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Micro-Fundraiser for the Official DonationCoder CodyMobile!
Edvard:
Awesome lookin' ride so far. :Thmbsup: What kinds of repairs does it need? Nothing major, I hope (as in, transmission/engine work, body work, complicated electrical work).
mouser:
The mechanic who inspected it (who knew i would not be hiring him to do any work so had no incentive to mislead), gave me an estimate of about $1600 of work that should be done.
That includes $400 for new rear tires.
The main expensive thing it needs is new shocks (one is leaking). Unfortunately the front shocks are rare and have no aftermarket replacement.
This car is a 2008 Suzuki SX4 AWD Hatchback, and Suzuki have left the US market. I have searched, researched and confirmed there are no aftermarket equivalent front struts-- which I find crazy, but I'm not a car person.
The pair of (front) shocks themselves will cost $400 just for the parts which will have to be sent from europe. The mechanic's estimate for parts and labor to install them was $900.
REPAIR UPDATE:
* Alignment complete, steering wheel now centered and driving well.
* Bad TPMS sensor identified and replaced, and sensors re-learned (after only 30 tries of performing secret car handshakes over the course of a week).
* Shocks: TBD.
* Tires: TBD.
Shades:
First of all, nice set of wheels :Thmbsup:
Something I would be very wary of is buying a car where it is hard to get parts for. Did such a thing a few years back here in Paraguay. Buying a car is hardly the problem. Maintaining it will make you lose money over fist.
Let me explain a bit. Here in PY, if your car isn't from Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW or Chevrolet you will financially suffer more. Any other brand and their parts are hard to come by. And by hard I mean it is cheaper to buy a Toyota part and make adjustments until it fits your brand of car.
I drove a small, 4 door Skoda (which is a Volkswagen in disguise, only for a lot less money) which was imported from Germany. At the end it was more Toyota than anything else. Roads are not great here, suspension last around a year here with normal use. Quality of fuel is different as well. It was at least every 4-5 months back in the garage for another repair (which always seem to last about 2 weeks). Good garages/mechanics are hard to find here, as most prefer to work around the problem than actually go after the source of the problem and fix that.
For me it was way too much headache and by being never sure your car will get you where you need to go, I had no fun in driving a car anymore. The final straw was the thought of "I'm actually paying to have this kind of misery in my life". Sure, the basic maintenance tasks I did do myself, but those were never the parts that broke and I ain't enough of a mechanic to even try.
Public transportation is quite reliable here, but it is definitely more reliable than running your own car. A one-way ticket from the outer suburbs to the city center costs you around 50 US dollar cents per person. Show me a gas-guzzler that can beat that price and I'll consider one again. For fun I'm riding a Yamaha Trailway motorbike.
mouser:
Something I would be very wary of is buying a car where it is hard to get parts for.
--- End quote ---
Definitely.
However, for me the ship has sailed and I'm trying not to think about what I should have done differently. I do love the car, so there is that.
x16wda:
Small percentage of repair bill is on its way. Just one thing... after you get it all fixed up, make sure not to run into anything while driving forward... :P
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