[sparkman]

Alright guys, many of you know the issues my Cruze has been having, and I don't know whether to ditch the car or hang on to it. It has been almost one year since I purchased it, and the water pump and trunk switch went out, both visor mirror covers have broken, my transmission has been rebuilt once and needs either a new one or rebuilt again, my door speaker is shorted out, then a wheel stud broke, and then changing the spark plugs turned into a nightmare after the boots tore on me. Like I said, I've had this car for a year and it's spent ONE MONTH of that time in the shop.

But, here's the kicker. Over the summer I put 4 brand new Goodyear tires on, new brakes, spark plugs, and a soon to be new coil pack.

My powertrain warranty expires in March, and I still owe on the car, but have equity in it for a trade in. As soon as the warranty expires, down goes the value.

I don't know what to do. I mean, I put money in the thing and part of me would hate to get rid of it. But I really don't want a huge repair bill after my warranty expires either (I still haven't experienced the valve cover pcv issue yet, and then TerryK2003's cylinder issue has me a bit paranoid as well)

What would you do? Most people are telling me to get rid of it. But, like I said, I put money into the stupid thing.

Help a dumb college kid out.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[sparkman]

Oh, and I just hit 40,000 miles yesterday.

 

[Eddy Cruze]

How can you owe on your Cruze yet have equity for a trade in? Also I never knew when the Powertrain warranty expires the car becomes any less valuable?

 

[ChevyGuy]

How can you owe on your Cruze yet have equity for a trade in? Also I never knew when the Powertrain warranty expires the car becomes any less valuable?

I think he's saying the car has some value now, but not as much if the powertrain warranty expires. I can't say as I've heard of it either, but it does make some sense.

I'd like to think the car has some solid life left in it, but it seems that some cars are just cursed. That bit about the transmission worries me.

 

[NickD]

Really needed a reliable car when I was going to college, so none of this hundred buck stuff, had to get one for 400 bucks.

If you got 40K miles from those OE tires, tells me you drove it carefully, some don't even get close to this number with the crap they are putting on these new vehicles.

Been criticized by some for using anti-seize on my spark plug threads and dielectric grease on the boots, but not some young stupid kid that doesn't have any experience. Also anti-seized the lug bolts. Daughter paid to have her tires professionally rotated, but was having brake drag problems in her new car. Three different methods to rotate tires, don't know which on they used, Left side bolts were torqued higher than 250 ft-lbs, right side were ready to fall off, threads were already rusty, anti-seized those. Some ding bat over tightened yours?

Camshaft cover, water pump, electric power steering warranty is good for ten years. Rear trunk switch is a gamble, mine was moisture proof, others got crap.

Do you have an MT or an AT, if at AT, and didn't check the fluid cold, they caused the problem. Ever since electronically controlled transmissions came out, more people been screwed paying for a rebuilt when the real problems was a corroded switch or a connector, but no profit in repairing those. Also a hail of a lot cheaper to manufacture, 89 cent microcontroller replaces all that previous mechanical stuff, but they really skyrocketed the price on this crap.

How do you know your speaker is shorted, could be opened or the radio is shot.

NADA, Edmonds, and Kelly can go to hail with there prices, never even got close to the published trade in value, even for a perfect vehicle and the price tags you see on the lot are a lot higher. But this is why they call them dealers, screwers is a more appropriate word.

 

[sparkman]

I think he's saying the car has some value now, but not as much if the powertrain warranty expires. I can't say as I've heard of it either, but it does make some sense.

I'd like to think the car has some solid life left in it, but it seems that some cars are just cursed. That bit about the transmission worries me.

The car is worth almost 9k when appraised for a trade in by my dealer and I owe around 5k on it.

I was told by the dealer that the car is worth more and easier for the dealer to sell if it had warranty remaining.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[obermd]

Given the repeated transmission issue, which is pointing to an "external to the transmission" issue that hasn't been diagnosed I think I would trade the car.

 

[diesel]

I vote trade in. Try to find a new one with the 16% or 20% rebate if that's still available. You would still possibly retain some equity.

