P3PPY
Dork
5/18/21 11:20 p.m.
Trans seems to be slipping in the '08 T&C. Goodbye, Covid money.
I've lost my shirt on the two MI vehicles I've bought so far - '02 and '05 -entirely because of undercarriage/suspension/brake parts rust. We live by Lansing. I don't care about cosmetic rust so much. How far do we have to drive?
Looking at a non-FCA van or minivan around $8k. I'd prefer van since it's a compromise between shuttle bus (my real dream) and minivan (3kids,long overnight trips, trying to get a few winks in a small mattress is FAR superior to a seat) but SWMBO would prefer minivan. So it's a race. Oh yeah, taking a road trip to the east coast next month, so I gotta move on it.
My latest was PA-NC. Not a bad drive. Teensy bits of body rust mostly from the high-moisture environment of it's life as a mobile detailing rig. When I crawl under it, it feels like I'm looking in a time machine from my PA perspective.
As an extreme generalization, follow the jetstream. The typical jet stream kinda goes from Seattle down to Oklahoma, then back up through Ohio. Don't look straight south, look south and east. VA, NC, SC, GA, KY, TN.
How far south?
Simplified answer: south of the Mason Dixon line.
Start with the Louisville market. Nashville is also a big market. Atlanta is a huge market.
Tom Suddard
Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
5/19/21 6:25 a.m.
Yeah, once you're getting on a plane anyway the difference between Ohio and Georgia is negligible. Start shopping wherever there's easy airport access as far south as possible.
Oh, and always run a carfax if you can't get detailed undercarriage photos. People usually bring their cars with them when they move, which means it's surprisingly common to find cars in Florida that came here from the rust belt.
I bought our last van from a forum member in North Carolina and brought it back to Michigan. It was worth every dime and the time to go get it. A few years later I had to put a new transmission in it and the local shop owner asked me why I'd bother spending that kind of money on a 2001 Astro. I told him to do it anyway and when I picked it up after the work was done he said "I can see why you spent the money on it.". I bought it with 100K miles on it and traded it in on a new truck in 2019 with 257K on the odo. Atlanta is a 12 hour drive and a fly-n-drive is even easier. You have lots of choice.
Tom Suddard said:
Oh, and always run a carfax if you can't get detailed undercarriage photos. People usually bring their cars with them when they move, which means it's surprisingly common to find cars in Florida that came here from the rust belt.
Ain't this the truth! Back when I was shopping for the E39, it was amazing how many of the cars we found for sale in central VA started life in the rusty northeast.
In reply to P3PPY :
Re: trip next month...
Rent a car rather than make a rushed purchase. Rental prices are based on supply and demand but reservations are free. So, as a contingency plan, make a reservation now and just cancel it if you buy something before.
Is that vacation to a rust free climate? Would there be any time to buy while on the vacation?
Is the idea of fixing the '08 T&C out of the realm of possibility? The non-running T&C is worth nothing. A trans repaired T&C is worth likely $5k minimum in this current market. So, I guess I am recommending fix and sell if you really don't want to keep it. Of course, this depends on how far gone the van is already and if it is a chassis worth invensting back into.
John Welsh said:
Is the idea of fixing the '08 T&C out of the realm of possibility? The non-running T&C is worth nothing. A trans repaired T&C is worth likely $5k minimum in this current market. So, I guess I am recommending fix and sell if you really don't want to keep it. Of course, this depends on how far gone the van is already and if it is a chassis worth invensting back into.
In normal times I'd say the transmission wouldn't be worth fixing...but these aren't normal times. If fixing can buy you the time to wait out the stupid car market, it might be worth doing.
Albany, NY to Detroit and back all in one swell foop. Woulda been easier if western NY didn't get hit by a storm and lost all their power (gas pumps). Hopped over to Canada but with no lights and no service I decided that's not the way to get home. Ended up heading south around some big lake in the way.
Sometimes it's just worth the effort.
P3PPY
Dork
5/19/21 7:29 p.m.
I did some checking on fix and sell. Im glad you mentioned it because that's normally the advice I give others! It doesn't look like fixing and selling it would work because of the condition of the van. Boring details:
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Not a lot to find on marketplace but one guy with the same van - minus my intermittent misfire, broken automatic door, rear ended tailgate, and so on - is asking $2,500. My price for xmission would be $650 for one local with 100k miles, could drive and find one for $500. I would be able to talk my BILs into helping with it some long weekend, don't have much desire tho, esp with the other stuff.
Otherwise I'm guessing I'm looking at $1,500 to have a shop source one and install. That's maybe $500 wiggle room to come out even.
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Im also so glad you guys mentioned fly and drive. I didn't have that in mind at all- I asked with the idea of "what's the least distance I can get a ride in order to get to no rust." Yeah that will potentially help.
Before I get too much further into the weeds I need to have it actually checked out to make sure I'm not just blowing some other symptom out of proportion.
TL;DR---
Fly and drive is a thing. Only if car is verified busted.
P3PPY
Dork
5/20/21 7:47 p.m.
Verified well enough - it's leaking coolant now. Done and done.
That said, I'll be posting a WTB thread now.
Last night my wife mentioned a 4 door wrangler, but at our $10k max that's a non-starter, and with three car seats, also a non-starter. Oh well
