c/cars-for-cheap

That 1998 Camry I bought for 800 bucks 3 years ago still runs like a champ

Honestly I picked it up from some guy in a strip mall parking lot in Des Moines back in 2021. It had 220k miles and a dented fender but the engine sounded solid. Last month I had to swap the alternator for 60 bucks at a junkyard and that's the only real fix it's needed. Tbh I'm amazed something this old can still be daily driven for under a grand. Anybody else got a beater that just won't quit?

1 comments

avery_carr57•4h ago

Got roasted by a mechanic buddy for my brake job and he was right

I did front pads and rotors on my 2002 Corolla last month and my friend saw the dust boots were torn and pointed out I never cleaned the caliper slide pins (didn't even know that was a thing). He said the pads would wear uneven and seize up within 5,000 miles, which I ignored until last week when the car started pulling hard to the left on the highway. Has anyone else had a buddy call them out on something that actually saved them money down the road?

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miabennett•22h ago

My alternator died on the highway at 2am last week

I was driving my 2002 Civic back from a late shift when the battery light popped on. Then the headlights got dim and the radio cut out. Made it to a rest stop about 5 miles later before the car completely shut down. Had to call my buddy Tom to come jump me and follow me to his place. Tested the alternator the next morning and it was putting out maybe 11 volts. Picked up a reman unit at AutoZone for $110 and swapped it in my driveway in about 2 hours. Has anyone else had an alternator go out with zero warning like that?

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abby_carr57•2d ago

Rant: That week my $800 Subaru went from diamond to junk in 3 days

I picked up a 2002 Outback with 180k miles for 800 bucks and for the first 2 days it ran like a dream. Then day 3 the head gasket blew on I-35 near Waco and the tow cost me more than the car did. I know head gaskets are the Subaru curse, but is it worth fixing a car that cost less than the repair, or should I just scrap it and start over? What do y'all do when the math on a beater flips on you like that?

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mark611•2d ago

Swapped a radiator in a parking lot after my 2001 Civic overheated on I-5

I was driving back from Portland when the temp gauge pegged at the top near milepost 52. Pulled into a rest stop and saw coolant spraying from a crack in the plastic tank. Grabbed a used radiator from a guy on Craigslist for $40 and swapped it right there with just a socket set and a screwdriver. Took about 2 hours and a lot of cursing but it got me home. Anyone else done emergency repairs in weird spots like that?

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jana179•2d ago

Waited 8 months to fix a clunk in my $900 Forester, turned out to be a loose sway bar link

I kept hearing this weird thunk every time I turned left, figured it was something major like a bad CV joint. Finally crawled under it last weekend and the sway bar link was literally just hand tight. Tightened it with a 14mm wrench in 2 minutes and it's been silent since. Anyone else ever put off a fix for months that turned out to be nothing?

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walker.andrew•2d ago

Guy at a junkyard in Nashville told me I was wasting time chasing rust

I used to spend hours trying to save rusty floor pans with wire wheels and filler. He said just find a cleaner shell for the same money, and I've stopped dragging my feet on two projects since then. Anyone else had to learn to let go of a beater that was too far gone?

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mitchell.nancy•3d ago

That $60 brake piston tool saved me from a full shop visit

I was swapping rotors and pads on my old '03 Civic last weekend, went to compress the rear caliper piston, and realized it needed to be twisted in, not just pushed. My C-clamp wasn't gonna cut it. I ran to AutoZone and grabbed that cube-shaped brake piston tool kit for like $60, and man, I was skeptical but it worked perfect. The piston screwed right in, no fighting with it or risking damage to the caliper. If I hadn't bought that thing, I would've had to tow it to a shop and probably paid $200+ for them to do the whole job. Has anyone else run into those twist-in calipers on Japanese cars? Feels like a weird design choice to me.

2 comments

samward•3d ago

One Saturday every beater I looked at had a blown head gasket, then Sunday I found a clean Volvo for $600

I spent six hours on Saturday driving around Orlando to check out three different cars under $1500, and all of them had milky oil or overheating issues. Sunday morning I stumbled on a 1998 Volvo V70 with 180k miles that just needed a thermostat, and now I'm torn between flipping it or keeping it as a daily. Anyone else have a weekend that went from trash to treasure like that?

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hannah240•5d ago

Took me 3 tries to figure out I was tightening lug nuts in a star pattern wrong

I've been changing tires on my $800 Civic for like 2 years now, just going around in a circle. Saw a video on YouTube of some mechanic torquing wheels and he specifically said "star pattern not circle pattern." Realized I was just spinning them clockwise all these years, wondering why my rotors felt warped. Swear I've probably ruined a set of rotors doing it wrong. Anyone else ever catch themselves doing basic stuff backwards for way too long?

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johnb95•5d ago

Can we talk about how 90s Honda parts are getting impossible to find for cheap?

I was real skeptical when this old timer at the junkyard told me Civics from the 90s were drying up fast. I figured there would always be a few beaters around. But after checking three different yards in Akron last month, I found exactly one 1995 Civic and it was stripped down to the frame rails. Even the aftermarket stuff is going for double what it did five years ago, like a basic distributor cap set me back $40. Anyone else having trouble finding parts for their old Hondas?

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juliagonzalez•6d ago

That $40 alternator from eBay nearly killed my Civic

I grabbed a rebuilt alternator off eBay for 40 bucks thinking I scored a deal on my 98 Civic. Bolted it up in the AutoZone parking lot on a Sunday and it lasted exactly three days before the bearings started screaming like a dying cat. Had to push the car off the highway in Austin traffic and ended up paying $120 for a real one from O'Reillys. Has anyone else tried the cheap rebuilds and just gotten burned?

2 comments