As regular readers will know, one of my kidneys was removed in late September. Close to a month later, things are on the mend, but painfully slowly (emphasis on the "painfully" sometimes!).
Some of the surgery scars are healing nicely, to the point that they're almost closed with minimal scab left. Others - including the largest one - are unfortunately taking rather longer to close up. I'm told that's inevitable, due to natural movement of my body as I walk around or turn over in my sleep, but it's nevertheless irritating me with the slowness of the process. To add to the fun (?), those bigger scars are itching intensely as the skin grows over the areas where it had been cut open. I'm constantly having to fight the urge to scratch them. Keeping them covered helps, and keeps out the dirt, but then they don't dry out, either, which appears to prolong the healing process. Catch-22, anyone?
The internal injuries caused by taking out the kidney appear to be well on the mend. The initial pain and "hollowness" I felt have largely ended, and the hollow left in my abdomen by the sudden absence of a kidney is "balancing out" with the rest of my belly. I'm on a lifting restriction of not more than ten pounds for another six weeks at least, and I have to be careful to observe that; I've slipped up a couple of times, and the sliced muscles let me know very sharply that I shouldn't do that again. Apparently I'll be allowed to lift up to 20-25 pounds by mid- to late November, which will help me get back to normal in helping around the house. All being well, the recovery process should be complete early next year.
Thank you, yet again, to all of you who've helped with the costs of this operation, and with your good wishes and prayers. It's become a cliche to say "I couldn't do this without you", but that's the plain and simple truth of the matter. I don't have family in the USA, but I have a support network of readers and online friends and acquaintances, and you've all helped me to get over this particular hump. I remain very grateful to you all.
Now, if I may, a quick question to the car aficionados among us. Our 2014 Nissan Pathfinder SUV has just begun to show front suspension problems, which I'll have checked out today. The irritating thing is that this will be the third time that we've had problems in that area (most recently just over a year ago), and fixing them is not cheap (including labor, over $2K in the past, and with tariffs and other increases, perhaps over $3K today). The vehicle is about to turn over 180K miles, and is running well apart from the suspension issues. My dilemma is this: is it worth sinking another $3K+ into a known issue that may well recur in 1-2 years time, and keep the vehicle running, or is it better to trade it in whilst the rest of it is in very good condition, and find a newer and more reliable ride? I can see pro's and con's either way. Based on your knowledge and experience of the car market, what would you recommend? Please let us know in Comments. (And, just to reassure anyone who's worrying, no, we won't use any funds donated for surgical costs to pay for the vehicle!)
Thanks again, everyone.
Peter
14 comments:
I would be interested to see what others think would be affordable and reliable. The Honda Passport and Ford Ranger look to be possibilities.
Look into red light therapy for scar healing. The Texas sun might help too.
Was there a warranty on your previous work, either parts or labor? And what work was done? Unless you're going off road or hitting a lot of curbs/potholes or pushing high 5 to 6 figure mileage in a year, there's no reason for the issue to reappear so quickly (provided the same one[s]).
Look at pricing on what you want vs what you can get for this one... I think all used cars are pricey right now, and newer car just come with as if not more pricey computer and sensor issues than your current mechanical ones. And if you're honest, and issues you disclose will be deducted from your current vehicle's sale price.
The nice part about driving older cars in TX is that you can keep driving them so long as you maintain them since so little rust, and little rust also makes maintaining them much easier as well.
IMO, if looking for a forever car with modern safety features, early to mid 2000s is where it's at.
Can you elaborate on what in the front end needs attending? 40 yrs of experience Automotive Engineer might be able to help answer questions and provide advice. The short answer is 180k miles is end of life for most vehicles. But this gen Pathfinder is a very good model. If the engine, transmission, driveline and rearend are ok and not making noises then fixing the front end should be ok. It depends on what needs fixing. Let your readership know.
Spin Drift
PS: have you owned it since new?
