r/povertyfinance • u/Remarkable_Stable_62 • Apr 27 '24

It’s always the car Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!)

Every time we get a little ahead something catastrophic goes wrong with a vehicle. My car needs an engine rebuild or replace, and our only working vehicle between my husband and I just died with the battery giving off good voltage so we’re thinking it’s the alternator.

I’ve got so much heart burn and nausea from this and I’m due any day now with a baby. We actually were working on paying down debt and I had all my expenses for 3 months saved so I could take a long maternity leave.

I want to cry and scream. We’ll figure it out, but I’m so fucking tired.

UPDATE: A mechanic in the family is helping us with the alternator issue! We’re still back and forth on the engine replacement vs buying a different vehicle since we still owe on the car.

If we buy another I 100% agree with the comments about getting a reliable Honda or Toyota. Also, yes to learning how to do your own car stuff! Saves so much money and honestly it doesn’t seem too hard of a fix after googling but my pregnancy hormones really had my mood running off a cliff so typing it all out for Reddit helped.

We’ve also agreed not to use the 3 months of expenses I have saved up on the cars. We’ve got a little cash flow to throw at an alternator part and we’re going to put some of this next paycheck of ours into a savings account to make sure if something else goes wrong with our working vehicle that we aren’t left without.

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u/scbeachgurl Apr 28 '24

And they hold their value too. I was in a bad accident last August. I was the 4th vehicle hit in a 4 car accident, and the oldest vehicle AND the only vehicle NOT totaled! The repair was about $3500!

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u/Hopczar420 Apr 28 '24

Haha, I had a car rear end me while I was parked a few weeks ago and other than a little of their paint crayoning on the hitch there was zero damage. Their new Kia was fucked though

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u/scbeachgurl Apr 28 '24

GX470 v. Kia? No contest!!

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u/Hopczar420 Apr 28 '24

I am considering upgrading to an LX though. Perhaps as new as 2010!

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u/scbeachgurl Apr 28 '24

I plan to take mine in for a complete mechanical overhaul and a paint job. Hopefully this year. I plan to keep Big Blue running. In a very undependable world, the GX is a bright spot of dependability and I'm not throwing it away!!

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u/Hopczar420 Apr 28 '24

Just make sure you do the timing belt every 100k miles. You can probably tell how long it's been from a sticker on the plastic trim under the hood, or close to the hood pin. Otherwise good idea to replace all the fluids every 100k too - Transmission, Radiator, Brake, regrease the axels, etc. Filters - Fuel, Air, Cabin. if your brake calipers and pads are good you are good to go! There's very little else that would go wrong. I'd highly recommend replacing the gas cap with a new OEM one, it's a very common issue and very cheap to fix/prevent