Firstly ignore the "genius" idea to total your car.

Now onto the meat of the situation. If you (and your family) dont have the knowledge then yes you need to take it to a shop. I would advise however to find someone (friend family member etc) that is knowledgeable and offer to pay in beer and manual labor to learn. As in a "hey im having xxx issue ill supply the beer/weed/hookers if you come and help" and LEARN from them, also asking if you can come help when THEY are having car issues can be a great knowledge booster. A few years ago my knowledge of car repairs was limited to adding oil and gas. Now ive done several engine/tranny swaps, and replaced just about any part you can think of either on my car or a friends. Dont be afraid to ask questions at other sites. askmehelpdesk.com is a great one. you wont get the answer 100% of the time but any number of times it can give you info you didnt know already.

Also if i were you i would do a radiator flush(kit can be purchased at any automotive store) because the extra preasure in your system could just be buildup. just follow the directions on the packaging and make sure not to burn yourself.

finally if your looking for a 90's model car i would have to strongly advise against honda, the 90's model hondas have a huge number of manufacture defects in them that get to be a real pain in the ass. That being said toyota/honda IS the way to go. OR if you can find a 88 or later buick they are actually rather reliable as well and overall probably the easiest car ive ever worked on. i mean ffs a intake, 5 12mm bolts, a tensioner and a hose to remove to change a waterpump?! Its seriously the easiest waterpump to change ive ever seen OR heard of. Hell my dads been working on all his own cars since he was 15 and HE didnt believe me when i told him, i had to actually SHOW him. (model in question is a 88, i know they eventually changed the design, but i dont know what the year range is).

Any used car even one with 50k miles on it is going to have issues, so the primary thing to look for is:good engine/trans, breaks(depending on style and whats wrong this can be VERY expensive and 100% requires a shop in some cases, such as 90 model hondas), and good glass. but even with these things even "normal" maintenance such as tires, changing of fluids/flushes, the odd piece of gear failing(alternator, water pump, sensors galore, computers, etc) can and will cost you 1k+ a year to drive. So often the question to ask yourself is not DOES this car have something wrong with it, but more of a what will it cost to get it to where it wont ahve(or shouldnt have) any major problems for the next year. Then taking that price and figuring out what you could buy for that kind of cash and what problems would THAT car have. In other words if it will cost you say 2K to get that car to where it is truly dependable, thats 2.8k spent. generally speaking to get a car with NO known issues is going to run 2.5-3.5k, yes blue book value IS important when reselling, its NOT important when considering a repair. For instance using my now defunct 92 honda accord, BB is around 1500 on it, but this doesnt really matter because ANY car i buy for 1500 is going to have some major issues that need to be repaired right away. So the number that actually matters is what would it take to bring this car up to a fully working reliable piece of transportation. so costs:fix manufacture defect in trunk lining ~50$, replace spark plugs+wires ~100$, replace front windshield 300$, replace all 4 roters and 4 sets of breaks 600-800$(this is due to the back roters, it requires a special machine to take them off/put them on and even then is considered a pain in the ass, so mechanics charge a LOT), new water tank, engine/tran flush, new air and oil filters, replace gas pump/gas filter, STILL havent figured out of i have a compression problem in my #1 cylinder or if it is just the badly needed spark plugs/wires so maybe that repair as well...., and my 4th new head gasket since owning it oh and a new battery. so lets call it 2K with all the labor being done by me except with the breaks/front window. in a shop id say more like 3-4k to get it all done. considering i can get 500$ for it as a junker, its a MUCH better idea to simply sell it and spend that 2k plus the 500 on a used car with less miles and few to no known issues.

