Money-related WWYD

EliseB0323

I have a 2004 CR-V with about 100,000 miles on it. I just had a bunch of work done on it, that cost about $2,500, and had hoped it would last a couple more years. One of the things I had done was getting the AC serviced. The mechanic specifically told me the AC compressor was "working perfectly."

After getting the work done, the car made a weird thumping noise that kind of came and went. I took it back to the service place and the same mechanic checked it out. He couldn't find anything wrong and the car would not make the noise when he drove it.

So this weekend the AC compressor died. It will cost around $3,000 for a new one and they have to order the part. I can probably talk them into taking some money off because I just put money into the AC maintenance. However, I would not have put the $2,500 into the car if I knew the AC was ready to die. The car is not worth putting $5,500 into, IMO. I would have just planned on getting another car.

So now I am stuck with a car with no AC when it's nearly 100 degrees outside everyday. I am really, really pissed. WWYD:

1) Try to get some money knocked off the price of replacing the compressor and keep the old car.

2) Get a new CR-V now, because other than this nonsense, I really like the car.

3) Get another kind of car, now

4) Drive the insanely hot car without AC until Sept. when DH will know if he is getting a big raise at work and we can get a good deal on the 2010 models.

We can afford a new car, it just wasn't something we were planning on having to spend money on for another year or two.

hmd577

If you can afford to get a new car, then I would say cut your losses on the old one and sell it for a grand or two to put toward your new one.  If that is NOT a good idea for you financially, then it may be worth it because Honda's are notorious for being very good and lasting for over 200,000 miles if well taken care of.  If you replace the AC for now, you will be comfortable and you should be able to get a lot more life out of the car and still save up for something else that you want.  Having a good working AC is crucial to selling a car and it can make a big difference on the price tag.  So, even a year from now, if you invested the money, you would probably get a fair amount of it back out of the car when you sell it.  You will lose a lot more on the price of the car if you try to sell it without a good AC.  Hope this helps. 

joy143dh

DH is sitting next to me. He owns a Honda/Acura repair shop.  From him:

Even if you are replacing the condenser AND the compressor (which isn't a bad idea if you are doing the compressor anyway), you should only be looking at 1200-1500 max. 3000 is robbery for that job.

DH says an '04 CRV with 100K on it is worth spending another $1500.  The $2500 is done, and doesn't have any bearing on your future decision.    You should be able to get a minimum of 2 more years out of it.  In 2012, get yourself a preowned 2010 CRV.

Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking...?

EliseB0323

joy143dh:

DH is sitting next to me. He owns a Honda/Acura repair shop.  From him:

Even if you are replacing the condenser AND the compressor (which isn't a bad idea if you are doing the compressor anyway), you should only be looking at 1200-1500 max. 3000 is robbery for that job.

DH says an '04 CRV with 100K on it is worth spending another $1500.  The $2500 is done, and doesn't have any bearing on your future decision.    You should be able to get a minimum of 2 more years out of it.  In 2012, get yourself a preowned 2010 CRV.

Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking...?

Hmmmm. This is the price I got from the dealer. They said it was for the compressor and some connecting parts (whatever that means). I got about the same price from another repair shop that I've used before. We live in the Washington, DC area. If you were nearby I'd bring my car to your husband.

A-baybride

hmd577:

If you can afford to get a new car, then I would say cut your losses on the old one and sell it for a grand or two to put toward your new one.  If that is NOT a good idea for you financially, then it may be worth it because Honda's are notorious for being very good and lasting for over 200,000 miles if well taken care of.  If you replace the AC for now, you will be comfortable and you should be able to get a lot more life out of the car and still save up for something else that you want.  Having a good working AC is crucial to selling a car and it can make a big difference on the price tag.  So, even a year from now, if you invested the money, you would probably get a fair amount of it back out of the car when you sell it.  You will lose a lot more on the price of the car if you try to sell it without a good AC.  Hope this helps. 

While I agree that having working AC will help sell the car, I don't think you would actually get an extra $3k for having AC that works.

If you planned on / wanted to keep the car for a few more years, I guess I'd fix it, because I sure wouldn't be driving a car without AC.  Personally, I would buy a new one.  I don't like driving cars that are out of warranty.  I'm scarred by the lemon I drove during college!

ridesbuttons

From my experience, the price on the compressor does not sound terrible.  It is easy enough to shop around for parts prices.  Just go into the yellow pages and call half a dozen parts suppliers and get prices.  The labour times are published as well.