Asking for partner,
Her head gasket is blown on her Chevy Sonic 2013 and the repair will most likely cost $3-4k and take a week worth of time. She financed the car 3 years ago through CarMax and has 7k left on the loan to pay off.
My question is it worth it to repair this or is it better to trade it in for another used car? (Budget is $200-$300 per month). I am wondering since this same car also had a leaky radiator that she already payed for, and I am afraid of other issues popping up on what seems to be a unreliable car.
Thanks, please let me know if there is a better sub to ask this on if its not this one.
Head Gasket Blown – 7k left on loan for Chevy Sonic 2013
byu/prodacey inpersonalfinance
Posted by prodacey
23 Comments
>My question is it worth it to repair this or is it better to trade it in for another used car? (Budget is $200-$300 per month)
Do you have the cash to pay off the remaining $7k outstanding? Not a chance you will be able to buy a reliable used car, roll the negative equity of $7k into it, and still come out with a car payment in the $200-$300 range.
It sounds like cut your losses & run, but with one caveat.
She owes $7k + possibly $3.5k. I would see if Carmax will estimate trade-in with & without the blown head gasket. If the gap between quotes is more than $4k, have it fixed before trade-in.
I would also do some research in ‘total cost of ownership’ & ‘most reliable vehicles’ before purchasing anything.
I reccomend asking r/mechanicadvice as well. I will say that the estimate you quote is very high for just a head gasket. Even if it need ls a new head or machine work that’s pretty expensive. Hopefully you aren’t using a dealer for this. Have you asked about getting a used engine installed?
This is a very old economy car, so you need to expect and budget for repairs. That’s a major factor in the choice to replace vs repair.
As for the personal finance side, you’re kinda stuck. You either need to fix it or pay off the remainer of the loan before you sell/scrap it. I doubt you’ll be able to roll the negative equity into a new loan at a reasonable rate but it may be worth asking around. What’s her credit score? Are you married? How much savings does she have? Income?
Also, the fact you quoted your car budget as a monthly payment is a HUGE red flag. If you go into buying a new vehicle without considering the total price you’ll end up with a salesman stretching out a high-interest loan to 8 or more years just to meet your number. You’ll end up paying as much interest as the car is worth. That’s how car payments keep people poor and you need to break that cycle.
You owe 7k on the car and you owe the 3k repair regardless of you trading it in or not
Radiator with plastic tanks are 10 years average lifespan. It’s not that it’s unreliable, it’s that it’s old and parts are going to wear. Your best best is to repair the engine, pay it off while putting some effort into maintenance. Get the super deluxe AAA membership with max towing miles and a Bluetooth OBD2 code reader. You need to pay this loan off while getting maximum usage from this car until you’re bringing in more money. Rolling over negative equity if you get approved for it will bury you.
When Dave Ramsey talks about living on beans and rice I think back to COVID. All the convenient foods got bought first in the store. Bags of rice and beans were left. I had never cooked dry beans before but I bought them. I had an insta pot and Google. I found directions, followed them, my family loved the food and I learned a new skill. You need to expand your knowledge base and skills to get through this together.
You’re in a tough spot. The cost of the repair is near the total value of the car. A 2013 Chevy Sonic with no major issues is likely only a ~$4000 car on a good day. If you spend $3-4k to repair it, it will still only be a $4k car at best.
There’s really no good option here. You could probably only get maybe $1000 for the car as-is, maybe less, depending on the condition. Even if you sell/scrap the car you’d still be on the hook for the entire loan balance.
I don’t know that you would even be able to trade the car in with your negative equity position, at least not without buying a mucn more expensive car that is way beyond what she can afford and/or an extremely predatory loan that will just sink her further into the debt trap.
The lesson here is never, ever, EVER shop for cars on the basis of monthly payment. I’m willing to bet that was the trap she fell into when she bought the car.
Look for big cash back vehicles. There are a few out there to offset the negative equity.
Of course, what’s the credit score?
Especially a few evs
Fix the car and work to pay off the loan.
Buying another car and rolling in 7k of equity is a bad choice.
