When do the repairs end???

[Eleanor's Girl]

I have had this stang since September '08 and I've done nothing but repairs ever since. Its not as bad now since I've replaced alot of the major stuff. I own Risa's Rides (custom car parts) and have a ton of plans for her but everything keeps breaking. Just this morning the hood latch broke when I was checking my fluids. (I posted about that this morning so if anyone wants to give advise feel free)

Anyways here's what I've fixed so far:
-clutch ($500)
-new radiator and flush ($400)
-all four rotors ($375)
-leaky rear end ($100)
-heater core ($350)
-battery ($150)
-alignment (FREE)
-all four tires ($500)

Here's what I still need:
-replace gears on the odometer
-inner and outer tie rods replaced
-transmission service (dont think its ever been done before and its shifting hard sometimes)
-fuel injectors cleaned
-new shifter
-seal the gas tank or new tank (i never fill up cuz it pours right back out)
-new exhaust (running off dumps right now and fumes are killn mebut sounds good )
-alternator
-a new hood latch as of today
And I'm probably forgetting some things and this list doesnt include the cosmetic issues like the ripped seats and busted plastic trim all throughout the car.

Anyways, this is my first Ford. I had a Camaro before this but I've grown to like the Ford community and even though this 'Stang is a money pit it has alot of potential. I'm just ready to hook her up with some toys not buy replacement parts every week.
Ok, thats about it...thanks for reading my rant.

 

[Mustang5L5]

cosmetic issues like the ripped seats and busted plastic trim all throughout the car.

Sounds like the previous owner neglected the car?


How old is your car? Some stuff is to be expected like tires, alignment battery, but some of the other stuff sounds like routine maintainence wasn't done (cooling system, etc).

 

[40oz]

What year is the car? How many miles are on it?

Alot of what you listed are common wear items. Unless you have a new car under warantee, those items will need replacing over time. And often a person sells their car because it needs some R&R.

Did you think a car with busted up trim and ripped seats was going to be perfect mechanically? I wouldn't spend my money to get a car like that because it shows it was not maintained. I'd prefer to spend a little more for a clean example that hasn't been neglected.

 

[Brute03]

i know the feeling, its like i've being doing nothing but repairs. i was saving for a set of TF heads but now i need a trans among other things that need to be fixed

 

[Eleanor's Girl]

Its a 98 with about 145k. I know alot of it is normal wear and tear but I'm trying to be proactive with the car, meaning I like to check into things before they break because I know its time to be replaced. But everything on this car has broken unexpectedly leaving me stranded. Im very annoyed and alot of it comes without warning. Anyways, I had to find out the hard way that the last owners didnt keep up with the maintanence.
To 40 oz, of course I didnt expect it to be perfect especially after I saw the interior and other cosmetic issues. But I expected to make it at least a month without any issues. The first thing that went was the clutch.
Anyways, I'm just ready for the fun stuff. Im getting a lil antsy is all Im saying. I have access to all these bad a$$ parts but got gotta finish the endless repairs first. The day I was about to order my SLP exhaust my heater core busted and dumped on my leg. Now Im almost done I hope......

 

[Mustang5L5]

Just be glad these cars are "relatively" cheap to repair. Us Mustang guys don't know how lucky we have it when it comes to pricing and ease of fixing our cars.

 

[fast97gt]

you sound like youve bought a severly neglected car, but look on the bright side, at least when you fix it you wont have to worry bought it for a while. besides if you wanted something you didnt wanna fix-up you shoulve bought it new...

 

[SaleenGT2001]

i'd NEVER buy a performance car with over 100K. thats just asking for trouble unless you are VERY handy with a wrench!!

 

[ChillPhatCat]

As a three time Camaro and one time Firebird owner I can tell you that F-bodies are no better than Mustangs. My last Camaro, a '97 RS got me to 175k miles before the real crap hit the fan... I busted the clutch trying to get out of a snowy driveway, spent $1000 on all the related parts and labor, the clutch disk didn't wear out, it busted the slave cylinder along with pieces of the plate coming off. I then, thinking it was still a reliable car bought two new front tires, replaced all 4 brake rotors that were starting to vibrate badly, and bought a new battery for the car, which I somehow managed to puncture. I thought it was over, but then it started overheating and I found several leaks on the timing chain cover and while investigating that, I damaged a fuel injector... I must have dumped $2K into the car over the last 5k miles I owned it, only to give up and sell it for $1700 at 180k miles. Then I bought my Stang with 69k on the clock, and it's been trouble free for 5k miles so far... It was in pristine condition however aside from the bald rear tires when I bought it.

