free car--good choice?

[eshort]

I have a chance to pick up-free- a 1989 Plymouth Acclaim w/50K miles... 4 doors, 4 cyl w/auto transmission.

Only prob is that is has been outside all its life-and has bad paint and rusted front door.

runs fine except needs front struts. Has had timing belt replaced and new brakes/tires in past 24 months.

Should i take chance on this..i drive about 300 miles eeekly--im afraid if i start driving this car so much. it;ll develop problems from the stress??--ie--old wires, suspension parts, engine parts etc.

I could repaint, repalce all belts/hoses/front struts etc and have a great car..wld cost approx $1000 to do all this.

Would you take this car or donate to charity??

thanx....

[KR0316]

If it is free take it and if it runs ok sell it for a couple hundred dollars and make a little money

[HAL9000]

Sure, why not. Bad paint is no big deal, nor is the rusted door. Get the struts fixed and drive it.

[TwoRails]

HI eshort,

Should i take chance on this..i drive about 300 miles eeekly--im afraid if i start driving this car so much. it;ll develop problems from the stress??--ie--old wires, suspension parts, engine parts etc.

Dang! That's newer than anything I own

You can run into problems with any vehicle. Yes, "older" cars can nickle and dime you, but I've found that if you "like" the car, then you spend the nickle or dime until it's fixed up. Then, most likely, you'll have a much better car than a lot of newer ones (which, by the way, will also nickle and dime you).

I'd go cross-country in any of my vehicles, even though there're "old". Currently I have an '67, 72, 83, and an '86.

TwoRails

PS: I should mention that it's a major difference if you have to pay to have work done, or if you can do some / most of the work yourself. Being an X-automotive / truck tech, I can do a lot myself. My only hinderance is working conditions, ie. no shop, lift, equipment, other than basic tools, etc...

[Toaster]

Howdy,
Eshort, be careful the car can be registered/inspected. MASS inspection criteria is VERY high.....could cost you a bundle.

[TwoRails]

Toaster has a good point. I've been a "State Inspector" before and I could easily find $1000 worth of problems, even on a new car! ...or not...

Haven't been in a state that requires "that" kind of inspection for a while now, so I didn't even think about it....

TwoRails

[Jenni]

My "free" car has been great so far. It's a 1987 Mercury Sable wagon with either 125k or 225k (has a 5 digit odometer) but the people said it was 215k when we got it, so I guess it is 225k now. The paint is typical Ford, has clearcoat leperosy, but hey, it runs.

So far I have had to replace the water pump twice, and the radiator had a hole in it when we got it, so that was $150, and I had to replace the ignition module on the distributor, but for less than $350, I have a great car as far as I'm concerned. Lol, plus it got hit, and I got $1200 from the insurance company (hers, not mine), and bought a "new" door from the junkyard for $40 and spent the rest on computer parts and Christmas presents.

BTW, if anyone needs a radiator, i would highly recommend www.1800radiator.com They are awesome. I got an OEM Visteon radiator for my Sable for $145, plus $5 next day delivery! And because it was an OEM part, it was easy as pie to put in, not a generic, fits in 4 different cars, have to turn it 4 different directions to get it in cheapo.

[KronoLeginaire]

These -=Sables=-. lol

[doctorgonzo]

I got a free car with over 200K miles, and I put another 40K or so on driving cross country. The only reason I am getting rid of it now is because I got a new one and the exhaust system is gone. I will probably just junk it, although if anybody in the Minneapolis area needs a cheap car...

[eshort]

TX guys--the car is driven daily in Mass- has always passed Mass inspectiopn!!

sounds like i should take it-- how much of a tax write of wld the charities give??

this is a family car (my family) so sounds like i cant lose

the air c is broken (wont blow cold 24 hours after a recharge) but i dont think that's worth fixing (estimate was $450!).

I drive this car weejly (fopr 10 miles)--rides fine exceot for some noise in front suspension (?struts)..only rust=along bottom of driver door. The paint shows primer and it has many "parkinglot" small dents..i figure a Makko "elcheepo" paint job wld improve it..say for $200 or so..the door wld be approx $50 (junkyard)..struts are expensive though.

this car was aprked outside for 13 years, never waxed but only has 50K miles!

[dan3223]

The Plymouth Acclaim/Dodge Spirit cars are pretty decent. My family owned a 93 Spirit V6 and a 94 Acclaim 4 cylinder. While the V6 Spirit was drastically quicker than the 4 banger, even the 4 banger was enough to get you around without feeling unsafe. These cars changed very little in appearance over their 6 year run. They always used either the 3.0 liter Mitsubishi V6, or the Mopar 2.5l 4 cylinder. Our 4 cylinder Acclaim made it to 155k miles before the engine developed all kinds of serious trouble and ended up seizing, but it was solely my dads fault because he didn't change the oil for 11k miles in it's last year. The Spirit we had was totalled by my dear mom at the young age of 75k miles. Actually, in 1991 they put a 2.2 liter turbo as an option in the Acclaims but these were known to be rather unreliable, and are to be avoided.

Eshort, I'd definitely take that Acclaim, you can't go wrong for the price! Just keep an eye on the headgasket........

[TwoRails]

Hi Jenni,

Thanks for the link. I checked them out and their prices seem fair, and the warranty's good. Don't have a need for one right now, but I bookmarked it for possible future use...

TwoRails

[archie]

Hi Eshort, a car that has only 50K miles is fairly new ... about 150K miles would be a different story ... although it is not known if those 50K miles were a result of mostly several 5 miles [or less] rides as opposed to longer rides.
The paint is something that should only be considered after using it for a while to make sure it's worth the expense. Actually, if it was me, I would get the AC fixed before getting a new paint job ... that's something that may become a higher priority once the whether heats up ... but before putting $ into it, consider that it will/can hold up for many years to come.

[eshort]

this is the familycar--sat outside 13 years only used for very short trips..circa 15 miles weekly.

has 50k miles..newish tires, brakes, timingbelt and waterpump-hoses.

sounds like i shld take it, run for a few months and then decide which work to do...

[HAL9000]

Hey. it's free, take it, if it's too much trouble, you can either sell it for a couple bucks, or call the auto wrecker and have it hauled away.

[alan]

Hal9000 has the right idea. You could turn it to quick cash and let the next person worry about it. Donating it would be the worst thing you could do financially. You get to deduct the fair market value off your income but that only nets you a small percentage of the FMV. As long as you sold it at a price greater than 1/3 of the FMV you come out ahead. Also not knowing how old you are you may net even qualify for a tax deduction if you do not itemize deductions.

[homer15]

yea, you can't go wrong with a free car. and i'd like to put a plug for www.1800radiators.com. they have great customer service, and they got my radiator to me within 3 days.