Car Trouble, Need Advice

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

OTM if your check engine light has been on 7 yrs, how do you get past md emissions? My car also started doing the same thing, then emissions came due, and they failed it straight out since the check engine light was on...

HA I was going to say the same thing.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

OTM if your check engine light has been on 7 yrs, how do you get past md emissions? My car also started doing the same thing, then emissions came due, and they failed it straight out since the check engine light was on...

If its anything like Va I don't think they check emmissions. If they do I have never seen them check it on my inspections.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by firstdown

If its anything like Va I don't think they check emmissions. If they do I have never seen them check it on my inspections.

Maryland checks emissions every two years. The first thing they do is plug into the onboard computer and if it's reading any error codes you fail.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

Maryland checks emissions every two years. The first thing they do is plug into the onboard computer and if it's reading any error codes you fail.

I have lived in both states and MD is way easy compared to VA. Just the emissions every two years. VA they check everything expect emissions every year.

[over the mountain]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

OTM if your check engine light has been on 7 yrs, how do you get past md emissions? My car also started doing the same thing, then emissions came due, and they failed it straight out since the check engine light was on...

i had my emission checked this past august. i actually took my car into my a family friends shop the day before i went to get my emission inspection. the dad wasnt there but the son did the work, the bill was low, i drove off in a hurry realized he didnt put my benz onto the computer to take the check engine light off.

i went to emissions the next day anyhow, got rear ended by an old lady while waiting in line, as soon as i pulled into the garage bay, the guy was real cool thye were all laughing at the accident it was pretty funny she slowly i mean 2 mph slow ran into my rear then proceeded to cont to press on the gas for a few more seconds, he said i automatically fail b/c the check engine light was on, i told him how i just took it to shop and they just forgot to take the check engine light off, he said he has no discretion and that he would have to automatically fail me, but he was cool and said go get the light off and come back instead of failing me.

went back to shop, the dad was there, said yup he forgot to put you on the computer, i got charged a good 80 bucks just for them to plug my car up, etc.

got to emissions with no check engine light, passed, check engine light came on shortly after. everytime they put it on the comp and take it off (about once a year), it just pops back up in a day or 2. ive actually asked them to flush my engine multiple times but they say i dont need it. really?

credskin - what happened when you got the fail? the guy seemed like he was doing me a favor by not giving me a fail, that he was doing something that was a bit frownded upon by letting me go without failing me. he said he had to check with his manager to see if he could let me go, then just let me go. i guess the old lady rear ending me was karma my way since i told him i wasnt going to report it to ins, they were an old couple, etc

[KLHJ2]

Trade it in for a new car.

Last spring I needed new brakes and rotors on my EVO VIII. The parts alone cost 4K. On top of that I did have a check engine light on and my Turbo wasn't boosting properly. Kelly Blue Book had it going for 8K in fair condition. Sorry but I'm not going to put 4K into an 8K car to make it a 10K car, when I was a teenager I would have but not now.

I traded it in for 7K, avoided a huge maintence cost, and got 5 car years younger. The real beauty is that due to the fact that I had a 6 year loan on the EVO and a 3 year loan on the new car I didn't add any additional years to my payoff. In fact I subtracted 2 months.

Since my payoff was more than what they gave me for the car I was a little bit upside down and I carried the negative equity over to the new car. To cover myself I purchased the gap insurance. Gap insurance covers a vehicle with negative equity in the event you get into an accident.

I ended up with a 2008 Scion so it wasn't brand new, but it's newer used and my payments stayed about the same.

Recap: I avoided a huge maintenance cost, purchased a newer vehicle, cut loan payoff date by 2 months and essentially eliminated my negative equity. It's worth looking into.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Trade it in for a new car.

Last spring I needed new brakes and rotors on my EVO VIII. The parts alone cost 4K. On top of that I did have a check engine light on and my Turbo wasn't boosting properly. Kelly Blue Book had it going for 8K in fair condition. Sorry but I'm not going to put 4K into an 8K car to make it a 10K car, when I was a teenager I would have but not now.

I traded it in for 7K, avoided a huge maintence cost, and got 5 car years younger. The real beauty is that due to the fact that I had a 6 year loan on the EVO and a 3 year loan on the new car I didn't add any additional years to my payoff. In fact I subtracted 2 months.

Since my payoff was more than what they gave me for the car I was a little bit upside down and I carried the negative equity over to the new car. To cover myself I purchased the gap insurance. Gap insurance covers a vehicle with negative equity in the event you get into an accident.

I ended up with a 2008 Scion so it wasn't brand new, but it's newer used and my payments stayed about the same.

Recap: I avoided a huge maintenance cost, purchased a newer vehicle, cut loan payoff date by 2 months and essentially eliminated my negative equity. It's worth looking into.

I really really thought about it and then saw the sticker tag on a Nissan Murano and came to my senses. I can't afford a 40K car right now.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by saden1

I really really thought about it and then saw the sticker tag on a Nissan Murano and came to my senses. I can't afford a 40K car right now.

Don't buy brand new, buy a certified used that's only a year or three old. They are still in excellent condition and the major depreciation from driving it off of the lot has already occured. You can find one anywhere from 20K-30K

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Don't buy brand new, buy a certified used that's only a year or three old. They are still in excellent condition and the major depreciation from driving it off of the lot has already occured. You can find one anywhere from 20K-30K

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Well I have bought brand new several times as well as used. I fall out of love with cars too quickly to buy them brand new anymore. The whole point of buying a certified used vehicle is to eliminate the chance that you buy something that fails because of misuse by the prior owners. While at the same time not overpaying for a product just because no one has owned it.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Well.............if you ever find a mechanic you can trust, he can help. I have a mechanic that I have complete trust(mostly) in. As a favor (and $50) he will go with me to look at a car. Very thorough. He spends a while going over it, driving it, compression if necessary, etc.
I have used him a couple of times, and he has saved me from making some mistakes. And we found a REAL bargain or two.....anyway, food for thought

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Its usually pretty easy to tell if a car has been misused by the prior owner and by checking it out or having someone inspect the car. I never buy a used car from a dealer because they can dress up a used car and you never get to meet the prior owner. I can usually tell within the first few minutes if I'd buy a car from someone. Its even easier if you go to their home and can see how their yard and surroundings look. When I purchased my wifes Yukon the guys yard was perfect, his garage was as clean as most peoples home, he pulled out a folder with all the SUV's records, and his other cars where spotless. I knew within 5 min I could buy a car from him we just had to decide if we liked the Yukon and price.

[SolidSnake84]

Off-Topic, my wife and i just mailed out our last payment for my pickup truck today. I will never again by anything brand new. It will be used cars from here out. I made up my mind after they wouldn't refinance me last summer. My truck is a 2006 and doesnt even have 100K on it. I will pay cash for my vehicles from now on....

[mredskins]

I say buy used if you are keeping it for 5 or less years, buy new if you plan to keep 5 plus years.

Actually the best deal is wait for the new model to come out then buy a new last year model. They always want to move those off the lot especially if the body style changed.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by mredskins

I say buy used if you are keeping it for 5 or less years, buy new if you plan to keep 5 plus years.

Actually the best deal is wait for the new model to come out then buy a new last year model. They always want to move those off the lot especially if the body style changed.

I will never buy brand new again because the car has you by the balls. You owe way more than it's worth and you have to hold onto it beyond it's prime unless you want to loose money on the deal. Buying a brand new car is a terrible investment.

You might say that holding onto it until it's paid off might be more beneficial but the truth is that you can buy a used car much cheaper, pay it off sooner and still enjoy no car payment like the guy who paid twice as much and had to wait twice as long to do so.