 

[COramprat]

$150 for a battery? $400 for radiator and flush? $375 for rotors? Where are you taking this thing? Get a manual and do the work yourself.

 

[lang williams]

I agree most of those items are normal wear items. I've owned 4 GM products an 3 were crap (the ex's family was GM owners). I bought my 97 cobra with 93K, had it all summer an the only prob was a check engine light caused by the C&L maf the PO put on it. I'd say you may have probs with the minor little stuff on a stang but if you do the maintance the motors are bullit proof.

 

[Ateup]

4 things to tell you:

1-Your car is 11 or 12 years old and has almost 150,000 miles on it.

2-The problems you listed are problems from normal wear and tear and possible neglect and in no way are specifically Ford related.

3-You're getting ripped off on repair bills.

4-Next time take someone with you that knows how to buy a used car.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

The repairs will never end.

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

put a ls1 in it

 

[87lc2]

edit

 

[SaleenGT2001]

4 things to tell you:

1-Your car is 11 or 12 years old and has almost 150,000 miles on it.

2-The problems you listed are problems from normal wear and tear and possible neglect and in no way are specifically Ford related.

3-You're getting ripped off on repair bills.

4-Next time take someone with you that knows how to buy a used car.

you are getting hosed on the repairs!

 

[Eleanor's Girl]

$150 for a battery? $400 for radiator and flush? $375 for rotors? Where are you taking this thing? Get a manual and do the work yourself.

I would if I still had my garage. I used to have a lift and all the tools I needed to repair my car but not anymore. I used to have the time too and work on my car all day if I wanted. Not anymore now that I run a biz and go to school.

And I'm definately not saying its Ford related. I've had several cars that all needed repairs all the time it seemed. I had a Mazda 6 with 30k that damn near fell apart right after I bought it, a '77 C10 longbed that needed a complete rebuild (but thats expected of course), 97 Camaro 30th Anniv. which looked good and I did car shows with until she started crapping out. I even had a 95 Nissan Sentra (my first car) that had about 30k and it was always getting towed to the repair shop.
Even so, this Mustang is the first to have cost me so much in a short time span. All my other vehicles I had for a few years but then again the stang had 125k when I bought it. Lesson learned for me, no more high mileage cars!

 

[Mike97gt]

how is she getting ripped off on repairs? 500 for a clutch is dirt cheap if the parts are included .. we get more then that in labor but our rate is 99 a hour ( that's cheap in these parts)

I am sure any other techs here can agree with me on this.. I am not doing a cash job for less then warranty time. PERIOD Shop gets 99 a hour I get about 25 percent of that a clutch in a mustang pays about 3 hours warranty. So if I do it for 4 hours that 400 in labor plus what ever they get for a clutch and flywheel, the factory flywheel and clutch is a ripoff so I would get something aftermarket

Plus the factory time is figured out on a brand new car. A 10 year old mustang that lives in the northeast is going to take longer then that because I am going to most likely have to deal with rotted hardware and replacing the studs that connect the manifold to the h pipe. So on a older car like that I get 6 hours to install a clutch..

If it had longtubes a LOT more if I have to loosen a header

LOL if I work for free or loosing time on customer cars then I will have to sell my mustang and then my house will get repoed and I will be living in a cardboard box under a bridge.. LOL no thanks FU pay me or do it yourself and then get it towed to me if you can't fix it. I have way to much money invested in my tools and way to much time spent learning how to do my job well to do it for chump change. As the saying goes "you get what you pay for" you want cheap then bring it to some know nothing that makes 12 bucks a hour and will hack your car to death or spend a little more and bring it to somebody that has invested years into training and tools and knows how to use them.

Like a customer today that had his car towed in, he did not want to pay our rate to get the hoses fixed on his taurus. So he brought it to some cheaper place with the 10 buck a hours guys and they did not do the job right so now the car has a blown headgasket and if he wants it fixed he is looking at a HELL of a lot more then what it would have cost to fix the bypass hoses right the first time. Good luck to him trying to prove that the other shop caused it..

All the other stuff seems right to me.. 150 for a battery.. so we don't know what kind of battery she got. we get 110 installed for a new motorcraft.

400 for a radiator.. sounds about right installed.

$100 for the leaky rear end, well that depends if it was the cover yeah thats about right if it's a pinion seal that is DIRT cheap.

the brakes.. that's pretty cheap for 4 rotors installed.


Tires.. well again we don't know what kind but thats about average

 

[patman0911]

Sounds like you're having to catch up a lot of stuff all at once that the previous owner may have neglected which kinda sucks, but still, I don't see anything out of the ordinary for a 10+ year old car with almost 150K on it.

There's no such thing as an end to repairs. You can buy a new car and trade it in every 2 or 3 years and have a new car-sized payment every month for the rest of your life or you can drive a car longer and fix stuff when it breaks and wears out. You've spent $2400 on repairs and maintenance in a little over a year - if you look at it from the perspective of it being less than $200 a month then it doesn't seem quite so bad, especially since this was a rough year with brakes, tires and a clutch and most years aren't going to be that bad. How much would your monthly car payment be for a new Mustang? Just remember, there's no such thing as a car that drives forever without every needing any repairs or maintenance on it. Those old Volvos that people put 1/2 a million miles on... they need stuff just like every other car does. The money your spending now to get it back in good operating condition is money well spent if you get years of safe and reliable enjoyment out of the car. The money sucks if you thought you'd flip the car quickly for a profit but if you plan on keeping the car for a while, that's just the cost of driving old, high-mileage cars.

I'm with svttech76, I don't see anything on the list so far that is out of line. Have any of you guys taken a car to a shop lately for repairs? It ain't cheap, especially if you take it to a reputable shop that knows what they're doing. I guess you could've gotten an Autozone battery for $75 but other than that, the only other place you could save any real money is if you can install brake rotors and pads yourself. Hell, I'd probably gladly pay someone $350 to replace a heater core just not to have to deal with it myself.

 

[Mike97gt]

Sounds like you're having to catch up a lot of stuff all at once that the previous owner may have neglected which kinda sucks, but still, I don't see anything out of the ordinary for a 10+ year old car with almost 150K on it.

There's no such thing as an end to repairs. You can buy a new car and trade it in every 2 or 3 years and have a new car-sized payment every month for the rest of your life or you can drive a car longer and fix stuff when it breaks and wears out. You've spent $2400 on repairs and maintenance in a little over a year - if you look at it from the perspective of it being less than $200 a month then it doesn't seem quite so bad, especially since this was a rough year with brakes, tires and a clutch and most years aren't going to be that bad. How much would your monthly car payment be for a new Mustang? Just remember, there's no such thing as a car that drives forever without every needing any repairs or maintenance on it. Those old Volvos that people put 1/2 a million miles on... they need stuff just like every other car does. The money your spending now to get it back in good operating condition is money well spent if you get years of safe and reliable enjoyment out of the car. The money sucks if you thought you'd flip the car quickly for a profit but if you plan on keeping the car for a while, that's just the cost of driving old, high-mileage cars.

I'm with svttech76, I don't see anything on the list so far that is out of line. Have any of you guys taken a car to a shop lately for repairs? It ain't cheap, especially if you take it to a reputable shop that knows what they're doing. I guess you could've gotten an Autozone battery for $75 but other than that, the only other place you could save any real money is if you can install brake rotors and pads yourself. Hell, I'd probably gladly pay someone $350 to replace a heater core just not to have to deal with it myself.

Yeah I missed the heater core. that is insanely cheap if that's including the part.. At my work that would be a 1,000 bucks installed

At 350 bucks with parts included I would be getting paid about 2.0 hours labor to install it.. LOL yeah right that is NOT happening. If I diaged a mustang as needing a heater core and they tried to pay me 2.0 including diag I would roll my box out the door instantly.