h4. September 2002
* Inspection: FAILED
* Reason: Paperwork not in order (my bad)
* Resolution: Renew registration
* Time: About 15 minutes online
* Cost: $45
h4. January 2003
* Inspection: FAILED
* Reason: Side marker out
* Resolution: Replace it
* Time: About 30 minutes
* Cost: $1.79 + tax for the side marker
h4. March 2003
* Inspection: FAILED
* Reason: Sharp edges on the body
* Resolution: Remove rust and cover over with pop-riveted aluminum chunks
* Time: About 1.5 hours
* Cost: Free (thanks Charlie P!)
h4. July 2003
* Inspection: FAILED
* Reason: Tires
* Resolution: Replace them
* Time: About 45 minutes, talking with the Costco tires guy
* Cost: About $275
h4. September 2003
* Inspection: FAILED
* Reason: Suspension in right front wheel
* Resolution: Fix (replace?) the suspension
* Time: Probably about 45 minutes talking to a mechanic
* Cost: In the ballpark of $200-$500
I’m beyond being frustrated, angry, resentful, and self-righteously indignant. I just want to stop getting pulled over. To stop carrying around this big, fat rejected sticker on my windshield. To stop spending money hand over fist on paying for Failure to Make Repairs tickets and for work on the car.
Sarah and I want to junk this car and just get a new one so we don’t have to deal with more mechanical failures and failed inspections. But, we can’t save the money for a new car ($2,500 for a decent down payment) since we’re paying for these mechanic bills and tickets. It’s a classic catch-22.
Any insight on budgeting, advice about the car situation, or scornful invective against the DMV is welcomed and appreciated.
Aren’t there any used cars you could get that cost in entirety about 3,000 dollars? That’s what my blue ghetto superstar cost about 5 years ago, and he’s still running strong. $3,000 for 5+ years is a decent trade off I think.
My brother’s girlfriend is selling her old car I think. It’s on my parents lawn (if they haven’t sold it yet) I think. Maybe you could swing by and take a look?
I’m still tinking used all the way. Scrap may tell you different, and he may make a good case for it, but from point A to point B (in reasonable time with little effort) is the goal, and you don’t need a Mercades for that. Of course, a Mercades may have a better sound system, which is a nice side goal
In 2001, I paid $2250 for my shiny blue ’92 Nissan Stanza XE. Blue just broke 100,000 miles. I had minor problems, but they are expected with a car of that age (like the alternator).
Before that I had a ’95 Toyota Tercel (gocart?) that my parents purchased for $3000 (and I paid back). We sold it off for $500 after a bad accident (thankful I am alive). That gocart would have lasted till ‘forever’ or 300,000 miles (whichever came first). It was ugly and small BUT the a/c worked (for my wonderful Louisiana summers) and it never gave me a problem. It also got 30-38 miles/gallon.
If money is low, go for an economy car like that. They will last you forever, and most have good insurance ratings.
You could look for an old used ‘Benz diedel. You can sometimes find them for cheap, and they are built great.
Or register your car in Louisiana
It would be difficult to fail a Louisiana inspection.
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Or register your car in Louisiana
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West Viriginia is closer to jersey. The inspection consists of “turnon your lights”, “now honk your horn” … hand guy 8$ for sticker. drive away.
But, on a more practical note. Get a new car. Don’t spend the money on the suspension. Go to Toyota, or Kia. WHen i bought my truck (toyota tacoma), i got a lease for 250$ a month, no down payment. I bought it a couple years ago, same payments, still no down. I love my toyota, and would recommend their trucks to anyone.
Kia has a great ten-year warrenty. You have to pay for that, but, if you are gonna have it for 10 years its worth it. A co-worker of mine is on her second kia, and has a 10 year bumper-to-bumper warrenty. Bad breaks? no problem. Free to replace. Cracked Windshield? No problem. Free to replace. She traded in a mini-van cause it sucked in the snow, got a 4-wheel drive mini-suv thingie and loves it.
Ken, I really feel for you. While I haven’t had the experience directly, my parents were trying to get our ’75 Dodge Dart to pass inspection. First it was the spedometer twice, then the gas tank cap and finally something else.
I’ve been to inspection twice in the last four months and I got to thinking about the inspection workers. They can’t help what happens during the inspection process, or can they? Do they really care? Do they truly want to “keep unsafe cars off the road”? Do they enjoy their job or do they live to make owning a car a hassle for New Jersey drivers? (I think that falls into the hands of the lawmakers, though.) That brings me to these laws. Do they really achieve the goals that they anticipate? Are there fewer accidents and less pollution? I don’t have answers for these questions.
