(for a little back story im 19, lower class and will be starting college in January)
Im the owner of 2 cars, one is a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 179k miles and a 1997 Grand Marquis with 180k miles. I was gifted the jeep and have had nothing but issues with it. Ive put over 2k into the car but still cant drive it as every time i fix something up, a new issues arises. I decided to purchase a 1997 grand marquis with my left over money and put the jeep up for sale. I did the usual tuneup (Spark plug, ignition coil replacement, oil change) and it worked fantastically. After a few days, my transmission simply wont shift. I put the car in drive from parked and it simply does not move (same for reverse and the 1 & 2). The day before it showed no signs of any issues with the transmission, but the day it decided to mess up it began to move slower and slower after driving from parked until it simply didnt move anymore.
I currently have 1.5k put away as an emergency fund and am trying to sell my jeep for at the very least 2.5k as thats what i put into it. What i would like to essentially ask is, would it be a better investment to repair the transmission on the Marquis, or should i get a different car overall. My father knows a guy who is very well respected and can do a very high quality transmission refurbish for 2k. As much as i love the car i dont know if this would end up being a worth while investment. Ive had my eye on cars like the Toyota Avalon/Camry as im a big guy who likes large sedans, but no matter what other cars i look at, i end up wanting to keep the Marquis due to its classiness. What should i do?
tl:dr The transmission on my grand marquis unexpectedly messed up and i would like to know if it would be a better investment to refurbish it or get a different car
These Panther cars last forever except the transmission. The best thing to do would put in a manual transmission but it would cost way more. Refurbishing it is more affordable but the transmission will fail again in the distant future. It might last longer if you change the transmission fluid regularly. My mechanic advises every 30k miles or 3 years. It's up to you to make the choice.
If the rest of the Grand Marquis is in good condition (it is a 27-year-old car after all) it would not be a bad idea to rebuild the transmission. You'll be very hard pressed to find a decent car for that kind of money. I believe that's a 4-speed transmission which is relatively simple compared to the overly complex monstrosities in today's cars which are almost impossible to rebuild correctly.
Be sure to check the simplest things first - is there enough transmission fluid? (Maybe there's a leak?)
The marquis is actually in really good condition interior wise but i can tell it was not taken care of in terms of oils. The transmission fluid is brown and the oil is black which shows that there werent any changes to the fluids done at all.
(for a little back story im 19, lower class and will be starting college in January)
Im the owner of 2 cars, one is a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 179k miles and a 1997 Grand Marquis with 180k miles. I was gifted the jeep and have had nothing but issues with it
if that's lower class, then I was underground class. I had zero cars at your age, was gifted nothing, and bought my first car with my own money. It doesn't matter... most young adults have to start with very little
would be a better investment to refurbish it or get a different car
dumping that amount of money into a 26yo car is not wise. Buying it in the first place wasn't.
With your fund and Jeep sale you'll have $4k which still isn't enough, but try to scrape together a few thousand more and you can hopefully get a car that has some life left in it. You're only 19, you can still take the bus and nobody will judge you 😆
if that's lower class, then I was underground class
LOL thats fair. I live in a lower class trailer park and even though i have 2 cars, neither are worth the stress i endure from them
dumping that amount of money into a 26yo car is not wise
I figured... As much as i absolutely love the marquis i might have to settle for a corolla or something like that. I hope I'm able to sell the jeep but i might have to junk the marquis since i dont think many people will be interested in a car with a failed transmission
<edit for language. -mod>
mind the language please. This is a "fun for the whole family" kind of site. (rules on the front page)