Opinions PLEASE. Should I KEEP it or TRADE it?

Hey all. Ok. I am opening myself to a lot of trouble/opinions I know. but...who else to ask. If you have read my posts over the years, you know my car and my driving situation. And my Aveo concerns etc. BUT...I simply want to know. Should I trade or keep it now?

My 2006 Aveo Hatchback has only 33K. I bought it new. So only I have driven it. I know it's total care over its life. I HAD problems in the past, with minor things, and then paid a lot for unexpected problems, but now fixed for I hope a very long time. I have done all the 'routine maintenance' mechanically for it. To keep it going smooth. I like it because it isn't full of crap. Like power EVERYTHING!!! They all break and are expensive to fix.

Like no remote starting, no power windows, locks, or seats, no ABS, no keyless entry, it is a pretty simple car. As we all know, now we cant even buy a 'cheap' Civic without cameras all around it! So my Aveo is not 'crammed with computers', and very expensive toys to break. 99% of new cars or even slightly older cars are full of them.

So...should I keep it and just keep it up. Or trade it in on something, go into debt for 4 years, or more, on a used car/truck, not know who owned it, if it was cared for, and probably end up with a lot of power motors everywhere, and MANY more computers running them, you know what I mean.

OR should I keep it ? The only thing that is 'scaring me' about my little cheap Aveo is that timing belt! I still dont know if it is to be replaced at so many years, or the famous mileage point! No one can tell me. At 9 years old, but only 33K miles, I am terrified that it will just snap one day, and I am screwed!

I'm told it is $900 to replace when it ISN'T broken, (with a water pump of course). There is nothing wrong with it now and hasnt been in a long while, other than upkeep.

It drives just fine, I keep up on all the maintenance, and it still is shiny new, I like the hard seats, and the big interior. I hate the crappy mileage it gives, but I dont drive that much!

So....I know everyone will have an opinion, and since we all own one, or have owned one, or one of its cousins:)...what do you guys/gals think? Will my luck hold on this low low mileage car, that I NOW hear on occasion is one of the 'worst cars ever built', (like a Chevette or Pacer), or should I get out of it, go into debt and hope I get a car with a better drive belt/chain history, and gets better mileage, and might be 2-4 years newer, but I know will have 3-4 times the miles on it. Like a Corolla, Golf, Golf Diesel, Jetta, or Ford Ranger V-6.....ok...any opinions?

You change the timing belt every 100,000 kelometres. It is a very easy job to replace the timing belt and should never cost you $900 to get done

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Originally Posted by stevej101

You change the timing belt every 100,000 kelometres. It is a very easy job to replace the timing belt and should never cost you $900 to get done

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How much have you or others paid to get this done? I am in Ft.Laud. Fla. and that is the price from a reliable mechanic that I use for all my repairs. Chevy wants A LOT more than that! So...whats the going price? And what do you or others think about my question?

It's such a subjective question, because you're not in the position of NEEDING a new car, but I get it, new cars are nice and you wouldn't mind one.

Just some thoughts:
- $900 is probably on the higher end for an independent shop to do the work. But if you trust them to do good work, then sometimes it's worth a little extra, especially for something of this importance.
- $900 is NOT a lot of money, when it comes to cars. It may seem like it when you have no car payment. But what is that, maaaybe 3 car payments on a run of the mill Focus? 3 months of not making payments on a new car, and you've got your maintenance paid for. And you won't have to worry about the timing belt for years.
- Your car isn't going to have a whole lot of value on the market. And you mentioned the word 'trade', you'll be giving it away if you go that route.
- All cars need some sort of preventative maintenance. You're being extra sensitive to the Aveo's known weaknesses, but trust me, they ALL have their issues that pop up and bite you in the a$$. If you had spent the last few years on a Sentra or Mazda3 forum, you'd think they were all junk too.

From what it sounds like you use your car for, I'd vote to just keep it, change out the timing belt, tensioner, water pump etc, and just drive it until a situation arises where you either want to treat yourself to something newer or 'fancier'.

