What would you do? (opinions wanted)

[lyquidphyre]

Okay, here is a little background:
I used to drive a brown 89 cutlass and last year when it failed inspection (by a lot) my dad decided to buy me a used 97 pontiac sunfire convertible.
Well, right before Christmas, my fuel pump leaked onto my engine and I lost all compression. So, I have no car.

And my dads plan is to fix the cutlass and buy me a new car over the summer (by new, I mean another used car). The thing about fixing the cutlass is he has to fix the torque convertor (at least $200-$500), fix the horn, and whatever else didn't pass inspection- I think it didn't pass the emissions test. Also, the cutlass has been sitting, undriven for a year now. Oh, also.. I live in Texas and the A/C doesn't work.

Now, on to the sunfire. Apparently the engine in my sunfire is a quad 4 (?? Yah, I dunno).. and if anything little goes wrong with my car the engine goes out (this is what they told my dad).

So, I can see both sides of the problem here.. and *I* want my dad to fix my sunfire.. but he wants to fix up the cutlass to last me until the summer (but knowing my dad... it could be Fall before I get a new car.. and it might not even be as nice as my sunfire).

What would you do??
Fix the cutlass which Im estimating will cost around $1,000-1,500 that has been sitting for a year, is a death trap (seriously driving this car terrifies me), and other random things might go out on it. But, buy a new car over the summer.
-OR-
Spend $3000ish to replace the engine in the sunfire and hope nothing goes wrong with it (until im out of college and have a job to buy a new car) and not spend money over the summer to buy a new car.

And, money IS an issue because if it wasn't, he would just be a REAL new car hehe.
And honestly, I tried to make this post as unbiased as possible!
Im curious what all you dads (and moms) out there would do.

 

[Hara]

The way it is written in your post, I assume your dad is going to do the work? I am sure that he knows more about the mechanics (excuse the pun) of the situation and that is why he has made this judgement call. Either way, if he is footing the bill, I would say that it is still his decision to make. I live in louisiana and can therefore sympathize about the a/c issues, but having wheels with no a/c vs no wheels would be an easy choice to me.

And that is just my opinion, because it was asked for, not because I feel I have a right to one

 

[crazyred]

Thinking as a parent who's child can't drive yet, but will sooner rather than later (he's almost 10) I'd have to say that the person that has the money decides what happens.

I know that the logical answer is to fix the Sunfire, but unless you're willing to make up the dollar difference in fixing that car vs. fixing the Cutlass then the answer may not be the logical choice it's the economical choice.

I'm sure your Dad isn't real thrilled at the thought of you driving around in a scorching hot car (I live in Texas as well---down here on the border---I know exactly what you're talking about), but he's also thinking of the scorching his wallet will be taking....and, if he's already planning to buy a 'new' car later, he's just trying to save some much needed funds for that later. JMO

 

[lyquidphyre]

Hehe I guess I should rephrase some of it:
The A/C thing was honestly an after thought.. and a "man, thats gunna stink"

My thing is its going to take $1,000-$1,500 to get the car up to inspection.. but that doesn't mean its going to be fixed completly. Since it's been sitting for a year, it wouldn't surprize me if I drove it for a few weeks and something ELSE goes out on it because when I did drive it.. there was always SOMETHING wrong with it. Im more concerned about my safety than the A/C hehe

I hope I don't sound spoiled or anything.. because thats not what I meant with this post. In the long run, it would be cheaper to replace the engine in my sunfire IF it doens't go out again... but if it does go out again.. its cheaper to fix the cutlass and buy me a new car.

Im just curious as parents what some of ya'll would do hehe and so far it it
Dad 2/Katy 0
hahaha

 

[Jchillin]

Ok, let me take a poke at this. Have you discussed your concerns with your Dad regarding your feelings about the vehicles safety? All other comments should be tabled until this is covered.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Ok, let me take a poke at this. Have you discussed your concerns with your Dad regarding your feelings about the vehicles safety? All other comments should be tabled until this is covered.

Yes, I have talked with both him and my mother about it. My mom thinks he should fix my sunfire, he wants to fix the cutlass and my boyfriend sees both sides of it- as do I.

Hehe and I promise I won't run to my parents and say "People on AA say____, so therefore you should do it that way!" haha. I'm just inquisitive by nature and am curious as to what parents would do/think about it.

Also, from a person who works on cars or knows a lot about cars.. im curious what the smarter move is in the long run.

 

[bosk1]

Ultimately, it comes down to the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.

As for what I would do as a parent: Well, my kids won't be old enough to drive for quite a while, but here is my take on it. If I could afford to fix the more safe car, I would likely do that. If I could not, and I did not believe the other car was safe enough, I would just have to say that unless the child could find a way to financially make up the difference, he or she will have to go without a car for a while, and we will just have to see what we can do as a family to coordinate transportation.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Ultimately, it comes down to the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.

hahahahha cute =oP

I would just have to say that unless the child could find a way to financially make up the difference, he or she will have to go without a car for a while, and we will just have to see what we can do as a family to coordinate transportation.