So she still owe 7k left after 3 years and it’s Chevy Sonic 2013?? That’s crazy to pay that much for a really crappy old car.
I bought my 2013 Jetta 30k miles in 2017 and paid 5.5K cash. Not a single issue since.
How do you owe$7k on a 13 year old car worth $2k.
Get an older Camry or Accord. They aren’t garbage
I’m going to put my mechanicadvise hat on. You say leaky radiator. If in the lifetime of the car the engine overheated you could have been on borrowed time. I don’t know what happens to a sonic when its engine over heats (ignoring the idiot lights and the gauge) but it is very common that the cylinder head warps (think bacon when it’s cold and uncooked to when you cook it it gets all wrinkly.) this can happen to the cylinder head and the block. Most likely just the head would warp. But making it seem the head gasket only is the problem. You can call around and get phone quotes but be sure to mention that you had radiator issues before. My guess is the head is warped and either a remanufactured head is needed or the head should go out to a machine shop for a cleanup pass due to warpage.
The sonic may have other modes of failure when overheating so be careful just throwing a head at it. Other things could be cracked block and now you’re looking at an engine swap.
3k does seem a bit high for a head gasket but if the quote says remanufactured head it could sound right. Autozone has a cylinder head for a little less than $400 for a random year sonic head so if your quote for a head is 800 ish it’s in the ball park if it includes a head.
This situation is posted almost every day. It’s an effect of the very high used car prices a few years ago, combined with the loan terms people agreed to.
Get more quotes from other mechanics. And then repair the vehicle. You don’t really have a better option. Pay the remaining balance down as fast as you can and drive the car into the ground to get your money’s worth out of it. Yes, it will need more repairs. That’s part of owning an old used car.
Fix the car….. drive it till it dies, or pay off the $7k and trade its in. The car is not worth much like it is, need to fix it to make it run before there is value.
You might have better luck with this on the r/askmechanics sub.
Long story short your in deep water as financing a 10 year old or more Chevy Sonic was an awful idea.
The car is basically worth nothing if it’s not fixed.
So you really only have 2 options.
1) fix it and keep rolling. This does not mean you wont have other issues. Small things are normal and expected like changing gaskets on hoses or small parts, battery, brakes. But a head gasket is a major failure.
2) cut your losses and roll the negative equity into a new(or used) vehicle. This will result in a much higher payment. This time make sure to buy something reliable. I’d stay away from any American made cars as they aren’t reliable.. And anything from Europe as the parts are expensive. Japanese is really the best way to go. Honda, Toyota etc.
A head gasket is like $23. Grab a set of wrenches
Wow. Took a loan on a 10 year old car. Yikes. And an entry level car not necessarily known for longevity.
What will trade be worth in as is condition and do you have the money to pay the difference to pay off the loan?
3-4k is pretty high for a head gasket. You could pretty much get a small block installed for that.
Fix the car. Pay off the loan. Next time look at lower cost cars and shop for lower interest rates.
Can you get another car for less than 10k? That car is worth little and you are in a hole. Fix it drive as long as possible. Don’t go to the dealer shop around.
I don’t know what you should do, but I had a 2013 Sonic LT with manual transmission and turbocharged engine, and it was one of the most fun cars I’ve had. I miss it, to be honest.
It wasn’t actually fast, but it felt fast. I also saw 50mpg on it once in a while if the conditions were perfect.
Yes it is worth the repair because you will have a working car at the end of it.
Get rid of it. These cars are notoriously problematic in the long term. Next it’ll be the timing chain. I own one but have had it since new. Even with regular good maintenance and care it still just haunts me with problems. I keep it because I own it. It sucks because I know carmax screws people left and right re-selling these things. The resale on a sonic (or cruze) in fair condition is only a couple thousand tops.
EDIT: financially defaulting on the loan sucks but dumping more money into this thing is worse. Don’t buy from carmax. Research better cheap cars. This and the cruze and anything with the ecotec engines aren’t worth it. Look into Toyota and Honda from early 2000s.
You don’t have the cash to cover the $7k but you have the money for the repair. So you repair it. Then your gf needs to get a second job to pay off this car ASAP. Then she can save up for a Corolla.