hammer
Active member
Unfortunately, I may have come to a decision point on my 1998 Subaru with 175K miles...
I recently had the car in for a Check Engine light...unfortunately, the code that came up was P0420, "Catalytic Converter Insufficiency". Getting the Catalytic Converter replaced would run $1500 . Because the car's transmission is also giving signs of going downhill (slip/delay shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear), I don't want to spend a lot of $$ now only to have to spend more to replace the transmission in a year or so.
The mechanic cleared the code, and the car drives completely fine for now. My short-term plan is to continue driving and see if the light comes back. If it does, I have until November when I'd need to pass emissions inspection to fix it or dump it. If it doesn't, then I may be OK for a while longer.
I have plans on buying a new car and keeping the Subaru as a beater car for my son when he gets his license in the fall, but I'm not sure if that's worth it now.
Is this the time when I need to just get rid of the car anyway? If so, I don't feel comfortable selling it with a known set of issues and trading it would be more trouble than any $$ I'd get for it. I'm thinking of just donating it and getting at least a small tax deduction...has anyone done that and have suggestions on how to handle it?
If I have to get another beater car for my son, what should I expect to pay for something that should be relatively trouble-free? What mileage points should I be looking at...below 100K, or even less? My experience buying cars is limited to new ones...the only used car I ever purchased was a VW Dasher that I bought in 1981 when I first got my license.
I recently had the car in for a Check Engine light...unfortunately, the code that came up was P0420, "Catalytic Converter Insufficiency". Getting the Catalytic Converter replaced would run $1500 . Because the car's transmission is also giving signs of going downhill (slip/delay shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear), I don't want to spend a lot of $$ now only to have to spend more to replace the transmission in a year or so.
The mechanic cleared the code, and the car drives completely fine for now. My short-term plan is to continue driving and see if the light comes back. If it does, I have until November when I'd need to pass emissions inspection to fix it or dump it. If it doesn't, then I may be OK for a while longer.
I have plans on buying a new car and keeping the Subaru as a beater car for my son when he gets his license in the fall, but I'm not sure if that's worth it now.
Is this the time when I need to just get rid of the car anyway? If so, I don't feel comfortable selling it with a known set of issues and trading it would be more trouble than any $$ I'd get for it. I'm thinking of just donating it and getting at least a small tax deduction...has anyone done that and have suggestions on how to handle it?
If I have to get another beater car for my son, what should I expect to pay for something that should be relatively trouble-free? What mileage points should I be looking at...below 100K, or even less? My experience buying cars is limited to new ones...the only used car I ever purchased was a VW Dasher that I bought in 1981 when I first got my license.