Wrenching can be a cathartic exercise. There’s something about fixing something with your own two hands that always feels so good. The gratification is even greater if doing the job yourself saves you a bunch of money. Other times, something breaks on your car and you just can’t be bothered to do anything about it. Look, maybe you live someplace where it gets warm only three months out of the year, so that non-functional air-conditioner doesn’t need to be fixed. What car problems are not worth fixing?
Admittedly, most of my cars currently have at least one thing wrong with them. That’s part of my secret to getting cars cheap. I look for the ones that still run and drive but have an issue the seller didn’t want to fix. Often, the issue is as simple as an air-conditioner that doesn’t work. I bring the car home, charge the air-conditioning system, and enjoy my ice-cold air.
Now, some of my cars, like the two BMWs I purchased from The Bishop, require an air-conditioning charge every year or so. The Bishop informed me that he charged those same BMWs every year, so there isn’t anything new happening. Obviously, these cars have leaks in their air-conditioning systems, but Bishop wasn’t in a rush to find and repair them. I’m not, either. For now, the once-a-year charge is ok by me. Is that bad? Probably.
One of my Smarts has a seized air-conditioner compressor. I cut the compressor’s belt off and left it as-is. Maybe one day I’ll replace the compressor, but the car gets driven only during the summer, and usually on days when opening a window is just fine.
Perhaps the worst car problem I haven’t fixed is a transmission issue with one of my Volkswagens. My 2005 Volkswagen Touareg VR6 has a worn transmission valve body. This results in undesired shifting behavior when I’m hard on the throttle. The Aisin six-speed automatic shifts fine through all but two gears. If I’m hard on the throttle when the transmission attempts to shift into third, the engine’s RPM will spike high before the gear engages with a violent clunk. Shifts into fifth under heavy throttle also cause the engine’s RPM to flare, but the transmission catches and shifts into fifth smoothly.
The only true fix to this problem would be a new or remanufactured transmission valve body. However, the Touareg is a beater in every sense of the word. This thing has worn shocks, a failed headliner, water leaks, body damage, rust holes, finicky electronics, and a dying alarm system. A bad transmission valve body is the least of its worries.
Instead, I employed two bodge fixes. One was Lubegard, which a VW mechanic described to me as one of those “transmission rebuild in a bottle” things. The Lubegard made a noticeable improvement in shifting behavior, but it didn’t fix the problem. I also just make sure to let off the throttle during the 2-3 shift and the 4-5 shift. I’ve driven the Touareg like this for 15,000 miles, and somehow, it hasn’t gotten any worse. Fixing the transmission valve body is at the bottom of my to-do list. Maybe one day, but as of right now, I’m not very concerned.
So, how about you? Is there a car problem that you just can’t be bothered to fix? Does your car have a perpetual check engine light, but the problem is so minor that you just don’t care?
The ones that begin with a Blue Oval up front. (sorry; I hate my Ford Focus)
My Sentra SE-R has had a worn bushing in the upper driver’s door hinge that means the door sags about half an inch when I open it. It’s been this way for well over 15 years, and I have automatic muscle memory for pulling the door nearly shut then lifting it gently to latch. Likewise, one of the two trunk hinge springs has been out for, again, well over 15 years. I did fix it once and it came out again. It’s a pain to do it solo. So I lift up *just so* on the lid before pulling the release, or I often have to stick something under it to push it up; I close it gently. The key in the lid has likewise been stuck for closing on 20 years. One fog light has had a broken lens for that long – I’ve had a replacement for that long, but never felt like tackling the rusty hardware to take the lamp off. The AC quit working and I just went without, since I’ve had something else to drive since 2004. Geez, this makes the car sound like a mess but it’s not!
The seat heater (driver’s side for sure) on my Saab doesn’t work – it’s automatic – and I probably know why, but fixing it requires removing the seat covers and I really never felt like doing that. It is mostly garaged in the winter so this is no big deal. I have fixed almost every other little thing on that car.
Right now I have a set of wheels on the Miata that don’t have TPMS sensors in them. Its a non-issue for me for now, mainly because the last shop I talked to wanted about $185 to dismount, install sensors (that I provide,) mount, and balance tires.
Bleh.
Ooof… I’m really glad that I have the amazing tire shop that I do ~1 mile up the street from me. They charge slightly more for their tires than the other local places, but everything else is basically included for free.
You have to call for an appointment because they’re so busy, but they’ll do just about anything you need with your wheels/tires. Balancing, rotations, fixing flats, installing stems/tpms, etc. is all dirt cheap or free if you’re a regular, and they’re usually done by the time you get through the line to pay.
They’re awesome, and also just a bit insane… their shop literally caught fire a decade or so back and they kept changing people’s tires on the other side of the shop until the fire department kicked them out.
I used to work at Pep Boys, and had several friends that still worked there until about a year back. Up until they left I hadn’t paid for a tire balance or mounting for near 10 years.
I hate it.
Dents in left right front and left rear fenders from minor mishaps, various scratches and scuffs, cracked windshield. Car drives just fine and is an absolute base spec 2009 Accord with 4cyl, cloth seats, and manual trans. No problem with it in 140k miles other than the starter died and needed replacing recently. I see no point in fixing any of the cosmetic stuff as this is just transportation, not a collectors item. I’ll keep it running and fix mechanical stuff until it either becomes impractical or gas engines are outlawed, whichever comes first.