 

[jblackburn]

I'm a bit scared of owning mine outside of powertrain warranty given the stupid transmission issues I've had.

Other than that, I don't really think anything wouldn't be something I can handle myself, and I like the idea of not having a car payment anymore. I'd rather use that money and travel, get my money's worth out of the car, and then buy something newer/fancier in a few years. Something that can outrun a Prius, too.

 

[chevrasaki]

I'm a bit scared of owning mine outside of powertrain warranty given the stupid transmission issues I've had.

Other than that, I don't really think anything wouldn't be something I can handle myself, and I like the idea of not having a car payment anymore. I'd rather use that money and travel, get my money's worth out of the car, and then buy something newer/fancier in a few years. Something that can outrun a Prius, too.

I hear prius' can be pretty fast, you may want to get a Z06 just to be on the safe side.

 

[jblackburn]

I hear prius' can be pretty fast, you may want to get a Z06 just to be on the safe side.

That sounds like an excellent justification for one.

 

[cruze01]

I'm still struggling with the same question. I do love the car, its fun to drive, looks good and good MPG but the reliability issues have me worried. I don't wan to be spending major bucks on it when the warranty runs out. I know its going to need another water pump at some point and even though its been rebuilt the trans still feels funny to me. Not to mention all the issues others have reported, I feel like I'm just biding my time till those things start to surface. I've still got 30K to think about it but right now I'm leaning toward trading it off.

 

[jmlo96]

Alright guys, many of you know the issues my Cruze has been having, and I don't know whether to ditch the car or hang on to it. It has been almost one year since I purchased it, and the water pump and trunk switch went out, both visor mirror covers have broken, my transmission has been rebuilt once and needs either a new one or rebuilt again, my door speaker is shorted out, then a wheel stud broke, and then changing the spark plugs turned into a nightmare after the boots tore on me. Like I said, I've had this car for a year and it's spent ONE MONTH of that time in the shop.

But, here's the kicker. Over the summer I put 4 brand new Goodyear tires on, new brakes, spark plugs, and a soon to be new coil pack.

My powertrain warranty expires in March, and I still owe on the car, but have equity in it for a trade in. As soon as the warranty expires, down goes the value.

I don't know what to do. I mean, I put money in the thing and part of me would hate to get rid of it. But I really don't want a huge repair bill after my warranty expires either (I still haven't experienced the valve cover pcv issue yet, and then TerryK2003's cylinder issue has me a bit paranoid as well)

What would you do? Most people are telling me to get rid of it. But, like I said, I put money into the stupid thing.

Help a dumb college kid out.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Always remember that all cars have problems. Yes, the transmission issue certainly should not have happened and it sounds like you had most of the early glitches. But some of the other issues, like the wheel stud breaking, easily could happen to any vehicle.

I'm not sure if its possible, but have you considered looking into an extended warranty? This way you will not have to worry about any problems in the future. Plus, if you buy a new vehicle one your insurance will go up and you will have to pay sales tax all over again. Odds are that all the issues the Cruze is having will be remedied soon enough, and you should have a trouble free car for a long time to come.

PS- I found a fix to the spark plug boot problem. Check out the thread I wrote up for it.

 

[sparkman]

Always remember that all cars have problems. Yes, the transmission issue certainly should not have happened and it sounds like you had most of the early glitches. But some of the other issues, like the wheel stud breaking, easily could happen to any vehicle.

I'm not sure if its possible, but have you considered looking into an extended warranty? This way you will not have to worry about any problems in the future. Plus, if you buy a new vehicle one your insurance will go up and you will have to pay sales tax all over again. Odds are that all the issues the Cruze is having will be remedied soon enough, and you should have a trouble free car for a long time to come.

PS- I found a fix to the spark plug boot problem. Check out the thread I wrote up for it.

I understand that. But like I said, owning it less than a year and basically throwing a payment out the window because it was in the shop for a month really ticked me off. I checked on the extended warranty this afternoon, the finance guy still has to get back to me yet, thanks for the information!

