There Is An Ending To The Car Saga

September 12, 2009 | Filed under Life, Money

I realise that my past couple of entries have all been about the car, but you have to realise that the car has been my whole life for the past two weeks. So bear with me – this is going to be a long entry, but I promise there’s a happy ending.

The car has been fixed, temporarily at least. The original quoted $2500AUD was to replace the third cylinder in my engine, which the mechanic believed was the root of the overheating problem. Wrong. We ended up:

  1. replacing the thermostat which wasn’t registering heat (and therefore not turning on the engine fans when the engine reached a certain temperature)
  2. replacing the head gasket, which was blown
  3. replacing the water pump, which had blown a disc and wasn’t circulating water properly
  4. replacing the timing belt
  5. running Chemiweld through the cooling system to patch the faults in the third cylinder

For a grand total of $630AUD (labour included). The theory is that the thermostat was the root of all the problems. When that blew, the fans never turned on (and thus never helped to cool the engine). Without the fans on against the radiator, the radiator top cracked and leaked. When that happened, the water pump was unable to circulate water properly because it wasn’t properly pressurised. So one little broken $30AUD thermostat ended up costing me $800AUD in repairs (we replaced the radiator ourselves for $180AUD). Motherfucker. Prevention is better than a cure!

The car is running fine now with no overheating, though this is not guaranteed to continue for – who knows how long the Chemiweld will last? It’s a temporary fix at best. Dylan thinks I could potentially run the car for another two years without a fault, but online research on various auto websites shows that it’s not reliable – it could last 100kms, it could last 100,000kms. You never know – and honestly, I don’t want to take the risk, as I couldn’t stand another two weeks like I’ve just had. There was just much too much hassle involved.

But I should also note that I love my boyfriend to bits, and that he’s the most awesome person in the world cause he’s been incredibly hands-on in this whole car fiasco and has handled the bulk of it for me. And really, the only reason he wants me to keep persevering with the Camry is because he knows how frugal I am. He thinks I’m being irrational in wanting a new car, and the only reason I want one is because I’m angry and upset because of the past two weeks. He doesn’t want me to regret splashing out on a new car when there’s the chance that the Camry will be fine for a few more years. Which, fair enough. But I want a new car.

The plan now is to sell the Camry privately (it’s worth $4000AUD-$5000AUD in a private sale, whereas if I trade it in, it’s only worth about $1000AUD-$1500AUD) within the next three weeks. My parents will be leaving for their holiday in a week, so I can drive their car around while I’ve got my Camry on the second-hand market. Once that’s sold (and it shouldn’t take long, I’ll accept anything over $4000AUD), I’ll buy a new micro car. An entirely new car from a dealership. The options are:

  1. Nissan Micra. A negative – I test drove this today, and the engine was much too loud for my liking, it went straight from the engine to the cabin. Not enough insulation.
  2. Suzuki Swift. I like the dashboard of the Swift, and it handled really well on the test drive. The boot though, is a bit too small in my opinion, and the backseat is a bit squashy.
  3. Mitsubishi Colt. I’m heavily in favour of this one – Mitsubishi’s Diamond Advantage (10 years warranty, 5 years roadside assistance) is a huge selling point and really makes you put faith in the reliability of the product. It’s a nice car – built on the same styling hardpoints as the Mercedes A-class, you know you’re getting a good product. The interior is roomy, the storage space excellent…it’s a good little car.
  4. Toyota Yaris. I’ve yet to try this car in person (hoping to in the next few days), but my parents are prejudiced against it already. They test drove it a few years back and it was apparently similarly noisy like the Nissan – it might have changed in the past two years, but we’ll see.
  5. Mazda2 – I see heaps of these out on the streets, but I really need to take one for a test drive. Price might be an issue for this model – I don’t think it’s got the same price point as the others. It’s very sexy though.

Essentially, I’m looking at all reasonably priced, decent micro cars that aren’t Korean or European (for various reasons). The Mitsubishi Colt is definitely the front-runner, though they won’t have any VRX models with automatic transmission available until the first week of October. It’ll probably end up being a decision between the Colt and the Mazda2 – with the Colt likely to come up on top due to Mitsubishi’s Diamond Advantage. Have a look and tell me what you think!

