Postby hutchscout » Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:19 am
I'm curious to know what others might do in my situation. I have a 98 Pathfinder SE with 291,000 miles. I bought it new, and maintained it very well. The engine runs great, and when I recently redid the entire suspension it felt as tight and smooth as new. I hoped to get another year or so out of it, till facing buying a new car.
I just lost my transmission, and my mechanic says putting in a used one will cost about $2500. I'm not sure what to do. One the one hand, it's hard to justify putting so much money into a car with such high mileage. On the hand, I recently put a lot of money into the suspension, the engine doesn't burn oil, and I can't afford a new car right now.
Would this be throwing good money after bad, or a reasonable gamble given that the car was running great (till the transmission went?) Can a 98 Pathfinder engine go to 300K, and beyond?
Thanks for your input.