My Camry is (maybe not?) on it's deathbed- Rant

[joesregalproject]

What, she teaching in Sewickley, Fox Chapel, Mt. Lebanon or North Allegheny & act like she has to impress/be like the staff or students families? Something to make sure she can get to work until she can afford her own place would be the right course of action.

Any sane person could see that but try getting it through her vain little mind. It's all about appearance with her.

I have cousins that went to North Allegheny and they are so spoiled rotten it's sickening. When I went to North Hills the student lot was indistinguishable from a junkyard. Meanwhile, go to NA and the student lot looked like a new car dealership.

She can go teach at whatever rich school district she wants and think shes 'all that', but at the end of the day she's still just northside white trash to them!

 

[kornball426]

Man, some of you guys have some messed up siblings!

At the risk of offending, it sounds like the parents in these cases needed to learn about "tough love" rather than enabling the unmotivated

Ehh... Maybe, my brother and sister weren't "spoiled" per say, but my brother in particular is very manipulative of my parents. Always would guilt them into buying him stuff and showed (still doesn't) any type of appreciation for it. I know better than to loan him money. My sister always seemed like such a responsible good person which is why I loaned her so much in the first place... But she's really pissed me off at this point. It's a shame because we used to be pretty close. I'm not going to be shocked if I eventually find out she's got a drug problem and she's just been managing to hide it.

 

[RegalBegal]

Man, some of you guys have some messed up siblings!

At the risk of offending, it sounds like the parents in these cases needed to learn about "tough love" rather than enabling the unmotivated

I'll jump on the bandwagon here. I have two younger brothers. The middle one is a hard working father of four. I don't hear from him much but I know he puts in 80 hour weeks. The youngest is another story. Mom ALWAYS spoiled him. A couple years ago, he left his girlfriend of 20 years for another woman. He calls me and tells me he's in trouble and if he could stay with me for a bit until he gets on his feet (He's in Oklahoma, I'm in New Hampshire). So of course I say yes and lend him money to get here. He shows up at my door with this crack wh*re for a month. So he gets a job and an apartment. I lend him all kinds house items to get him started. So now its 2 days before Thanksgiving, I'd bought all kinds of food because I've finally got some family around. He then tells me he quit his job because someone in Florida is GIVING him a house. So, I'm like when are you leaving? He says tommorow. So not only am I stuck with hundreds of dollars of food, he threw away all the thing i leant him. BTW, he still hasen't paid me back a single penny and has disowened me because I called him out on being a douche to his old girlfriend (of course, the dummy took him back after he dumped the crack wh*re).

 

[Bonnewagon]

so I agreed to loan it to her, so long as she took care of it

Obviously that was your main mistake. Listen, I've been through moms, sisters, daughters, and grand-daughters. NONE are capable of maintaining anything. One day I'll be gone and Lord help them. As it is I extend my brake replacement agony by using taxicab/police/fleet grade brakes. And don't think guys are blameless. Just because we here are into cars actually most guys these days are no better than women. That is why leasing is so popular. Just lease for a few years, ignore it, and then get a new one. PERFECT! Then those ignored cars filter down to us, the fixer-up-ers.

 

[joesregalproject]

Well my sister seems to have come down from her pedestal and began looking at the Mazda CX-3s I initially suggested to her. At first she said "absolutely not" but she came around to them after a few days. So I happened to see one on Autotrader that was a 2016 Certified Pre-Owned with 18,000 miles on it for a very good price. She decided to have a look at it, so we went to the dealer today and she drove the car and I checked it over. It checked out well, so she's buying it. I think it should be a pretty good car for her. It's very similar to my Dad's CX-5 which has been a great car for him. Maybe she had a humbling experience, I'm surprised.

Anyways, I get the Camry back now. Now I have to decide what I have to do with it. I'm gonna have to do a thorough inspection on it and see what all it needs. I do have some sentimental attachment to the car, but if it needs a lot of work, I don't want to have to dump a lot of money into it. This may be an opportune time to sell it. It has good inspection through November. So I'm not entirely sure what I'm gonna do with it, but it'll probably depend on how much work it needs. Anyways the reign of terror over the Camry has ended.

 

[565bbchevy]

It checked out well, so she's buying it. I think it should be a pretty good car for her. It's very similar to my Dad's CX-5 which has been a great car for him. Maybe she had a humbling experience, I'm surprised.

So enjoy your new title as "Maintenance Supervisor" for her new purchase.

 

[DRIVEN]

I still say let her twist with the new car. Between a sticker and a dash reminder, there's zero excuse not to get her oil changed. If she doesn't, not your problem. A car that new shouldn't need much else for a couple years.

 

[joesregalproject]

I still say let her twist with the new car. Between a sticker and a dash reminder, there's zero excuse not to get her oil changed. If she doesn't, not your problem. A car that new shouldn't need much else for a couple years.

Exactly. I'm with you 100%, she's paying for this car so I don't have a horse in this race. I told her I'm not doing any maintenance on it, she can take it to the dealership for service. It has a service required light; if you're too big of an idiot for idiot lights, you've got bigger problems than oil changes.

Anyways I got all of her sh*t out of the Camry and ran it through a car wash because God only knows the last time it got washed. Then I brought it home and did sort of a "once over" inspection to begin assessing the condition. I checked the oil, it was 1/2 way between full and low, so not bad. I topped it off with some 10w30 that was on the shelf. I checked all the tires and they are all between 8 and 9/32s, and they match, so good there. When I drove it I noticed the check engine light was off, so maybe it was a gas cap or something. If it's off, I'm not questioning it. The rear wheel bearing(s) are making a lot of noise so they are gonna need replaced. They are PIA to do on this car. As for the body, well... here's some pictures-

Deep scratches and a small dimple on top of the decklid-

Scrape and peeling paint on the left rear bumper-

Crease on left 1/4 panel behind taillight-

Scrapes on right side of bumper-

Dent/crease on right 1/4 panel behind taillight-

Very deep scratches and small dent (not visible) on roof-

Peeling clear/surface rust on C pillar-

Rust on door B pillars-

Inside of B pillars-

Slight but large crease on passenger front door-

Rust starting in driver's door bottom seam-

Acid rain spots on hood-

Worst rust on the car, bubbling on passenger rocker panel-

Headliner falling-

There's some other stuff- another rust bubble on the very corner of the hood, but it's been there for years, the hubcaps are all curb-rashed, there is some stains in the interior, but they might come out. These pretty much show the worst of it though. I'm gonna have to look the brakes and suspension over as well as just about everything else. I'll continue to update.

 

[ssn696]

Could you just flog this off on a high school kid and move on?

 

[1evilregal]

hope sis's new car has a backup camera..... from the scratches in the bumper and creases by the taillights, looks like she backed into a couple things.

I know there's some sentimentality to the car, but with the bubbling and creases/scratches/rust/bearings, it may not be worth the trouble. then you have to find where all the oil is going..... I agree with ssn696, help some highschooler make this his first car/sentimental attachment.