I have finished fixing up my brother’s car. It took a total of 3 days during this past week. Things that were changed were brake master cylinder, 3 tires and one wheel, front wheel alignment, driver side fog light and side reflector light, front head lights, and inspection sticker. I have driven the car a couple of times during this weekend and have seen dramatic improvements. I think this car would be a good starter car for someone who needs to go to work and run a few errands. The automobile still has some issues for it to be in top notch condition, but the car is still good enough to be used for atleast a year or two with basic maintenance performed on a regular basis.
Next Step- Selling the Car
There are a couple of options to sell the car; it could either be by autotrader, local newspaper, college paper and around college campuses, ebay, or word of month. I am not going to try all of these options, but will eventually once I start to buy and sell cars. This is going to be very important as I see which options are best as a cost/benefit test and this will also determine which cars are best suited to sell depending on their conditions, make and model, and so on.
Analysis Break Down:
I have spent a total of 5 hours working on the Nissan Altima, here is a break down of hours spent plus actually money spent due to either labor/cost of part.
Brake Master Cylinder: $62.77, time: 2 hours
The brake master cylinder was actually the second thing examined on the car. When I drove the car I noticed the pedal compressing to the bottom of the floor when pressed, but the vehicle stopped effectively. I then proceeded to examine the brake pads and noticed them being more than half way to the orginal thickness, so then I came to the conclusion that the brake master cylinder had to be changed and in the process I also changed the brake fluid.
Front Wheel Alignment: $50.00, time: 1 hour and 10 mins
I got the front wheel alignment done during work. No complaints, but I have to figure out a way to have somebody diagnose the car, fix the major problems including finding someone to also do the alignment, because those kind of things will take up my time. I will write later about what is the best way to determine if a mechanic is honest and worthy to work on your vehicle.
Used Wheel, Driver’s Fog Light, and Driver’s Side Reflector Light: $40.00, time 30 mins
I went to a local junkyard to get these parts. I had no problem finding what I needed, if they didn’t have what I wanted I would have asked them to look around various junkyards for the parts I was looking for.
3 used tires: $75.00, time 1 hour
Got what I needed and established a relationship with the owner, so I will use this place for future automobies that need tires.
New Head Lights: $145.99, tiem 1 hour
This is by far the part that makes the car stand out and also improved the lighting at night which was greatly needed.
The End Product:
