Venting for empathy! - Car troubles

[Jesus_man]

This starts the winter of 2012 a few months after we get to Germany. We buy two moderately cheap cars when we get here in order to not have car payments. One of them was an Opel Signum. Within a few months, this car developed transmission issues the dealer couldn't figure out. Then the alternator and wiper motor died, so we put $1400 into this car and still had transmission issues. Turns out this is a common problem, but they don't seem to keep transmissions around, so the car was pretty much junk. I sell it at a $8k loss! We buy a new-ish BMW X5 for my wife to drive and get away from used cars.

My Ford Mondeo is chugging along amazingly and I've made peace with the loss on the Opel. Then 12 Dec I hit a wild boar totaling the Mondeo. With the insurance money, I find another Mondeo that is in better shape, with less KM's and spend it all on this car. The car didn't pass inspection for rotting brake lines and an oil leak. I put new brake lines on, and cleaned up the oil leak. Didn't fix it as mechanic said it was rear main seal. I figured I'd try some Lucas Stop Leak, but with it cleaned up, I did pass inspection.

My wife's X5 failed inspection due to a cracked lense on the fog light. Options were to either replace the light, or remove both... WTH? Really? you're making me fix a part that is not at all necessary? That's Germany for ya! I have the new fog light sourced from ebay and just waiting for time to fix it.

Then last Friday I was taking my son into Karate practice and as I get within a few miles of base, my new Mondeo loses all power and starting g white like a coal train. Urgh! I have it towed to my local mechanic that told me this morning that the HPOP failed sending metal frags into the entire injection system. Cost to fix is nearly double what the car is worth...

So here I am, needing a new car to get me by for just a few more months and I feel like I've flushed enough money down the toilet on cars to pay for a complete restoration on my bronco! I don't know what to do. Buy another cheap junker and pray it holds out? That seems like my best option right now.

[D&D72]

Wow! talk about a top candidate for the know what sux thread!

[hockeydad4-22]

Mann JD - that does sux!
We have all gone through periods like this with our cars and trucks - but I must agree- doing so in Europe surely increases the stress and misery.

I hope you find a cheapie car that gets you through the rest of your time there with minimal pain and suffering, and someday when you look back on your time over there, this is something that will never even come up, instead all the priceless times traveling with your family are what will form the bulk of those memories.

[Digger]

Ouch, that sucks.

What is resale value on a good used car? Do they have long term rent or short term leases over there?

[landshark]

What about buying new and importing to us when rotation ends? Something that resells here well?

[Jesus_man]

Thanks guys! 'perciate the commiseration.

Resale on good used is probably in the $10k mark for something nice.

Short term lease - haven't looked into it, but I just hate not having anything of any value at the end. However, desperation may set in...

Chris - I'm really hoping to get into a new-ish Superduty when we get back, plus we'll probably need to buy a house. I've got to watch the dings on my credit. And what to choose if so? Prices here are elevated, so not sure if I could get a good enough deal.

Thanks for the ideas. It does help to have other options and other ideas!!

[landshark]

Thanks guys! 'perciate the commiseration.

Resale on good used is probably in the $10k mark for something nice.

Short term lease - haven't looked into it, but I just hate not having anything of any value at the end. However, desperation may set in...

Chris - I'm really hoping to get into a new-ish Superduty when we get back, plus we'll probably need to buy a house. I've got to watch the dings on my credit. And what to choose if so? Prices here are elevated, so not sure if I could get a good enough deal.

Thanks for the ideas. It does help to have other options and other ideas!!

I hear ya, i had a few family members who used to buy Mercedes and import them after driving them for a year or so and make money on them - it was years ago and iam sure there are many others doing it now but was just a thought.

[Jesus_man]

Well, I am hoping and praying all the car troubles are behind me. On Friday I bought a 2002 VW Passat wagon Tdi. It has 190k KM's on it, but appears to be well maintained and the seller was an enthusiast. Runs good, starts easy when it's cold and should yield the fuel economy I am accustomed to. I will miss a fair amount of creature comforts the previous Mondeo's had, but it has a radio, heat, AC, cruise control, and heated seats. Don't need much else! I was amazed at how much smaller the VW is over the Fords. I had a rubber mat in the rear of the ford, that I re-purposed into the VW and it appears the VW is nearly 12" narrower in the rear cargo area than the Ford! It much be narrower overall as the kids sit closer together with their carseats in the back. Great, more hand-to-hand combat in the back seat! rolleyes

Oh, and I scuffed my knuckles up real good replacing the fog light in the X5, so I just need to run it in to complete the inspection and pay another $30!

Here's to putting all this behind me! !

[Justin]

Good luck! The US Golf platform vehicles from that era were unusually bad for a few years after they moved the manufacturing to Mexico, but yours should be pretty solid since it's likely made in Germany. All the TDI engines were still built in Germany and sent to Mexico for installation, so worst case scenario the car will fall apart around the engine.

[Jesus_man]

Thanks! The car seems very solid. No rust or rattles. It's quieter inside than the Ford's and the engine seems to be more quite as well. It's driving pretty well so far. I need to polish all the plastic lenses for the lights, but aside from that, it doesn't need anything. It's a vanilla car. Silver with silver hub caps. Wish there was something I could do on the cheap to make it look a little customized. But really, just need it to hold together!

And the sellers said they had gotten calls for several days after we made to the deal to come look at the car. So I am hoping I have the same interest when I sell at the peak of the PCS season. Perhaps even break even on it??

[mickphatmac]

Purple Pearl Plasti Dip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Justin]

There has to be some really freaky chemical process that allows plasti-dip to do that. I'd be tempted to do all my tool handles in that if it wasn't purple.

[Jesus_man]

Ohhh that's so nice....;-P