19 Responses to There Is An Ending To The Car Saga

  1. No to the yaris. Crash ratings are terrible. It crumpled like a tin can.

    Stephanie on September 12, 2009 #

  2. I’ve heard good things about the Swift (plus they’re adorable).

    Rachaely on September 12, 2009 #

  3. May I humbly suggest the Mazda2? A few years back I wrote one off, and it saved my bacon.

    A Mazda2 drives beautifully, is efficient and knows how to take one for the team.

    You are spot on about the price point thoughl; I have a feeling it’s a bit pricier than the others you mentioned. And mine was pre-Neo/Maxx/Genki, so make of that what you will.

    Jake on September 12, 2009 #

  4. I certainly don’t know much about cars, but the Colt definitely seems like a great choice. It’s an adorable little vehicle!

    Ashley on September 13, 2009 #

  5. I have a honda fit, which looks like the yaris but IS SO MUCH BETTER in everything. Seriously.

    Skye on September 13, 2009 #

  6. Now that I think about it, I should mention the car we replaced the Mazda2 with was a Mitsubishi Colt (our current car). No complaints, except that it felt weird having no central column while driving (for a while). I personally prefer the Mazda, but to be honest that could have been because it was the first car I ever drove extensively.

    Whatever you end up choosing, I think your list and assessments so far is/are excellent.

    Random aside: some F***ing Muppet carved a racial epithet aimed toward “azns” on our bonnet. It made me want to buy a very large pair of steel-toed boots and go on a rampage.

    Jake on September 13, 2009 #

  7. The subcompact car I see most often here is the Honda Fit, and I don’t know if you’d considered that or not, but people I know seem to like it from what I hear. From your list, I like the Mazda 2 the most, but the Colt seems like a cute little car as well.

    Why no European cars?

    Meg on September 13, 2009 #

  8. I had thoughts about buying a new car too and thought about Mazda2, but if I have the money I wouldn’t look past a European car. Granted I’ve only ever driven one Euro car at home, and one Jap car for work. But I’m always biased against the Jap cars purely because it doesn’t feel as sturdy, or safe!

    kat on September 13, 2009 #

  9. all cars have their downsides. I heard that the Mitsubishi has an engine that only lasts a max of 10 years and the hood starts to oxidise really quickly for some reason.

    I’d say Toyota because I love Toyota, the guy at the garage said that he rarely sees a Toyota at the roadside broken down.

    I looked into the Yaris myself (and drove my aunties car to test it) but I couldn’t afford it.

    I currently drive a Daewoo (now Chevrolet) Matiz. It’s small and I love driving it, but I can’t get over the difference in sound of the car I was used to. It’s not annoying or very loud, it’s just different than my Fiat Panda and I just loved that car to bits…

    Chans on September 13, 2009 #

  10. The Fit has terrible crash ratings too…

    Stephanie on September 13, 2009 #

  11. Do yourself a favour and at least test drive the Madza 2. I love how my 3 drives. Oh and it’s ridiculously fuel efficient.

    nadine on September 13, 2009 #

  12. Haha “Styling Hardpoints” – do you know what that means? I googled the phrase – congrats, you’re the 3rd hit, above the Colt review that uses the phrase the same way ;)

    Not sure how relevant this is (being American) but watch it anyway:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPor5b7JLLE

    Kieran on September 13, 2009 #

  13. ive owned a suzuki swift s for a couple of years and i absolutely adore it! the boot is a bit small but the back seats are pretty spacious so ive never had an issue with the boot size.. plus i have never had any problems with it besides 2 little things – my indicator switch playing up, and an airbag that had moved out of place, but i got both of them promptly fixed while it is still under warranty!

    love-in-traffic on September 14, 2009 #

  14. I drive a Toyota Matrix S and I swear to god that car is the shit. Try it out, you might like it too.

    Dane on September 14, 2009 #

  15. I’m so glad your repairs ended up being so much less! Lowsy little thermometer!

    Have fun test driving all the different models!

    Erin on September 15, 2009 #

  16. I am in love with the Mazda 2. Ever since it first came out, I must have one! The Yaris isn’t loud imo at all (my mum always hires one whenever she comes down to visit)

    Bobbi-lee on September 17, 2009 #

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