint was contained in the socket.
When my ’95 Celica ended up needing new CV boots and related parts at 175K, it started making the most distinctive rattle noise during right turns. My friends and I called it “snake eyes!”, as it sounded exactly like dice being shook in a Yahtzee cup. It was promptly fixed. My best friend’s first MN12 Cougar gave no such audible warning when the front passenger wheel let go (at low speed, thank God) leaving a summer cabin party. I’m inclined to give this Grand Am driver some slack, as the rest of the car looks very clean considering the age and general quality these cars had when new. Someone else mentioned a possible pothole as the cause, and I wouldn’t be surprised. I was walking back from the Jewel grocery store on Clark St. last year barely a few miles from this location, and BAM! I hear this horrible crunch and look over to see a new Jeep Compass, still with dealer plates, lurched on the ground to my right with the front wheel sheared off from an exceptionally large pothole. Chicago blows when it comes to fixing roads as a whole.
Fun fact: this shot was taken the same day The Willis Tower caught fire on the 50th floor. I was at work across the street that morning and left to insanity outside due to the fire crews and all the people there waiting for the Festival of Lights…
The CV joints in my then new-to-me ’94 Ford Probe did the same thing in ’98 as your Celica, right before the warranty wore off. Thank goodness it was covered, as it would have been a costly repair. If I recall correctly, I remember reading that these repairs cost more than average on the Probe (and Mazda MX-6) for some reason.
I was working in the Sears Tower when that fire occurred. I would not have been in the office on a Saturday, but until you mentioned it, I had forgotten. Probably caused by a coffee maker left on without an automatic-off deactivation device.
You know, I’m not sure why I said Willis Tower at all now that I reread that; it was the John Hancock that caught fire… You would think I wouldn’t make such an obvious brain mistake like that considering I worked next door for 3 years.
That’s a bummer regarding your Probe. That is awfully early in that car’s life for that to fail, until I remember brief ownership of my brand new yellow Focus ZX3; a lemon in the most literal sense. I don’t think over the corse of two years that car went longer than 3 months before it had to overnight at the dealer for some fairly major repair. That car was gone before the warranty was, that’s for sure.
“How long Do I Keep it” is never a easy answer. My ’05 Escape had 220K miles on the clock and the tin worm coming to the surface from NY Thruway road salt. When I retired, the A/C went bust as soon as I hit the Florida Gulf coast and the repair was more than the value of car. It was the most reliable car I ever had, but it was time to fold!!
In all my buying and selling cars I was looking for “keepers” my first one was my ’63 Electra convertible I fell in love, it did and does everything I want and has been very dependable, now with over 450,000 miles and 53 years, 50 of them in my care, It has been hit hard three times, considered totalled twice, but that was my business, restoring cars and doing it right. My 64 Riviera was a total when bought for $150, 50 years ago (always been nice having a Riviera and Electra from the same era). My Imperials, and dad’s 56 DeSoto are Keepers, and my 57 Plymouth Belvederes, convert and sportscoupe, my first car was a 57 PB convertible, wrecked in the middle of six cars in a pile up, I found another, but it still needs restoring. I also lost a 1958 Chrysler New Yorker convert to damage (while my sister was using it), and my sister sold my 59 Buick I let her use,because she found the pink slip in the glove box (I forgot it was there) and she thought I “gave it to her” It was the last time she drove anything of mine. When I find replacements for those two they will be keepers too.
Had my own mishap just two weeks ago on my daily driver ’95 Lexus LS400. Only mine was due to a careless and incompetent tire store employee rather than a mechanical failure. I had brought it there to have a puncture repaired, and when the guy was done he neglected to properly tighten the rear wheel.
I only made it half a block before the car began wobbling and making a funny noise. Knowing something was wrong, I immediately turned back and headed to the tire store. I only made it 100 feet or so before the car started gyrating like a cheerleader at halftime, just before the wheel separated itself from the car, stopped only by the vehicle itself falling on it.
Needless to say, I made a VERY angry call to the tire shop informing them on how their worker’s screwup could have killed me. They sent two of their guys out with a floor jack and an impact wrench. After assessing the damage, they temporarily installed five replacement lug nuts ( mine were lost ) and I followed them back to the shop. They then kept the car overnight and got me an Uber home.
Final tally: five new wheel studs, ALL new lug nuts ( at all four corners ), and a free tire rebalance. Fortunately there was no damage to the brakes, suspension, or bodywork. I’m just glad it happened there, and NOT on the way to Havasu City where two friends and I were headed the very next day.
You got your new PC up quickly!
I’m still so mad at my old one. Just thankful to have backed up my files, though restoring them is tedious.
I have a externat HD that I back all my personal files to. For $50, you can find a 1TB that goes into a USB port without needing to be plugged into power. Smaller ones can be found for pocket change. Cheap insurance – just buy a drive from a different manufacturer, as the odds of a simultaneous failure are even less than having two identical drives.
Oh, come now. There’s a hardware store across the street and it’s still open.
Then again, it IS a GM vehicle. 🙁
All kidding aside, sorry to see you lose a running set of wheels. My condolences.
Ha! Thank you, but this Grand Am isn’t mine – just the computer. Re-reading my original post, I can see how that might have been ambiguous. 🙂
Your mention of a hardware store reminded me of a DeSoto club incident, two actually. In 1996 at the National convention in Sunnyvale Cal., we were going to Big Basin Redwood Grove on a very narrow, winding road. A 55 DeSoto from Florida broke a rear axle on the drive. 60 DeSoto’s pulled over. The car ahead had a spare rear axle, another car a seal, another a full tool chest, and three master mechanics. Twenty minutes later the tour resumed.
In a group on the way to the DeSoto National in Everett Wash., our group was 10 cars, Steves 55 DeSoto from Bakersfield about in the middle. We all pulled in a rest area from 70 mph speeds on I-5. As Steve stopped in the parking space the center link for the steering fell apart, disconnected. A friend and I checked bolt sizes and took off in our 59 Fireflite to try and find bolts and nuts. The very next off ramp had a large truck repair shop. 10 minutes there, new bolts and nuts and cotter pins. 20 minutes at the rest stop putting it back together, back on the road. If it had dropped at 70 mph the scene would have been much different.
There’s a guy in my neighborhood who’s still driving an original Kaiser with over a million miles. “Bearing surfaces, it’s all about bearing surfaces.”
Ah, the perennial dilemma…do I fix it or run away?
When confronted with a big ticket issue I tell myself that having it addressed properly means I won’t have to worry about that item again.
I’ll also tell the significant other it must be the last big expense the ride has in store due to recent costly repairs. I’m never believed and the cars always act up in unanticipated ways and these are the only certainties.
When I owned A body Valiants, the fixes often seemed expensive in relation to the car’s value, but against the cost of a replacement vehicle of unknown merit in this market segment, and the fact there was never spare cash to upgrade, repair seemed the right choice.
And the fiddliest and often non-essential things usually end up the most expensive to put right. Fixing a then 26 year old Airtemp A/C system springs to mind. However, as mentioned in earlier post above, I like my cars and will do it right if I can afford it.
“Kattywampus”…I’ll file that just after “Full Rabbit” for future use
“against the cost of a replacement vehicle of unknown merit in this market segment”….ding ding ding. That’s the kicker right there. I’ll take a $500 repair to a $1000 car that I know the history of instead of rolling the dice on another $1000 car any day. (When I finally retired the Crown Vic I went with a much newer vehicle with a warranty. Story for another day.)
We’ve been having things go kattywampus around here since I was a kid. Repairing things in a makeshift manner was bogwhomping it. And as something goes wrong we exclaimed “Horse Feathers”
A neighbor’s Lexus a couple years ago. The car was repaired and soldiered on. There is a newer car at that condo now, but I don’t know if it’s the same people with a new ride, or new people in that unit.
Ah, does that Grand Prix ever remind me…my carpool driver back in the day had a slightly older Grand Prix 2-door. For close to a year she drove it with a front tire or wheel so far out of balance that the windshield eventually cracked from corner to corner due to the vibration. I mentioned one day that it shouldn’t be that expensive to fix; her answer was “We don’t have the money”….
I helped a friend take a newly purchased 56 Buick Super Riviera 4 door to his house, I was in the lead. He pulled alongside in his 53 Roadmaster Estate Wagon and yelled over the front tire was bouncing clear off the pavement on the left front, “Like dribbling a basketball.”. Inside the Buick was smooth as glass with no vibration. There was noise like constant tar strips. Thankfully the trip was short
I had something similar (though not that drastic) happen when I turned the corner in our ’86 Honda Civic. The tie rod end came off.