Suggestions needed for my situation...

Hello everyone, Remember me?

The guy with the J30.... no?

The guy who does the awards....

Yea, it's me.


Anyway, i have a problem with my J30 and since the J30 forum isn't going to give me a non biased response i decided to ask you guys (and gals) here first.

I've had the 93 J30t for about 2.5 years now and did a full rebuild on the body and full tuneup. It's a solid car that when you don't gas it get's excellent mileage (25-30 hwy and 20-21 city) I love the idea behind the car (hard work and all) but lately the A/C has died. I bought a compressor and it failed (out 300 bucks) it supposedly has a warranty but to do so i'm going to be without the car for like 2 days and with school and work and a life, i find it hard to do that. I don't have alot of money because of school and a life, but i have been putting a little back for a house. (getting married in less than 2 yrs) I feel like if i put any more money into the car it may be a money pit. It's reliable and fun to drive, so i do enjoy it, but i want something with 2 doors so bad. I've thought about putting it up for trade, but i'm unsure what i would be able to get for it. It's got 155k on the speedo and i maintain it every 3k miles. I take good care of the car by all means and i've put like 20k on it since i've got it (did a full alignment (lifetime) and just put the 17" enkei's on it.

Basically, should i keep it and fix the a/c and drive it till it dies and then buy something after i'm married? or should i buy something else (a gas sipper) to hold me off?

My friends have told me that the vg30de engine can last freaking forever (like 250+k) so i know it's reliable, but it's a pain to work on.

Any productive input is appreciated

That is a really tough call...I would say keep it

Dealerships aren't going to give you shit on a trade, especially on a discontinued car with high km's that doesnt have any specific demand

It also sounds like the major components of the car are fine, and you shouldn't have too many huge worries

Id say keep it...

I kinda had the same problem with the 3KGT, the big difference is I had all that money just laying around waiting to rebuild the Starion and I decided to hold off on the Starion to get the GTO.
Heres how I looked at it, you gotta get your priorities in order.
To me cars are a very big deal, I see them as more then just transportation, to me they are a passion. So yeah getting a car that made me feel fantastic was at the top of the list. The 3S was awsome and to this day my favorite car but after 3 years I wanted to step up the game and get something faster to match up to todays sports cars.
If I where you I would save up to get something that thrills you day in and day out. Dont bother fixxing the car anymore, its a waste.

My wife's car, the Eclipse started giving us shit a while back, things that needed to be fixed, things that needed to be tightened. It started with needing new disks, new sunroof (leaks), new struts all around. After putting 600 bucks into it and shit still breaking I was like "Honey fuck the DSM, all this money we are spending on it we can set aside and save up for a new car."
thats when she decided she wanted a 350Z and so the saving process began.

to this day the DSM has lost 4th gear. It only has 3 now (automatic).
the rear main oil seal is gone and it eats 4 quarts of oil a week.
front struts are shot and it bottoms out everytime it hits a pothole.
the sunroof sprung yet another leak.
the hatch is rusted to the point holes are begining to pop up along the trunk line.
the SRS light came on, the passenger seatbelt wont work and the passenger door handle came off!

I honestly dont care for the car! for the last 8 months it has not had an oil change or tire ballancing or rotation or allignment.

If I where to fix all that shit i would be out 4K easy and still have a POS 8-year old car.
By not fixing any of that crap and instead putting away every penny I managed to save up 7 grand in 8 months. 4grand more and she gets the Z.

so my friend, if it dont thrill you kill it!
oh and till you get a new one heres how you maintain the J so it dossent leave you stranded: always carry a roll of duct tape and a can or WD40.
If it moves and it shouldnt- Duct Tape.
If it aint moving and it should-WD40

Good luck and god speed

GTO!

I would say drive without AC. My car has blasting cold AC...I use it maybe 2x a year when I'm stuck at a deadstop in traffic. Otherwise the wind from driving is usually plenty for me. If the car is reliable and running, why drop it over a broken AC. I can understand being frustrated with it. But if money is tight, and being without a car for 2 days is too much of an inconvience. Buying a car, and selling this one, and all the fees associated, and possible downtime between the two...why bother. Unless you are willing to sacrifice adn drive a beater around where you will make a profit on the downgrade, save significant insurance and gas money...I just see no reason.

I would say drive without AC. My car has blasting cold AC...I use it maybe 2x a year when I'm stuck at a deadstop in traffic. Otherwise the wind from driving is usually plenty for me. If the car is reliable and running, why drop it over a broken AC. I can understand being frustrated with it. But if money is tight, and being without a car for 2 days is too much of an inconvience. Buying a car, and selling this one, and all the fees associated, and possible downtime between the two...why bother. Unless you are willing to sacrifice adn drive a beater around where you will make a profit on the downgrade, save significant insurance and gas money...I just see no reason.

:iagree: There are probably a couple more months of hot weather, after that you won't need ac. Chances are you'll be in a better financial position next year.

Well I will tell you for one, the A/C isn't bothering me... It's bothering Jennifer. She can not drive in my car in the 112 degree F that is in my car because of her health... so we have to take her car, and as much as that saves me, i feel crappy.

I'm gonna fix it up and keep it until i graduate or get married. Then i'll get something else. thanks for the responses

Yeah, man, just keep the car for awhile. Drive your girl's car. That's what I'm doing. And Musashi has some great advice. It seems though that your car is not in the condition to just start to "kill it" yet. The thing about duct tape and wd-40 is so true though... especially with my crx... what a piece...

I voted “buy another car” of course I would have voted that even if your A/C hadn’t gone down. I think using an old uncommon car as your daily driver is a bad idea.

I voted “buy another car” of course I would have voted that even if your A/C hadn’t gone down. I think using an old uncommon car as your daily driver is a bad idea.
and is the car in your sig your daily driver?

^^ Its old but still pretty common.

Im in the same boat. I want to save up for a new(er) car after college but I cant go for like months at a time without doing something to my car. All that it really needs now is a swap then it will be almost like new.

^^ Its old but still pretty common.

Im in the same boat. I want to save up for a new(er) car after college but I cant go for like months at a time without doing something to my car. All that it really needs now is a swap then it will be almost like new.

Sounds like you just need the swap.

yeah ive put too much work into it now to just give up. anyway most of the really awesome cars i read about have gone through so many changes since they began working on them its unreal. one guy with a Civic i think has gone thorugh 9 or 10 different turbo setups before arriving at 700+ hp lol.

buy an uber cheap car and drive it around primarily for a while, just park the j30

i mean, that's what i'm doing... and maybe someday both cars will be monsters

and is the car in your sig your daily driver?
Yes it is and as someone has already said it’s old but it’s common.

The platform my car is riding on was made by GM from 1977-1996 and in addition to the Chevy Caprice GM made Pontiacs, Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs based on the same platform. There was also a short wheelbase version of the platform that cars like the 80’s Monte Carlo and a bunch other cars were based on.

My car shares parts like the engine, transmission and differential with a lot of GM’s full-size and compact pickups.

So basically the number of vehicles my car has parts in common with is some where in the millions.

I forgot to say that in addition to having great parts availability my car is also really ease to work on.

I came across a zx2 00 for 1000 from a friend of mine... should i bite? it's in great body shape (in and out) and has 130k on the speedo.... any known problems? i couldn't find any in the escort forums

I fail to see why you would get a car just to get a car!
you already have a nice car, do not take a step back, only forward.
If the AC is really that big of a deal then fix the damn AC....much cheaper then buying another car.

None of the above...

Sell your car.



Keep the motor.




Drop said motor into a 240SX.

see, that fell through... darnit.

in class now so i have a few minutes (isn't it great to be the smart one?)

see, i like my car and all... i do... i just want better gas efficiency, 2 doors, and something that has a/c. I hate fixing every little thing in the J, even though it looks great now that i've put alot of hard work into it. I just feel guilty about having Jennifer drive around (good luck letting me drive the tib...)

I just can't see myself getting 2 days to not need a car. but i'll figure something out... i always do.


*edit*

find me a 240sx to drop it in... and we'll talk. those are rare as the devil here in alabama.

240sx up the street from me, its an s13, and it is red. s13's are everywhere here, and i've been told that in cali 240's and 300zx's are a dime a dozen

not only a dime a dozen..but a pretty penny now since FF3 came out and drifting is "in".

I came across a zx2 00 for 1000 from a friend of mine... should i bite? it's in great body shape (in and out) and has 130k on the speedo.... any known problems? i couldn't find any in the escort forums
Even with 130,000 miles I would still expect someone to be asking more then $1,000 for it. Maybe your friend is giving you a deal, but I would think any 2000 Focus going for only $1,000 must have something wrong with it.

well he sold it to someone else for 1500 (i couldn't get the 1k in time plus other factors) and they already blew the engine...

i broke down and fixed the a/c today (compressor happened to be under warranty... so 100 bucks plus 30 in r134a and oil for the compressor is not bad at all. blows out cool air (ice cold for the time being of course)

i'm gonna save up for something either new or very close to it as a present for myself when i graduate.

Fix the car. A house is a much better then a car anyday of the week. Plus i've heard that homes are dropping in value like crazy.

yeah but houses are so slow.....even with turbos and shit. :screwy:

well that's also a thing i need to work on too.... We need a house BUILT.... most likely i'm getting some land in the dowry. (and they even threw in some goats!) so i need money for that too since a 50k house is not going to be nice enough for the both of us (i don't care as long as there's a garage... another thing i'm holding out on.... the sun is a horrible horrible bitch here in mobile and likes to munch on my paint) i've never had a garage... and it's high time I get that.

So there i go again.... i'm gonna have to get a house and hope the J survives long enough for me to be better financially suited to replace it. The A/C is ice cold for the time being and i get good gas mileage babying her (21city 25-30 hwy)

so all in all, i appreciate the help. Mushashi... your putting the turbo's in the wrong place... you need them by the a/c unit. That's when you get the best results!

i would have just sold the car, i feel its gonna turn into a money pit, the car is 13 years old once things start breaking they seem to continue breaking, especially mechanical parts. If the car survives for a while longer great, but i have a feeling its gonna have more problems.

well that's also a thing i need to work on too.... We need a house BUILT.... most likely i'm getting some land in the dowry. (and they even threw in some goats!)

I wish my girlfreind's family would give me a dowry when we get married...