The car is stupider than I initially suspected
Well, the nice guy at the shop across the street took a look at my car and provided some pretty bad news: “It’s a cracked lower manifold intake [or something like that]. Looks like about 6 hours’ labor, but I can’t do it this weekend because I’m booked solid. I wish I could help you out, but I’ve just got no room for it this weekend.” Super, so I’m lookin’ at 6 hours’ labor at about $65 an hour and I got nobody to work on it! Of course, I mentioned how unenthused I was to drop a bunch of money in a junker and he, sensing my hesitation, said, “You want an honest mechanic’s opinion? Sell it and get out from under it as quick as you can. They [piece of junk Grand Ams] aren’t reliable, they’re tough to work on and the motor doesn’t go back together well when you get in there.” Then, he suggested I put some “Stop Leak” sort of stuff in the car and try to sell it. He even gave me the Stop Leak stuff for free.
So, I’m all of a sudden put in a difficult situation, financially. Do I drop some money (probably $500-600) on a car I hate, just to keep it on the road? Do I go ahead and buy a new car, which I’ve wanted for a while now? Do I get a short term lease so I have something to drive without a high monthly payment until I can free myself up a little more financially? I dunno’. I do know that the decision wouldn’t be difficult at all if this had happened about 6 months from now because I’d be much more free financially. Of course, knowing that, I’m inclined to dump a little more money into the black hole now to buy some time until some other stuff is paid off. That way, I can reconsider when it’s more feasible.
I’m afraid I’m about to put more money into a piece of junk car that I can’t stand. I’ll never buy another Pontiac, regardless of how sweet a deal it is at the time.