It is almost always cheaper to keep a car than to buy one.. as poison ivy said all cars have certain required maintenance. You should see what a complete timing job costs on an 2005 audi S4.. plus like you said more gadgets more stuff to break. But more expensive cars also tends to mean more expensive parts..

my recommendation is if you put money into 3 months in a row, and are not broke, then you can afford the amount of those repairs as a payment on a new car... BUT:

I think you could be able to get the timing belt done for less than $500. Honestly. Ask how much of their quote is for labor and buy a kit yourself. Its a 3-4 hour job, I've seen the timing belt kit with a water pump for less than $50..

So estimating 4 hours at $100 an hour, + $50 for you to buy the kit, + shop costs, and tax should be less the $500..

If its a cheaper labor rate or only a 3 hour job (i think the belt is 3, and they add extra time for water pump though?) then it would be cheaper than that..

I usually do my own, you need someone who can do the turning of the water pump thing successfully, and even that is not hard.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

It is almost always cheaper to keep a car than to buy one.. as poison ivy said all cars have certain required maintenance. You should see what a complete timing job costs on an 2005 audi S4.. plus like you said more gadgets more stuff to break. But more expensive cars also tends to mean more expensive parts..

my recommendation is if you put money into 3 months in a row, and are not broke, then you can afford the amount of those repairs as a payment on a new car... BUT:

I think you could be able to get the timing belt done for less than $500. Honestly. Ask how much of their quote is for labor and buy a kit yourself. Its a 3-4 hour job, I've seen the timing belt kit with a water pump for less than $50..

So estimating 4 hours at $100 an hour, + $50 for you to buy the kit, + shop costs, and tax should be less the $500..

If its a cheaper labor rate or only a 3 hour job (i think the belt is 3, and they add extra time for water pump though?) then it would be cheaper than that..

I usually do my own, you need someone who can do the turning of the water pump thing successfully, and even that is not hard.

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This timing belt/water pump change is WAY over my head,and I want it done by a professional mech. Just not Chevy. They will bend me over and ...me! I have watched like 4 videos about changing it on my own,and i dont even own the right tools to do it. Let alone the knowledge to do it. I suppose i need to hunt for prices, and see if my regular mech. is just on the high side. But I basically wanted to know if a 9 year old car is worth keeping.? I know cars from the 50's ARE worth keeping, when they were made out of thick metal, had no computers. But is the Aveo worth it?. With only 33K miles on it, arent 'new cars' suppose to last 250K easily if taken care of? Even crappy cheap ones?

If you don't feel totally comfortable with the idea of DIY, then you should most definitely not do it. And AFA cost , shop prices will vary by locality, and $900 for your area in FL might be typical. Just call a few shops in your area to find out what others are charging, and that will confirm if your shop's estimate is too high. And i would not recommend bringing a timing belt kit for a mechanic to install. if ANYTHING goes wrong with the job, he would then be able to fall back on your bad part as the reason for the problem, regardless if it's true or not. His parts - his responsibility.

IMO, the primary factor in deciding to stay pat or fold on your Aveo is rust. In my experience a number of parts fail prematurely due to rust and corrosion, and many repairs become much more difficult because of that as well. Although you're obviously far removed from the road salt rust belt, you do have the ocean to consider. Do vehicles get affected by ocean salt where you live? Do you see any signs of rust or corrosion in the engine bay or the underside suspension/steering components? If you have none of this on your Aveo, you should be able to easily get another 5 years out of it, and likely more. I'm not saying you won't have any additional repair bills along the way, because you almost certainly will. But as others have already said, you will almost always be better off paying for occasional moderate repairs than making a significant payment every month for the next 3 or 4 years.

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Originally Posted by avguy

If you don't feel totally comfortable with the idea of DIY, then you should most definitely not do it. And AFA cost , shop prices will vary by locality, and $900 for your area in FL might be typical. Just call a few shops in your area to find out what others are charging, and that will confirm if your shop's estimate is too high. And i would not recommend bringing a timing belt kit for a mechanic to install. if ANYTHING goes wrong with the job, he would then be able to fall back on your bad part as the reason for the problem, regardless if it's true or not. His parts - his responsibility.

