The Death Throes of a Taurus

An old car with a ton of miles on the odometer is like an elderly parent.  Things keep going wrong, and it's one thing after another.  It is painful to see someone or something that has been such a big part of your life nearing the end.

Unfortunately, both of my parents are deceased.  But my trusty, reliable 2001 Ford Taurus, which I bought used in 2005 with 72,000 miles on the odometer, is still living.  Barely.  It now has just over 198,000 miles on the odometer, and has not been running since Wednesday, July 6.  It is sitting in my driveway at home, baking in the sun.

Fortunately, I am away on a month-long work assignment, enjoying an air-conditioned rental car and avoiding long commutes, which have become a regular part of my life since I took a full-time job in Detroit in October 2009.  Regular readers of the Posse may recall that my old Taurus has had  non-functioning air conditioning for at least two, and maybe three years now.  The compressor is broken, and it would cost upwards of $1,000 to get the AC working again.

In early July, the engine overheated as I was driving to Detroit one morning.  Fortunately I was only 7 or 8 miles from a Ford dealership, and have AAA Road Service, so there was a nominal towing charge of $15 for exceeding the 5-mile towing limit.

The dealership replaced some external cooling tubes that had rotted, corroded and leaked anti-freeze.  Total damage: $441.  The problem is, the engine was running rough as I drove home later that day.  I feared I may have driven the car too long after the engine overheated and damaged a valve or several valves. 

And more bad news:  I knew I had a broken coil spring in the back, but the Ford garage notified me I needed not just one, but TWO new coil springs, plus new ball joints.  The total would have been north of $1,000.  The brakes may need replacing soon, and the tires are getting long in the tooth.

My wife says I should get the car running again if I can do it for $1,000 or less, rather than take on a car payment as we try to pay down debt incurred during my unemployment in late 2008 through the summer of 2009.  I am not so sure.  I am afraid I could get the engine running fine, then the transmission would croak.  Then it would be an alternator, or water pump, or serpentine belt. 

The harsh reality is this: It may be time to cut my losses.

I paid $4,700 for this vehicle, and have put 126,000 miles on it in six years.  Yes, there have been a couple of big repair jobs (new serpentine belts for $300 or $400 a pop; a new fuel pump; a couple of new fuel injectors; suspension parts).  But these things are to be expected with an old car.  As I've stated many times, a once-a-year major repair bill on an old car ends up being less than $100 per month if it's no larger than $1,200 (or two $600 bills, or three $400 repair jobs, and so on). 

That $100 per month computes to far less than your typical monthly car payment.  Owning an older vehicle also means saving a bundle on auto insurance.

Fortunately I'll be raking in lots of overtime during the next few weeks.  Then it's off to Maryland for some mandatory training.  I will have about 1 1/2 days at my home in early August before leaving for the East, then will finally be back home on Aug. 19.  At that point, it will be time to deal with the Taurus.

There are no nursing homes or assisted living facilities for old vehicles.  Sometimes they can be sold or donated to someone who can rehabilitate them for continued use.  But more often than not, they go to the auto graveyard, aka the salvage yard.

It will be another five weeks or so until I know the fate of the Big Blue Bull.  But if it's time to surrender, it's almost like a Major League player suffering a career-ending injury when he's 1 or 2 hits short of 3,000 for his career.  I REALLY wanted to get this beast over 200K, but alas, it just might not happen.  Especially not if it needs a valve job on top of everything else.  Heaven forbid.

MISC. — I just discovered a cool website.  It allows you to take a template that looks like a famous sign or card (e.g. Monopoly's Get Out of Jail FREE card) and put your own wise-ass message on it.  A hat-tip to Michelle Malkin for using it to make fun of Obamacare's hypocritical waiver policy.

DEBT CEILING — Expect the worthless mainstream media to carry President Obama's water during the next couple weeks as the Aug. 2 debt ceiling deadline draws nearer.  Powerlineblog.com Sunday pointed out that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio effectively eviscerated CBS hack Bob Schieffer when he tried to take Republicans to task for not compromising with Obama (read, not giving in to his demand for tax increases).  It seems to me this whole thing is a softball that the GOP is passively watching without swinging.  I'm not very good in math, so I hope some conservative-leaning economist will compute the numbers and demonstrate that even if taxes are raised significantly on the wealthy, the added revenue is negligible in comparison to Obama's insane spending plans.  It won't do any good.  The added revenue is like adding a few buckets of water to a gallant effort by a slew of firefighters to put out a five-alarm fire.

Time is running out, and if spending isn't reined in soon -- like within the next couple of years, we will certainly have passed the point of no return.

 

Comments

[Roger Lawrenson]

Pfah..I have a 1996 Toyota T-100 that just hit 400,500 miles and although she struggles up grades, is still getting me to and from work.. bought it in 2001 with 30,000 miles on it.. best vehicle I have ever owned.. and I am quite emotionally attached .,

[miriam]

I ran my beloved Taurus--1998 model--until the engine actually fell out on the road and we had to be towed to the nearest repair shop, where they declared it had no future. The undercarriage of the car rotted out., causing the engine to separate from the car.

The bad news--late model used cars are expensive. So I bought the first new car of my life, a Nissan Sentra. Nissan sent me a box of cookies in gratutude, and the payments are $223 a month. More than I wanted to spend, but that's life.

[christine]

The Death Throes of a Taurus? I don't know this story but you shared to us, now i know so thank you...
gillette shavers

[Air Suspension Kits]

Some of my friends told me that it is fun to rode on a vintage cars or shall I say old model cars especially travelling far places. I don't know why.

[B&G Suspension]

That was such a nice article on your Ford Taurus. Yes, it is the same thing for our parents, we really need to spend a lot in order for them to survive. But a well-maintained health - much like to cars - a well-maintained car can never grown old if proper maintenance is given.

[Air Ride Parts]

To prevent an old car getting old, maintenance is the key. It's difficult because it is financially exhausting. But it is more difficult to let your car die and buy another one.

[Drop Suspension]

That's quite a lot of damage it suffered. Nonetheless you sure have used it well.