Money Pit

Is it really a money pit when your car just seems to need a lot of crazy parts fixed? I mean, it's not like it's a new car anymore...it's almost 7 years old. I didn't think that was all that old though. And it's not like it has a lot of miles on it...I haven't even broken 80,000km. That's low.

Took it in for it's mandatory annual provincial inspection today. At the least I expected to be told it needed a couple of new lights (because every time I take it in for anything, something seems to be burned out) and at the very most I was guessing my brakes might finally need doing (the one miraculous thing that I've never had to replace) or potentially there was a problem with my cooling system (my coolant light started flashing this week).

Turns out that there sure is an issue with my cooling system...leak in the thermostat... $350 repair! Thankfully that doesn't make it unsafe just yet...they can't even assess how bad the leak is, but judging by the fact that the light was flashing for a week and the car never overheated it's a pretty tiny leak. Normally I would just go ahead and fix it now, rather than tempting fate...however, I have other fish to fry. The car actually failed inspection because the ball joints are both worn and loose....yippee....$350 for that too....plus I was right about 2 bulbs needing replacing, plus windshield wipers,the cost of the inspection itself, the wheel alignment that has to be done after replacing ball joints and don't forget our lovely HST. Hello $536 bill...not including the thermostat which I have to watch and probably fix within the next month anyway. Argh.

I know every car has these things, but it just seems to me that everything is going one after the other now. I did a mental tally and in the last two years I've spent approximately $4000 on repairs, etc. (almost $2000 of which was the freaking clutch)....and there are still lots of obvious things that could need doing at any time....like the brakes for instance, or the starter that has been hiccuping for over a year now.

Is it time to suck it up and trade-in? I dunno.

(oh, and I don't wanna hear a bunch of comments about VWs needing lots of electrical work or whatever...since none of my issues have anything to do with that.)

F@*K!!!

So, that thing that I originally thought was the clutch, but then decided was the turbo....turned out to be the freaking clutch.

Fine.

Except that car is barely six years old and has no business with a worn out clutch.

But whatever...sometimes these things wear out.

Except that how in the freaking world is a clutch assembly on a freaking Volkswagen Jetta possibly $1300?!

Yup, you read that right. $1300 for parts, plus like $550 for labor. Plus freaking tax. Goodbye $2000.

Next time I buy a car I think I'll have to spend some time researching the cost of common, wear-and-tear parts. This is freaking outrageous.

It would likely have been cheaper if it had been the stupid turbo.

Not impressed.

(and before you ask, yes I called my old VW dealer and asked them the price to make sure I wasn't getting burned and sure enough that's what it is....at least labour is $20/hour cheaper here.)

(oh and did I mention that my battery is apparently dying and my starter is making some quirky noises so that could be another $415 sometime in the coming months. oh, how I think it's time to start really looking at the SUV I was thinking about getting...)