IMO, the primary factor in deciding to stay pat or fold on your Aveo is rust. In my experience a number of parts fail prematurely due to rust and corrosion, and many repairs become much more difficult because of that as well. Although you're obviously far removed from the road salt rust belt, you do have the ocean to consider. Do vehicles get affected by ocean salt where you live? Do you see any signs of rust or corrosion in the engine bay or the underside suspension/steering components? If you have none of this on your Aveo, you should be able to easily get another 5 years out of it, and likely more. I'm not saying you won't have any additional repair bills along the way, because you almost certainly will. But as others have already said, you will almost always be better off paying for occasional moderate repairs than making a significant payment every month for the next 3 or 4 years.

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My car has not a speck of rust. I am far from the beach, and i have a lot of spray on rubberized waterproofing sprayed on the underside, wheel wells, any place i can reach with it. It looks good, you know, black, like it should look. And it adds a bit of sound proofing. I always spray it on my cars/trucks when i buy them,especially on unprotected metal that gets wet from the road,like under the doors on the body, and where you jack the car up if you get a flat. That part of the underbody. So it is nice and smooth. Thus the constant waxing i do.:)

Keep the Aveo. Inspect the timing belt and get it replaced when needed. At 33k miles its just past it breaking-in stage. You should keep it for at least another 30k miles or until the suspension and brake components start wearing out; then trade it in for something else.

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Originally Posted by FlaAveo5

So...should I keep it and just keep it up. Or trade it in on something, go into debt for 4 years, or more, on a used car/truck,

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A financial point of view from someone who has no debt and will stay that way, keep driving what you got.
If, as mentioned before, the equivalent of 3 car payments gets you many more years of service, it's worth it.
And then start saving what otherwise would be payments toward your next car and pay cash when that day comes.
Few people will follow this advice, but I can tell you IMO it's worth it.

Jack, 2010 Aveo I paid cash for in 2012.

Solid advice, Jack.

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Solid advice, Jack.

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I'm keeping it. Just got to get that timing belt/water pump replaced. got a second price to do it...down to $525, at Tires Plus. dont know how reliable their engine work is. But it is like $300 less than my regular mech. So......?

I would keep it, lots of value left in that car. Remember, when you finance a 'new car' a big chunk of money just goes to the bank as interest, adding no value to the car or your life for that matter. All maintenance costs however are a direct investment in your car that add value to the car and to your life. I see too many people just drive cars into the ground, never doing any maintenance or even much less wash the damn thing, only to loose most if not all equity they may have acquired otherwise.

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Originally Posted by FlaAveo5

I'm keeping it. Just got to get that timing belt/water pump replaced. got a second price to do it...down to $525, at Tires Plus. dont know how reliable their engine work is. But it is like $300 less than my regular mech. So......?

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If the shop stands behind their work with some warranty I would jump on it. If the shop is on the hook for a comeback, they have a financial inventive to do the job right, as it looses them money if the job comes back. If they don't stand behind their work then their work may not be worth the paper it was written on. Either way the payee assumes some form of liability in the work they do, so you should be ok if the shop stands behind their work.

I agree with 06 about letting them do the work, but first make sure the quote is for replacing the entire set of 4 parts (belt, WP, idler, and tensioner). The pulleys also have bearings and could fail just like the belt or WP, with the exact same disasterous result. These 4 parts are commonly sold as a kit, and the shop should be familiar with this. And here's one other thing I'd highly recommend doing. When you bring it in for the work, tell them you want all of the old parts. Maybe some story that you have a 'friend' who has a similar Aveo and wants to know the condition of the old parts (or whatever you prefer to say). Although getting the old parts back won't guarantee they did the job correctly, it will at least prove that all 4 were replaced.

I find myself in a similar situation. My 2005 only has 54,000 miles on it. I've kept up the maintenance on it, got the timing belt, etc changed. The clear coat is shot and the paint looks horrible but I would rather fix the few minor things that is wrong with it than have to pay for a new or newer car again. I've found it to be pretty dependable and I would rather keep a car that I know instead of getting another one that there might be hidden problems.