almost 200,000 miles what to do?

[notrubskwah]

Hi, new to the forum, was wanting some insight. I have a 05' aveo hatchback base model that will very soon be hitting 200,000 miles. This has been a great car, havent had any problems other than o2, a wheel hub locked up, and drl dont work(dont care) and have been putting gates timing kits with new water pumps on every 2 years. The motor is starting to tick lifters i guess well deserved at this mileage have done oil changes properly with good oil. Anyways I was wondering if you guys think its time to get rid of it or to in the near future give the motor an overhaul, 5 speed tranny so drive it till it drops i suppose aside from a clutch. I just know they say these newer cars are supposed to be disposable cars so I was just wondering if its worth it we tend to stay 95' model down on our cars this is the only one we have that has obii inspections. Thanks for advice, and feel free to share your experiences with your aveos.

[avguy]

Disposable - an interesting word that probably means different things to different people. But an '05 with 200K miles means you're already WAY beyond how most folks look at disposable! And with that mileage, you won't get much over scrap trying to sell it anyway, so why not keep it as long as you can? Of course, a big part of that decision would be how much of a pain will it be on roadside breakdowns? Chances of breakdowns of course increase as the age and mileage continue to go up. If you can live with that possibility, then keep on truckin!
And, all the maintainance that you've done will help a lot toward getting more out of it. Other folks show up on this forum trash-talking their Aveo, but don't even change the oil anywhere close to on time. Your 200K miles shows that these cars can last, if they're properly maintained (same as any vehicle).

I'm sure you've already replaced the plastic thermostat housing, correct? (if not, replace it today). How about the valve cover gasket? I would be very surprised if yours has no leaks yet. If you haven't done the VCG yet, doing that job would also be a great time to check/adjust the valves. You might also want to replace the PCV, and check the old one to see if there is any sludge - mine had none, but I'm only at 130K miles. If you shift well, the clutch can go a long time. On my '05 I just recently had the muffler pipe rust out, and most of the rest of the system is badly rusted as well. If you can DIY this work, a full exhaust system, muffler and 2 pipes, from Walker (great fit) including the cat would be around $500. The muffler alone is $100. I also just replaced the rear shocks, and will be doing the front soon. Heck, try for 300K!

[notrubskwah]

yeah i forgot about all of those things i consider those just reg. maintenence, we replaced the vcg and the t-housing with the aluminum style and have just now had to put a radiator in it. we are getting ready to paint it too, deer love this car they literally turn around and run back to it, last round caused $1500 damage to the back. luckily, we are extreme diy'ers, we do mechanics and autobody so we can take care of all of it, i just know these cars parts are pricey. but i really feel confortable when riding in this car reliabilty wise so its probably going to be a keeper.

[Daox]

I'd keep it until it dies. I wouldn't bother rebuilding the engine. Swapping in a junk yard engine is cheaper and easier than rebuilding IMO (thats what I did). Like avguy said, its not worth anything now, so there is no reason to try and sell it.