What do you guys think of this one?

[Jackie]

My daughter and her husband had a little "mishap" on the road and ended up in a ditch in their Toyota Corolla. They got it towed and found out today that the engine will need to be replaced (or so they are told). I guess something got broke when they hit the ditch. $5,000 is the estimate...

I'd rather see them get a good running 4wd SUV as they sure do love to go camping a lot. Anyways, I found this:

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4787307272.html

What are you thoughts???

Thanks for advise.

[94ToyBear]

Stay away from the 4.7 motors. They have an upper oiling issue.
Sludged oil is common in the 4.7 motors and I think the 3.7 too.

[Jackie]

OK, Thanks. That's over my head but I'll take your word for it!

[94ToyBear]

Thats from my experience. Im sure others can chim in on this too

[Jackie]

Their Corolla is a 2000 model (I think) with about 100K miles on it. The $5K price tag for repair includes a new timing belt since it was time to do that anyways. The mechanic offered to buy the car as-is for $2K (but I'm not sure if that is a good deal or not). They might be better off paying for the repairs and getting that car back on the road until they can afford a newer car or SUV.

According to my daughter, they slid off the road at about 5 MPH and the impact was like hitting a curb when you didn't mean to. No big deal. But one wheel went over a fallen tree trunk and they were stuck until some guy with a truck and a winch showed up and pulled them out. The car still ran after that. They made it from Fairplay to about Baily when the car simply shut down and they had to call for a tow. The mechanic even said he is not sure exactly what failed or got broken and is still investigating. My daughter said the car made some noises that they assumed was their messed up bumper rubbing against something (not enough clearance to go over that tree so it got messed up too).

I feel bad for them. They are still newlyweds saving for a down-payment on a house. :frown:

[Jim]

From the sounds of it - I would not sell to the "mechanic". It might be wise to get a second opinion.

[Robert B]

i can not think of anything that would kill the motor from that especially since it still ran unless 1 they somehow bent the nuts out of the pulley on the crank (which means bent crank and will take the motor out if run) or 2 the oil pan had been punctured and it ran itself out of oil but it should have given check engine lights and warnings when the oil pressure dropped so i agree with jim get a second opinion but hey anything could have happened :)

[Jackie]

That's kinda what I was thinking (only without the knowledge to be able to name the parts that could have broke). I did guess the possibility that the oil leaked out and they blew the engine or that the simple impact of riding over that fallen tree cracked something. It was also very cold, so that could have played a small part in the damage. Casey did say it seemed to be running like normal with the exception of the strange noise that would come and go). It handled fine and was able to keep a normal driving speed until the entire car just simply shut down. They did check for evidence of leaking fluids after being yanked from the ditch and also after the car quit but could see no fluid of any kind to suggest a leak. :confused:

I'm going to tell her everything you guys have said. Thanks for all the advise! I will not share the Jeep link above with her because I know that's the kind of car she wants and it will just tempt her!

[MultiScuf]

Have them talk to Broadway Auto Tech great people they are my meches so I like them and in littleton.

[94ToyBear]

That dont sound right. Take oics and post if you can. MAYBE and im not sure if that year has an inertia switch that just happend to work late ??

[Robert B]

i know wire routing on cars is crazy so they might have just crushed some ans done some issue there does any have power??? if no then id say short which blew a fusable link one of the more common problems that cause shut downs and loss of power :) but until either you give more info or say its fixed i will not blab about random things that could be wrong lol cause i could go for a while :P

[Brad]

Where is the car Jackie?

[Jackie]

The car is in a shop in Denver. I don't know which one. They were going to think things over last night and weigh their options.

[94ToyBear]

2k for a 2000 Toyota corolla don't sound to bad of a deal find out the exact year and model.
Their Corolla is a 2000 model (I think) with about 100K miles on it. The $5K price tag for repair includes a new timing belt since it was time to do that anyways. The mechanic offered to buy the car as-is for $2K (but I'm not sure if that is a good deal or not). They might be better off paying for the repairs and getting that car back on the road until they can afford a newer car or SUV.

According to my daughter, they slid off the road at about 5 MPH and the impact was like hitting a curb when you didn't mean to. No big deal. But one wheel went over a fallen tree trunk and they were stuck until some guy with a truck and a winch showed up and pulled them out. The car still ran after that. They made it from Fairplay to about Baily when the car simply shut down and they had to call for a tow. The mechanic even said he is not sure exactly what failed or got broken and is still investigating. My daughter said the car made some noises that they assumed was their messed up bumper rubbing against something (not enough clearance to go over that tree so it got messed up too).

I feel bad for them. They are still newlyweds saving for a down-payment on a house. :frown:

[Rick]

my daughter had a 96 neon that got wrecked and insurance gave her 2500.....

[glacierpaul]

What is their insurance doing about it?