My son got slammed today :(

Sooo, today is my son's 17th birthday. Woo hoo, he's excited, received some nice clothes and the football coach is hosting a cookout for the senior players. The day should be super fun.

This morning he goes out to his car and starts it (he's been making the payments himself and just paid it off 4 weeks ago---5 months early I might add). It's making a REALLY bad noise. He comes in the house with a very worried look on his face. I said, "We better take it in, that sounds serious".

Our mechanic lets us come right over. The guy puts it up on the hoist while it's running, does his mechanic thing and then looks at Jordan and me with an unhappy face. A rod broke, it needs a new engine or transmission, IDK, one of those things. He said Jordan is lucky that it LITERALLY didn't blow up during the drive over to the the shop. OMG OMG OMG. He said it would cost anywhere from 3 to 5 thousand dollars to get fixed. My son paid $1800.00 for it (first car for a 16 year old).

Yeah, happy birthday Jordan.

 

Ouch. Never a fun experience.

 

Nope. Pretty much sucks.

 

Ouch...what kind of car? Make/Model/Engine?

 

It's a 2001 Dodge Stratus, engine 3.0??? Not sure if that makes sense. It's a v6 (gas guzzler but cool when you're 16). 199k miles. Why did this have to happen TODAY????? And, he needs a car to drive to the University for Calc. 3 and now we're trying to figure out how to get him there. School starts in 3 days. I feel so bad for him.

 

Found a used 3.0L from a 2001 Stratus with 86K miles. $900 Shipped. Labor (if motor is intact) should be no more than $800.

Used Dodge Stratus Engines - Auto Parts Fair®

Stock Number: VLV90056A

Call, or have your mechanic call, and ask all pertinent questions before ordering.

 

You are far too kind. Well, is this a better idea than just trying to find him a different car? Unfortunately we have very little money for a different vehicle so of course I'm worried another one will have major issues.

What's your opinion?

 

How nice was that?!! To look that up and get that info.! I am so impressed with this forum. Everyone has been so helpful

I'm sorry to hear about the car but maybe the news that it possibly won't be as much to fix may help the day! Sounds like your son has a lot to be proud of at 17!! Paying for his own car (early even) is impressive. It's no fun having to "work out" car arrangements when one is in the shop. Perhaps he could hitch a ride to college with a "cute" girl 'till it's done

 

If cost is the determining factor, I'd go with what you can afford now. The transportation is a necessity now. Depending on how fast the S&H can get done, and how slammed your mechanic is, a one week turnaround is not impossible. However, you could go right now and buy a car tonight. If this is the car he wants, go with the motor and figure out travel for the week.

 

I doubt you have ANY idea how much I appreciate your input. Thank you. Well, since it's a holiday weekend we really can't do much until Tuesday. What I'm thinking is that we can scramble with getting him where he needs to go next week while the mechanic can determine the stuff about the engine. Also, the owner of the shop said he would start looking for a car and take 0 profit from it if he can find something---he felt really bad for Jordan.

I'm very uneasy about making this type of decision because I simply don't know. I'm going to rely on my mechanic; he's a good guy, honest, and doesn't screw people.