As for your catch-22, allow me to relay another classic, compliments of Andrew Peterson:
A man leaves a wallet in a car which is now one hour away. Friends decide to overnight it. Three days pass, no wallet. Money running out. Man goes to bank for some cash. No problem! We’ll just need to see a driver’s license. After dining on ketchup, a letter arrives. Come for mail–USPS. Arrives just before closing time, asks for package. We’ll be happy to oblige……with proper ID. (I don’t do the song justice, please accept my apologies.)
“It should have been so easy, but this is you.”–A.Peterson about his brother
Dude,
Your experience might be the result of a concerted effort by the NJDMV to drive car inspection into the private sector. Concede the victory.
Go to the most desperate looking mechanic that you can find and tell them to inspect it. Refuse to spend more than a pittance to bring it up to speed-demand low-cost alternatives. Even if it does cost you money, you won’t have to do it 5 times.
Issue the car an ultimatum: “Your life is worth $100″ You will be amazed at how long it will last when it knows its only option is the junk yard. Tough love is key here. Hondas are smart and very good at math.
I also agree with you that maintenance is beginning to outpace value (we are in the same boat), plan to get another vehicle soon. Reputable used car dealerships are great. Some get their cars from the south where there are no rust issues (a big deal here). Get the best car you can afford for a three- or maybe four-year loan and whatever you can front for a down-payment.
Some solace: Nothing is as expensive as a new car. Unless you lease a car, the fees, down payment, taxes (due up front) and ridiculous add-ons will up front cost you more than it will cost to maintain your Accord for three years. Make smart financial decisions now and you can totally do this a little later on.
regarding altp: If you need to own a new car every two years or have NO money at all for a down payment, lease. Otherwise you’re throwing your money away.
Mr. No-down, $250/month has conceivably spent $9000 for the priviledge of driving a newish truck for the last 3 years (he hasn’t “bought” anything).
He also didn’t talk about insurance (required to have collision and comprehensive-I’m going to guess another $50-100/month in NJ, depending on your driving record) or termination fees (maybe up to $1000 just to replace tires and fix some paint nicks when you take it back). He also has to maintain something he doesn’t and never will own.
Note: This is still cheaper than Hertz, Avis, and National Rent-a-Car.
All carefully designed so that when he turns in his truck and pays for everything-the only thing that he can afford to do is lease again…
For the same amount of money-a little more down, smaller monthly payments-and maybe a trip or three or five over time to the mechanic, he could have purchased and now own (no more payments!) a reliable truck (not new) that still had about $3-5K of value depending on luck. Or he could be over halfway done paying off his Tacoma. Instead he has NOTHING.
Actually, not nothing. Worse. He has restrictions on how many miles he can drive (with penalties for trespassing) and he has to constantly worry about the condition of his truck (more penalties on the line). Plus he owns a truck. A TRUCK. He can never use it to pull stumps, go offroad, carry a half-cord of wood, haul trash, All he does is pay out the nose for something he has to treat like a little baby because of his lease terms, will never own and on top of all that, gets 20-24 mpg.
If you need someone to front you a little cash for a down payment, call me
I can always steal a little from Sarah’s purse.
We should start a support group for ageing Accords. I’ve owned it exactly 3 years today. It is old and creaky, but even with a $900 bill for suspension a year ago (I got ripped) has cost less than $250/ month for everything (purchase price, gas, taxes, maint, ins, fees, CD Changer) and I’ve put 50k on it. I could also trade it in for at least $500 on a down payment for something else… I’m tempted to keep it until next summer just to break 200k.
Hope you had a rewarding time at your retreat and say hi to Sarah for me.
Russell
K,
The solution is /obvious/ and much easier than everyone thinks:
1. Move to New York City.
2. Sell (or junkyard) both cars.
3. Take public transportation everywhere.
4. Save me the $ in registering walkersnyc.org
Another option may be auto-auctions. Was just talking to a guy this morning that bought a car with 6,000 miles on it for 500$.
its a 2003 model, bought ealier this year. it was repo’d a couple months ago and has been sitting on the lot waiting to be auctioned.
Getting something like that is probably a rarity. Most of the people that i’ve talked to that attend those type of auctions say its hard to get something nice for less than a 2,000$->5,000$, but it does happen. They want cash, or check, so it may still be a bit prohibative, but might be worth looking into.
online auctions
I have a friend who recently (this week) purchased an old rx-7 thru’ ebay. He got a great price, and the car was just as described. Not to say that ebay is totally safe.
After he found his car (he loves rx-7′s), I went looking for a car I love. ’80s Nissan 300zx.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2434595158&category=6398
My favorite cars are much older, but they are too much work.
Hate to see they made you jump through all those hoops like some kind of circus poodle and your still on there most wanted
list…. Shoot me an e-mail and I belive I can help you with your sticker stickup… vipertriplex@yahoo.com