I'm at an important juncture and I'd like some of your opinions.
My Firebird's engine has been having increasing probvlems over the past two years. It has gradually developed into symptoms and conditions that indicate some significant internal problems. I've got 195,000+ miles on the car, with the original engine.
Without goiing into more details (I'm not looking for mechanical diagnosis in this thread; I want opinions on what option you'd take), I'm at the point where my choices are:
A. Sell the Firebird and buy a different used car. I can't afford a brand new car. The engine is definitely running poorly so I'd be selling a car that has obvious mechanical problems. This limits my market to gearheads and salvagers instead of the broader market of car buyers.
B. Put the Firebird in storage somewhere and fix the engine somewhere in the future. My two sons are not yet of driving age and really would like to get their hands on the Firebird when they get old enough. I'd have to scrape together a bigger downpayment and probably get an even cheaper replacement car than option A.
C. Pay a mechanic to go inside the engine, find the problems and repair the problems. I'm not particularly excited about this choice because there have been increasing issues with the engine, simply because it is old, having been used a lot, often not just in "easy" conditions.
D. Buy a used engine and pay a mechanic to replace the engine.
E. Buy a new engine and pay a mechanic to replace the engine. I don't know if I can afford this.
My car is not a racer, just a daily driver that has taken me to and from work in lots of heavy, start and stop traffic for the past 11 years. In addition, I've driven it hard sometimes and also used it a lot to take me to camps (read: off-road driving) all around Florida.
My Firebird's engine has been having increasing probvlems over the past two years. It has gradually developed into symptoms and conditions that indicate some significant internal problems. I've got 195,000+ miles on the car, with the original engine.
Without goiing into more details (I'm not looking for mechanical diagnosis in this thread; I want opinions on what option you'd take), I'm at the point where my choices are:
A. Sell the Firebird and buy a different used car. I can't afford a brand new car. The engine is definitely running poorly so I'd be selling a car that has obvious mechanical problems. This limits my market to gearheads and salvagers instead of the broader market of car buyers.
B. Put the Firebird in storage somewhere and fix the engine somewhere in the future. My two sons are not yet of driving age and really would like to get their hands on the Firebird when they get old enough. I'd have to scrape together a bigger downpayment and probably get an even cheaper replacement car than option A.
C. Pay a mechanic to go inside the engine, find the problems and repair the problems. I'm not particularly excited about this choice because there have been increasing issues with the engine, simply because it is old, having been used a lot, often not just in "easy" conditions.
D. Buy a used engine and pay a mechanic to replace the engine.
E. Buy a new engine and pay a mechanic to replace the engine. I don't know if I can afford this.
My car is not a racer, just a daily driver that has taken me to and from work in lots of heavy, start and stop traffic for the past 11 years. In addition, I've driven it hard sometimes and also used it a lot to take me to camps (read: off-road driving) all around Florida.
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