[Fry]

Here’s the basics. 2013 cruze eco, 222k miles, 6 speed. Car will not pass inspection due to P0299 and P0420. Had it evaluated by a mechanic with a bore scope, smoke machine, and diagnostic tools. He said the cat is bad, won’t store any oxygen and oscillates too much at idle, and steady rpm. He also said he detected minor boost leaks at the inter cooler connections and throttle body. No exhaust leaks. The water pump is leaking, every oil seal is leaking, axle seals are leaking, as well as a crack in the turbo housing near the waste gate, which also sticks. And as icing on the cake there is a nail in the tire. Should I just cut my losses and move on? Worth fixing and selling? A cat from GM alone is 1500 bucks. Turbo another 500 plus all the peripheral hoses. Opinions please. Thanks.

 

[geddinwk]

You can buy a remanufactured engine from GM or third party for around the parts + labor it would take to fix all of that. Up to you. At this point I would honestly consider my personal finances, market conditions, and what I would be replacing it with. Do I want to keep my fuel economy, do I want to switch to an automatic trans? If I had to trade my cruze right now I know I want a bronco or cadillac lol. But I'll keep what I have personally because I know I'm doing a lot of highway driving in the coming months and my cruze is amazing on gas

 

[Valpo Cruze]

It will cost more to repair than it’s worth. Trade it in

 

[Fry]

You can buy a remanufactured engine from GM or third party for around the parts + labor it would take to fix all of that. Up to you. At this point I would honestly consider my personal finances, market conditions, and what I would be replacing it with. Do I want to keep my fuel economy, do I want to switch to an automatic trans? If I had to trade my cruze right now I know I want a bronco or cadillac lol. But I'll keep what I have personally because I know I'm doing a lot of highway driving in the coming months and my cruze is amazing on gas

You can’t argue with the mpg. I still routinely get 43-45 highway going 75-80 in a pack of cars. One reason I’m hesitant to get rid of it. I might get something else and fix this up with economically sourced parts because everything else still works, even the a/c. It’s got all the original shocks, clutch, rear brakes, radiator, water pump, wheel bearings, engine and trans. Only recently did I have to replace the headlight bulbs, which were original.

 

[jimmyc]

As mentioned before I would check into another motor. Junklyard motors,(if there are any) are very questionable. I've had 2 re-manufactured motors and 1 transmission from JASPER over the years.

 

[Cruzing12]

222k miles on the stock clutch? Well there's another thing to go on the list of repairs.


And if oil is leaking out of every office it sounds like the PCV system has gone. Usually that's a fix kit, or a new valve cover AND intake manifold.

 

[Fry]

222k miles on the stock clutch? Well there's another thing to go on the list of repairs.


And if oil is leaking out of every office it sounds like the PCV system has gone. Usually that's a fix kit, or a new valve cover AND intake manifold.

You are correct. I did the fix kit, valve cover and corrugated hose a few years back which did fix the pcv issues, but the damage has already been done to all the seals. I know the biggest leak is the oil cooler. As for the clutch I am surprised it’s lasted as long as it has but most of my miles are highway commuting 120 miles a day for over 6 years. But the front brakes lasted 207k.

 

[Fry]

As mentioned before I would check into another motor. Junklyard motors,(if there are any) are very questionable. I've had 2 re-manufactured motors and 1 transmission from JASPER over the years.

That’s something I hadn’t considered. A remanufactured engine. You and the previous commenter are suggesting that because it comes with a new turbo and all the hoses and water pump? And might end up being cheaper? Plus the engine itself is refreshed?

 

[JLL]

At that mileage, I would trade it in. Especially if I lived in an emissions testing county, which fortunately I do not.

 

[jblackburn]

I've seen the cats for under a thousand. But yeah, I think I'd trade this one in. It's a lot of stuff to fix.

 

[12CruzeLB]

Here’s the basics. 2013 cruze eco, 222k miles, 6 speed. Car will not pass inspection due to P0299 and P0420. Had it evaluated by a mechanic with a bore scope, smoke machine, and diagnostic tools. He said the cat is bad, won’t store any oxygen and oscillates too much at idle, and steady rpm. He also said he detected minor boost leaks at the inter cooler connections and throttle body. No exhaust leaks. The water pump is leaking, every oil seal is leaking, axle seals are leaking, as well as a crack in the turbo housing near the waste gate, which also sticks. And as icing on the cake there is a nail in the tire. Should I just cut my losses and move on? Worth fixing and selling? A cat from GM alone is 1500 bucks. Turbo another 500 plus all the peripheral hoses. Opinions please. Thanks.

TRADE IT IN NOW. Look at the book value and you'll be lucky to get $2K for it. It has served it's mission well. I just moved on from a very similar situation. Cruze was my daily commuter and that was all. Cut my losses at 200K miles (tired of repairs) and traded in for a plug-in hybrid. Life goes on!...

 

[DWSCruze2012]

Advertise it as is, with pictures and highlight goodpoints and ALSO list the bad points. IF you can get enough money from a rust free otherwise great shell, then use that money to buy one with 100k on it.

Personally, my 1.8L non-turbo has moved past 100k without even a hint of a problem. I think GM - and all car man ufacturers - know that a turbo complicates things so much that they just don't last as long as non-turbo.

I guess a lot of people LOVE the extra horsepower, but I think it is ridiculous to sacrifice simplicity and reliability for those rare times you go drag racing or need to pass someone where there is really not enough rom ahead. It is not a high performance Camaro no matter what you do to it and you will seldom if ever beat someone in a race who truly knows how to hop up the motor.

Are you still paying for the car and cannot get out from under it? I know more than one person with a turbo-charged motor in otherwise beautiful cars that are in that same predicament. Bout the only way out (Not counting rich relatives who love you) is to go to a dealer and somehow get a super economy car like an old Mitsubishi Mirage and not increase your payment or insurance too much. The bad decision was getting a turbo, not understanding how to maintain it and thinking it would last.

It is heartbreaking to see people saddled with the disappointment of a broken car when they have payments which have over extended themselves (I AM NOT saying that is you FRY, I do not even know you) and nowhere to turn.

Cars wear out. I think 12CruzeLB has good advice, although I think less than $1,000 is all you can expect. Same for JLL... Sell. Unless you have a garage and the tools that is!

I personally COULD fix it, if I still had my garage and those tools, and it would be fun. Of course it would not likely have piled up so many problems as I would have fixed them as they came up... like the farmers axe: One New blade and 4 new handles.