I really dislike Murphy

**bjl584** · 06-07-2013, 06:38 AM

What's wrong with your daughter's car? That seems excessive short of a blown motor or a bad transmission. It might be worth it just to get a different car.

**Barclay** · 06-07-2013, 07:48 AM

It's a bad transmission.

Hopefully the car will be good for awhile after this. I knew the transmission was bad when I bought it and had prepared for rebuilding it but it's still a nice chunk of change.

I did toss around the idea of just getting another car and selling this one, but I'm afraid with her budget, she would not be able to afford anything better.

**Barclay** · 06-07-2013, 08:09 AM

I'm going to take a few bucks out of my grocery budget and limit my discretionary purchasing the next two months to help pay for the car. And she will pay half of it by getting a student loan for $1500. I hate the idea of her getting a loan but I just need her to help pay for some of this.

She starts a job next week so maybe she can make payments on the loan and get that paid off soon. I hate her paying interest.

**annibe11e** · 06-07-2013, 09:21 AM

I think my transmission is on the way out too, and I still owe money on the car. I don't have enough cash I could dredge up anywhere that will cover it if it's anywhere near the estimate you got! Thanks for the reminder to tighten things up while I wait for my car to do whatever it's going to do.

**bjl584** · 06-07-2013, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by Barclay View Post

It's a bad transmission.

Hopefully the car will be good for awhile after this. I knew the transmission was bad when I bought it and had prepared for rebuilding it but it's still a nice chunk of change.

I did toss around the idea of just getting another car and selling this one, but I'm afraid with her budget, she would not be able to afford anything better.

Did you shop around at all? I had a transmission rebuilt on a truck a few years back for around $1500.

**Barclay** · 06-07-2013, 10:21 AM

I did shop around and got really close to the same ballpark estimates. I went to the most reputable place that had the best reviews on Angie's list. They are known for being honest. And it's a darn Honda so you have to tear it apart to find out how broken it is.

**Barclay** · 06-07-2013, 10:31 AM

Originally posted by annibe11e View Post

I think my transmission is on the way out too, and I still owe money on the car. I don't have enough cash I could dredge up anywhere that will cover it if it's anywhere near the estimate you got! Thanks for the reminder to tighten things up while I wait for my car to do whatever it's going to do.

Well, hopefully yours is an easier rebuild. good luck!!

**siggy_freud** · 06-08-2013, 09:52 AM

With it being a honda there are literally thousands of spares in junk yards and up on ebay. Many are in perfectly find shape and can probably be had for less than one thousand dollars. Check on forums too. For a car that common I can't imaging spending nearly 3k on rebuilding it, when I could have a fresh one installed for a fraction of that. You could get a full motor and transmission for less than that.

**Barclay** · 06-08-2013, 03:45 PM

I understand what you are saying, but it's a 2003 Honda Accord EX. That year and model is notorious for bad transmissions anywhere from 90k miles to 140K. She is lucky she got it to about 130k miles before it went bad.

If I found one from another car that was the original transmission, it would probably go bad as well.

**snafu** · 06-09-2013, 01:53 PM

Barclay, it's likely worth the effort to call a couple of wreckers to ask if they [or their supply chain] has a suitable [not original] newer transmission. If 03's were awful, they were possibly replaced. Check with colleagues for smaller shops they might refer. I know from experience that dealerships are the most expensive.

**dunnrobert700** · 06-18-2013, 09:16 AM

Murphy is such a reliable guest you should probably just have a line item for him in every budget.

I really dislike Murphy