You sure the odds are in my favor after all this? LOL

****! I just bought the part too! Too late, I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time that it happens (which I'm sure it will).

I've been told by a few people that I'm probably going to have to pull the plug at some point, sooner better than later. With everything else that could go wrong, should I be thinking about the money I could be saving rather than putting more money into the car?

What do the rest of you think about the extended warranty option?

 

[jblackburn]

I understand that. But like I said, owning it less than a year and basically throwing a payment out the window because it was in the shop for a month really ticked me off. I checked on the extended warranty this afternoon, the finance guy still has to get back to me yet, thanks for the information!

You sure the odds are in my favor after all this? LOL

****! I just bought the part too! Too late, I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time that it happens (which I'm sure it will).

I've been told by a few people that I'm probably going to have to pull the plug at some point, sooner better than later. With everything else that could go wrong, should I be thinking about the money I could be saving rather than putting more money it into the car?

My problem with replacing (my own) the car is that I don't know that giving it up for something brand new would end up being THAT much more reliable either.

My brain says "buy something cheap and reliable". So, probably a Honda Accord Sport. I'm about to be 30, I guess I may as well just buy something sensible.

My heart wants:
-Mercedes CLA/C300
-GMC Canyon
-Ford Fusion Sport
-BMW 328

But honestly, I like the idea of not having a car payment and the Cruze needing the occasional thing here and there every now and then. Aside from the stupid transmission, the rest of the car really has been very good to me, and I think will continue to be so (although there will be the need for a suspension re-vamp in the next 1-2 years).

 

[sparkman]

My problem with replacing (my own) the car is that I don't know that giving it up for something brand new would end up being THAT much more reliable either.

My brain says "buy something cheap and reliable". So, probably a Honda Accord Sport. I'm about to be 30, I guess I may as well just buy something sensible.

My heart wants:
-Mercedes CLA/C300
-GMC Canyon
-Ford Fusion Sport
-BMW 328

But honestly, I like the idea of not having a car payment and the Cruze needing the occasional thing here and there every now and then. Aside from the stupid transmission, the rest of the car really has been very good to me, and I think will continue to be so (although there will be the need for a suspension re-vamp in the next 1-2 years).

Fair enough. I was thinking about trading mine in on a Ford Fusion with the 1.6L EcoBoost.

The guy just got back to me with an Allstate Vehicle Service Contract, I could get the "Premier Care" package with a 5 year plan for around $1500, and the 4-year plan around $1400, both with a $100 deductible. The warranty ends at 100k miles or when the time expires, whichever comes first. Have a look, what do you guys think?

 

[shockz]

Get rid of it. Especially if you're not upside down on that loan. Not many people are in a good position like that. Any equity you actually have in it can go toward a down payment on something else. Sure, you put work in it and got new brakes and tires, but those won't do you any good when your transmission breaks down or something else goes on an unreliable car. If you are someone who sticks to brand loyalty, there are great deals around on left over 2015 Cruzes and Malibus, I imagine the 2016.5 models are going to start getting price breaks as well, but you have the warning signs, and aren't upside down... get rid of it!

 

[jblackburn]

Fair enough. I was thinking about trading mine in on a Ford Fusion with the 1.6L EcoBoost.

The guy just got back to me with an Allstate Vehicle Service Contract, I could get the "Premier Care" package with a 5 year plan for around $1500, and the 4-year plan around $1400, both with a $100 deductible. The warranty ends at 100k miles or when the time expires, whichever comes first. Have a look, what do you guys think?

The 1.6 is a piece of junk; the 1.5 (2014+) is a much better engine. Plus the 2013's definitely had some first-year issues.

Service contract...I wouldn't.

 

[obermd]

Sparkman, have you actually looked at your warranty coverage? Create an account at https://my.chevrolet.com/home/?evar18=ch_header_link and add your car by VIN. Then look at the actual remaining coverages on the car.

 

[ChevyGuy]

From what I've been advised, go with a service contract from GM or Ally, or don't.