Daughter-in-law's car, fix or dump?

[Martinjmpr]

First off, before I get started I'll apologize in advance for not having all the information handy. I'm getting most of this 2nd hand through my wife.

The other day, D-I-L called my wife at home saying she was having car trouble and needed to be picked up as she was broken down near our house with our 4 year old grandson. Wife went to get her and to see if they could help. The car was making an awful racket and showing a "low oil pressure" warning on the dash.

They put a couple quarts of oil in it (the dipstick was apparently dry!) and limped it to a parking lot where it died again. Wife says it still sounds terrible.

The vehicle in question is a 2011 Chevy Traverse AWD. Not sure of the engine (did they have more than one option?) nor do I know the miles. Kids bought it 3 years ago for $17k (which sounds like a lot for a then-5-year-old vehicle.)

Now they are in the classic dilemma: Try and fix it or get rid of it? I know money is tight for them and a car payment would be a serious hardship for them. OTOH, they've got 2 small kids (4 and 7) and both kids go to school/preschool in Douglas County and there's no bus available, so not having a vehicle isn't an option (at least the Traverse is paid for.)

My stepson works all the way across town and 100% needs a vehicle, too. There's no practical way for him to carpool so, bottom line, 2 vehicles are needed.

I know a little about trucks but not much about cars (crossovers) like this. Assuming it's the engine and assuming it's beyond repair (which I think is a fair assumption from the wife's statements) what would a new engine cost? The obvious unknown factor (I told my wife this) is even if the engine can be replaced what is the condition of the transmission, steering and other vital components? That I just don't know. But I assume that they are in the condition that most any 8 year old vehicle would be in.

The big $$ question would be whether replacing the engine (assuming that's what it needs) would be worth it or would be throwing bad money after good and unfortunately I don't really know enough about the vehicle to know that.

So I'm just wondering if anyone knows, just in a very general sense, whether these types of vehicles (Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave/Saturn Outlook) are worth repairing or whether they are "throwaway" vehicles.

I think if it was a Honda Pilot or a Toyota Highlander, it would absolutely be worth repairing. A Chevy pickup or Tahoe/suburban of this generation would also very much be worth fixing. But I don't know how well built the crossovers were.

The good news is that as of right now, at least, they don't have to make a decision. Since I'm getting a new truck this weekend they've got my Suburban for as long as they need it.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can offer insight into the Traverse or similar vehicles.

[TFOGGER]

Depending on model, options, mileage and condition, NADA says it's worth between $5k and about $9k, so unless it has a bazillion miles, it's probably worth dropping an engine in.

[Great-Kazoo]

Besides replacing the engine. Did anyone ever check the oil ? It would be obvious it there was a serious oil leak

[earplug]

Do they really need AWD? If yes drop a Jasper engine in it after checking condition of brakes and transmission and suspension. And give them a visit once a month to check on engine vitals.
If they don't need AWD buy a used econobox and keep track of vitals.

[ray1970]

As far as cost, (if you?re doing the work yourself) it might be better just to make repairs. If the cost of new bearings (main, rod, and probably cam), a possible rework of the crankshaft, maybe cams and lifters if needed, likely an oil pump, and a complete gasket set comes out cheaper than a replacement engine then I would go that route. In fact, I bought a GMC truck with no oil pressure and a heavy rod knock really cheap because the owner didn?t want to fix it.

Option B would be to buy a used engine from the salvage yard. Did that when my son was a teenager and his car spun a cam bearing. Once again it was a cost (and my time) thing. The complete used engine was around $350 and I swapped it out in half a day and had him back on the road.

[ray1970]

Also, definitely see what it really needs first. I?ve seen vehicles towed in with the owner thinking the engine was toast just to find out a belt tensioner was coming apart.

[Bailey Guns]

It's hard to give an accurate answer without knowing a lot more about the car. How many miles? What kind of condition is the car in other than the obvious engine problem?

We have a 2012 Traverse with about 62,000 miles on it and it's in very nice condition. Wife was recently offered $10k in trade on it for an Equinox but we just can't give up the Traverse. They're generally very well-regarded cars. So, sounds like they did pretty good at $17k depending on the trim and condition.

There's only one motor...GM's 3.6L V6. It's kinda like the 350...been around forever and generally a very good motor. A low-mileage engine can be had for a little over $1500 (plus labor to replace) so I'd definitely consider doing that unless the car is otherwise not worth it.

[Martinjmpr]

It's hard to give an accurate answer without knowing a lot more about the car. How many miles? What kind of condition is the car in other than the obvious engine problem?

Yes, and just to be clear they haven't asked for our help, I'm just trying to be ready in case they do. Daughter-in-law's father is something of a "car guy" so I assume they will probably ask him for help.

They're both smart kids, college educated and with good common sense most of the time. Wife and I are trying to be supportive without being suffocating (her parents do enough of that.)

I'd give them my Suburban permanently but I doubt they'd want it. They don't need a vehicle that big and they certainly don't need the 11 - 13 MPG it gets in typical suburban driving.

[Bailey Guns]

It's that whole "Dad" thing kickin' in. I get it.