This ofc is where knowing your mechanics comes in handy, because otherwise you have to take it to a shop OR two shops to get appraisals on what all is wrong plus possibly having it towed to them that you have to add in. Yes at this point it sounds like your stuck taking it to a shop regardless, to even find out if its WORTH fixing. However chances are if your only two issues are head/alt bracket it will be worth while to repair those pieces and keep driving. Also i wanted to ask(and god i know this has gone on for forever) is your bracket welded to the block or bolted? Also keep in mind when getting parts from a junk yard if the cars have been in the north rust WILL be a big issue, so its often better to buy metal parts from southern states or new, as the used parts are going to have the same rust issues that your bracket has already suffered.

the bracket is welded to the block and will need to be custom fabricated because my model vehicle is soo old/rare. Its harder to find parts for this thing when shit like that goes. I also need new tires, new lights, waiting on the book to fix the horn, it needs a new water pump, spark plugs and shit. The car runs and drives but Like i said this thing if i drive it in this condition for a couple months the car will be dead. On top of this i need to come up with about 700 bucks now for court fees cause i was at a party the other week and the cops showed up and i got charged with posession of marijuana

LOLolololololollololollloll shoulda traded the car for weed lolol

should of stuck it up your butt haha

Looks like you will need to sell that car now

$700!?!? Are you pleading guilty and the $700 is fines? That's a lot for fines.

Could be worse

http://norml.org/laws/item/florida-pena ... ory_id=852

It can always be worse. Sucks to hear you're gonna have drugs on your record Clorox. Just don't do any more stupid shit. As long as you have 0 charges(of any kind) within the next 3 years, you can get them vacated. Do everything you can to make sure you make it that 3 years.

Shit, I wish I was that lucky. I have to go to jail on May 14th for 6 months...or come up with $2700. Which is most likely not going to happen.

So... I'm a little late for this but...

It might be your power supply...

And really man? I F*CKING told you so many times to lay off the weed yet you do it still... Idk how much money or how fucked up you are going to allow your life to get before you realize that smoking weed isn't an occupation. It's because of duck head ideas like this that we are having to pay for people to stay at home and smoke weed while we are getting taxed to help...

I digress but I hope that needing 700 dollars for this shit will wake you up but u will probably be reading this while smoking a blunt so F*CK it

lol ive smoked for years.. pretty hard to get caught.. unless.. lol

If you were at a party and not driving, why didn't you just get rid of the weed by flushing it or stashing it somewhere?

http://archive.slickdeals.net/f/1286939-Should-I-burn-my-car-to-get-out-of-my-loan-payment

Now more than ever.

But on a serious note about the green. Just play the game and you will get it expunged if its your first time offense at least that what happened to me. The 700 for court cost is the least of your worries right now you will be required depending on the lawyer you get, about 12 piss test at 25-30 a pop, a substance abuse class and intake (lie your ass off for this so you get the 12 hour and not 24 hour) that was 175 back in 2005 and 360 for the class plus all the court cost every time you show up. good luck

This is Clorox we're talking about here

Touche.

Man F*CK Florida!!! How much did you have? couple grams...

Come to cali...

As of January 1, 2011, possession of one ounce (28.5 gms) or less of marijuana is an infraction, punishable by a maximum $100 fine (plus fees)
with no criminal record under Ca Health & Safety Code 11357b. With added fees, the cost can be as high as $485.

http://www.canorml.org/camjlaws.html

I got stopped once with some weed in the car(about 6-7grams). Cop just made me smash my pipe and grind the weed in the asphalt with my foot. Then sent me on my way. lol

Later that evening Casey was back on the scene with tweezers, a magnifying glass, and a portable hoover vacuum.

Nah
as a dedicated weed smoker he was actually caught attempting to light up on the pavement and smoke it that way

I would say, if you are going to buy another vehicle, go with something American made. That way, if you need repairs done on it, you can take it anywhere to get it fixed and the parts for it aren't that expensive. Buying a Toyota or Honda with over 140k miles on it sounds like a good deal, but trust me these cars have overheating issues. The best fix for these kind of cars are to have the fan on the radiator running all the time, so you can hook the power up to something like the power windows that come on when you turn the ignition. Save yourself a hassle, and buy a Chevy or something. Cavaliers around 2003-2007 are fairly priced and parts are widely available. You may be able to junk that car for about 300.00. Junkers will offer that much.