See, the bad thing about that is.. im in college and I live with my boyfriend (who is now working with my dad). School starts on tuesday, and if I have no transportation, my boyfriend will have to drive me around which means no work for my boyfriend and no worker for my dad.

Also, if you can't tell.. im stuck at home with nothing to do- thats why my responses are quick and often =oP

 

[Skyrmir]

Speaking as someone who's had a fair share of older and newer cars. If your doing the work yourself, an 89 Cutlass is cheaper to repair than a 97 Sunbird. And most likely a lot easier too. As a band-aid until a newer car can be purchased, the Cutlass is probably the way to go.

What really makes me wonder is why an engine has to be replaced after a fuel pump leaks? Was there a fire?

While the Cutlass is going to be cheaper to fix each individual problem, if there's a lot of problems to fix, it's going to add up to more than fixing the Sunbird.

 

[deli_conker]

If you can get the sunfire up and running (which sounds like more work than money), then do so. Otherwise consider trading it in somewhere or selling it outright. For 5K you could probably get a decent used car. It won't be luxery or anything, but it should still be worthwhile to check.

Try here; I did a search in your area (assuming it is correct in your location info) for Toyotas under $6000.

Click

 

[bosk1]

I see. Well, you will likely not like my answer, but here is what I would advise my son or daughter:

1. "You should not be shacking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend unless he/she is also your husband/wife and you still like to refer to each other as "boyfriend"/"girlfriend" because it's cute. But that being said, you are old enough to make your own decisions on the matter."
2. "If you are old enough to move and out and live with someone, you are old enough to make travel arrangements. Your choice to go to college is a good one, but if you are not working and do not have transportation, you face another choice: (1) move closer to campus so that you don't need a car; (2) work part time to contribute some money toward fixing the broker car or buying your own; (3) make some other arrangements that will resolve the problem. Factor into the decision that the boyfriend does not have to do anything--it is his choice whether to drive you around. And while it is great that he recognizes his responsibility in his relationship with you to help you out, he also has a resonsibility as an employee to be at work. If he makes the decision to ignore that responsbility, I will have to mae the decision to find another employee. But everybody in this scenario has choices and has decisions to make, even if they are difficult ones that might present some unpleasant consequences."

That's what I would say. And, no, this isn't meant to pick on you, and it isn't meant to be rude. I understand where you are coming from, and I sympathize with the predicament. And there are probably lots of other facts I don't know about. But given what you've told me, I think something along the lines of the above would be what I would say to my son/daughter.

 

[lyquidphyre]

hmmm. I don't want this to start into a debate, but I feel as though I need to defend my honor, so to speak, because the way you make it sound... you are acting like I am a promiscuous, spoiled slacker... which isn't the case.

1. I live with my boyfriend, Stephen, because not only is it financially more sound for both us and our parents, but we have plans to get married.. and both our parents agree that its better to live with one another to make sure we COULD get along married.. than to get married, move in and get a divorce. And I don't call him my boyfriend because I think its "cute"... I call him that because I can't call him my fiance or husband, yet.

2. I am a biology major with two more semesters to go. Right now I am taking, on paper, 13 hours.. but 4 classes are labs... so time on campus in class = 24 hours. Try to fit a job into that, considering on most days im going from about 11am to 10pm with a few breaks inbetween. My parents would rather me not get a job and focus on school.

3. If I could afford to live closer to campus- I would. Easier said than done. I will leave it at that.

4. My dad is a very understanding person, and wouldn't mind losing a worker to help his daughter out. In fact, he paid Stephen to spend the day at the car shop to figure out what was wrong with my car (even though he chose to do it w/o the pay).

I am not spoiled. I am not a slacker.

I feel this thread has gone where it shouldn't have. All I really wanted to was to find out things like what Skyrmir and deli-conker had to say- thinking outside the box. As well as opinions to try and help me better understand my father's decision.

 

[bosk1]

Although I take a more hardlined stance on certain issues than you apparently would, I purposely stayed away from adjectives like "promiscuous" and "slacker." I just don't want to go there. You may feel that what I would tell my kids doesn't fit your situation, and that's fine if you disagree. Again, I know you feel very differently than I do. But although I was very blunt, I was also careful not to put in any personal attacks, so please try not to take my post as an attack. And I appreciate that, although you strongly disagree, you did not resort to personal attacks either. Thank you.

 

[Jchillin]

I have to agree. This was not a thread about anyone's lifestyle choices. I'm locking this thread for a "cooling off" period.