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To Junk or Not to Junk, That is the Question
The more complex a system, the more likely it is that something within that system will go wrong. Call it entropy, if you like. Call it chaos. Call it Murphy’s Law. Whatever you decide to call it, there’s a good chance that you’ll also be calling a tow-truck once this happens to your car. The modern automobile is made up of tens of thousands of moving parts, all churning and grinding together with all the power that an internal combustion engine can produce; it’s amazing that we can even turn it on without it melting down into a lump of steaming slag. In reality, when something actually does go wrong, we usually limp the poor machine down to our local mechanic and dip into our kids’ college fund to get it up and running again. But what about when it just isn’t worth it? What about when it actually costs more to repair the car than it would to just go out and buy a new one? You could try to free up some cash by getting approved for auto refinancing, I suppose, or you could attempt to sell it off and make it someone else’s problem, but in the end, you’ll be taking a pretty big hit to your wallet any way you look at it.
So when is it time to give up repairing your car and get a new one? Consider the information below before you hit a junk yard for its spare parts.
Here are five of the most expensive car repairs that might convince you to leave your car at the dump, rather than the repair shop.
1. Camshaft
Depending on what kind of car you drive, this one might not actually necessitate a delivery to the local junkyard. Still, the word “camshaft” isn’t something that you want to hear your mechanic say when listing off the reasons that your car’s been acting up. The camshaft is the thing in your engine that spins and opens and closes valves in time with the piston so that air can be taken in and exhaust released. Problems arise when buildup on the valves starts to prevent the camshaft from being able to properly do its job. This is usually a result of infrequent oil changes. So, the good news is that if you just keep up with your car’s most basic maintenance, you probably won’t have to worry about your camshaft failing you. The bad news is that if it does fail, replacing it isn’t easy. The price tag for camshaft replacement is high thanks to the amount of labor that goes into it.
2. Gas Mass Sensor
In order for the “combustion” aspect of your “internal combustion engine” to work properly, it needs the right mixture of oxygen and fuel. For this, you need a gas mass sensor. This sensor will take account of the amount of oxygen being released from your engine, so that you know that everything is working the way it should be. Is this important? Apparently yes, because the average cost of repairing/replacing one is more than three grand!!
3. Transmission
When it comes to cars, the engine is the thing that produces the necessary energy. However, it’s the transmission system that transfers that energy down the shaft to the axles, and allows the car to actually move. But while the engine get’s a lot of attention, the equally important transmission is often neglected. This is problematic, because an engine without a transmission is about as useful as a cup with no bottom. Replacing a transmission isn’t cheap, either.
4. Hybrid Inverter Assembly
Because hybrids are still fairly new, any sort of hybrid-specific repair job will probably end up setting you back a fair amount. The worst of these repairs involves replacing the inverter assembly. The inverter changes direct-current power into useable alternate-current power. The good news is that hybrid inverter assemblies don’t fail very often. The bad news is that unless you keep a real close eye on your dashboard alert lights, you may not notice that there’s anything wrong until it’s too late. For the price of replacing the inverter assembly on a hybrid car, you could probably find a decent used vehicle and pay for the gas to fill it.
5. Cylinder
The absolute last thing that you want to have to replace on a car is a cylinder. The cylinders provide power to the rest of the car by moving up and down, which in turn moves the drive shaft. Ignoring smaller problems can lead to failures in the cylinder. The bad news is that as far as parts go, the cylinder isn’t cheap. The worse news is that the cylinder itself is located right in the middle of the engine, so to even take a proper look at it, a mechanic will have to take the entire thing apart. Put this all together, and you’re looking at repair bill hovering somewhere around eight grand. Ouch. Maybe just abandoning it on the side of the road really is a viable option…
The post To Junk or Not to Junk, That is the Question appeared first on American Preppers Network.
Source: http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/2014/09/junk-junk-question.html
