ST Alpha - "Okay, so. I have an old car that needs repairs. Its current failure mode, combined with known mechanical issues, renders it unsafe to drive." (Reading a Post)

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Okay, so. I have an old car that needs repairs. Its current failure mode, combined with known mechanical issues, renders it unsafe to drive.

Posted by Beryllium (aka grayman) Apr 1 '23, 14:23

Current failure mode: steering locks up for 1 second every 5 to 10 seconds. Unsure what the cause is.

Pre-existing mechanical issues: control arms and bushing rods or whatever they're called need to be replaced. (Plus it needs new tires)

The mechanical issues could be causing the steering issues, though I'm not entirely convinced that they're not separate problems.

Anyway. I have to call the dealership to schedule the repair, then get it towed from my driveway to there. I think I can get BCAA to tow it.

But I don't have the necessary resolve to set all that up. Especially when I can pretty much guarantee that the repair cost exceeds the resale value of the car.

I just want to crawl into bed all day/week/year.

Responses:

To be clear, this post isn't about car repair, it is about mental health. -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:48 5
- if you believe that you can sort this all out (which you can), just focus on how great you'll feel once you do, (which you will) -- nm - mud Apr 1, 15:01 2
  - But will I, though? I suppose I'll be relieved that it's done. But I'll be annoyed at the cost. - Beryllium Apr 1, 15:03 1
    - my (abundant) experience with procrastination is all about the relief and satisfaction that eventually follows. -- nm - mud Apr 1, 15:07
- its a whole lot easier to talk about mechanical problems than mental -- nm - zeitgeist Apr 1, 14:53 1
  - Indeed -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 15:01
Uh have you had the control arms (or bushings really) looked at lately? That’s “wheels fall off the car in motion” bad. -- nm - spamlet Apr 1, 14:38 2
- Well that's why I'm not driving it :) -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:38 1
  - Oh gotcha. I thought the steering issue was the reason. - spamlet Apr 1, 15:09
I mean, that is always the crisis point of car ownership. When is it time to call it quits on one? Same. -- nm - Qale Apr 1, 14:26 5
- And as much as I'd like to replace it with my ebike, or a bakfiets-style cargo bike, the main reason I need it ... - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:34 4
  - I face a similar situation in that I know I could use the Houston public transportation system. Do I really want to have to depend on that? -- nm - Qale Apr 1, 14:42 3
    - Yeah, the bus is sort of an option for me, but tough to pack a ton of sailing gear on it. -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:44 2
      - (Plus, you know, pandemic) -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:44 1
        
        Not so much pandemic here. More like heat/humidity, how long it takes. -- nm - Qale Apr 1, 15:06
never heard of an intermittent steering lockup before, ignition system? computer chip? everything sounds like 5k or so -- nm - zeitgeist Apr 1, 14:26 2
- Yeah, on a 2005 Mazda3 -- nm - Beryllium Apr 1, 14:31 1
  - have you googled to see if there are known issues. try a reddit mazda group. -- nm - zeitgeist Apr 1, 14:41

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Okay, so. I have an old car that needs repairs. Its current failure mode, combined with known mechanical issues, renders it unsafe to drive.

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