That's a hard one.... if this is a recurring problem area for this model year car then. Find something you like and sell this one. Used car market is weird right now.. prices seem to be down a little but there isn't much decent available "at least in our area"
If this was a fix once issue then I would be ambivalent. nissans in general will do 300,000 miles.
In a quick look at the car... not sure what engine you have or other details but over all they are known for issues with ball joints, control arm, strut sway bar link issues. However that doesn't seem to rise to all the freaking time issues. They have recalls out on the transmissions and it is the number one issue with the vehicle.
I would be tempted to sell if on your specific vehicle this is a recurring issue. Transmission reputation makes me a bit uneasy on a vehicle with that many miles on it. Sources :) say that they can go 250,000 to 300,000 but specify that maintenance is absolutely done. Otherwise they are given a 150,000 mile life span. That tells me it is a finicky vehicle and your costs are going to be high now.
otherwise fuel economy looks great and third row seating a great option. I think I looked a used one as we are looking for that fuel economy range and 3rd row seating. I passed on it after seeing the transmission reputation.
A 2014 Nissan Pathfinder with 180,000 miles is worth between 2000 and 5000 dollars. Now it's just a judgement call on drive it into the ground or sell it and offset replacement's cost.
One general rule that I've heard repeatedly is that "If the cost of repairs is more than half the value of the car, it's time to trade." YMMV, of course. We drove two Ford Escapes for 10 years, but once they each developed a need for spendy repairs, we traded them both for a much newer, larger vehicle.
trade it in. I had a 2916 Toyota 4runner, nice ride for the most part.
then in the past 1.5 years problems started to happen. strange lights on the dash come on and then go off. and the tranny was acting up. it was a automatic and acting like the clutch was pushed in- engine started racing (??) now I USED to work on my own trucks/cars. like pulling engine and rebuilding them. but then the front end was acting up again after new rotors/pads
wheel bearings and alignment and new tires. it was time or past time to give up and get something new. so, now we have a 2025
New frontier and a payment AGAIN. but it does drive like a car does and starts and rides well. didn't really want a new truck, but I was tired of spending 2-3 grand every couple of months chasing down crap like why is this happening now ?
sad part is I sold my old 1989 4runner that ran great but needed a little work here and there a few years back. that had 325000 miles on it and the 2016 had only 83000 on it when I traded it in.
Toyota is not what it used to be for sure. BTW, Nissan is the only one where you can turn off all of the nanny shit they put on everything these days. but still, 45,000 for a pickup ?
my first home was only 30,000 !
From the perspective of a consumer, and certified airframe/power plant mechanic, two things come to mind. Over 100K miles, resale value traditionally significantly decreases because reliability becomes an issue. Average USA mileage is 12K/ year. Technically, that makes 180K high mileage. My view is that keeping a car, especially well over 100K, should be done when only when it’s not nickel and diming you. Not only is the cost of repairs a negative, but so is the hassle of arranging dropoff and pickup, alternative means of transport, risk of failed repair, etc. On the other hand, what are you gonna replace it with? New cars are a testament to the nanny/surveillance state, and their price/value ratio is upside down. Used cars run the risk of getting you into a worse situation than you are now. As an A&P mechanic, my risk tolerance is likely going to be higher than yours, if you’re not mechanically inclined. Having said all that, my advice and worth every penny it cost, is look for a good 60-80K mileage AWD/4WD SUV (AWD/4X4 comes in handy in N. Texas).
Help with healing and itching. https://www.amazon.com/Corona-Horsemans-Wounds-Soothe-Conditions/dp/B00JAKY7WI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_pp?crid=MPN8MNG9I43O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9eqfJa3Ygt-WUVpEzSKGlFs3erXb_UtJ88X5iDCLdgGnP9HbpquDiJzWYw7Q16y-_-tkAfR413J6S3F2PCQNJozsziXARFsZyvEQDPTuiB0.pMuz_fEY9gYi7W8Q9e-gbL44_XlJY9vE0tCJvh1PYhk&dib_tag=se&keywords=horseman%27s+dream+veterinary+cream&qid=1760981317&sprefix=Horseman%27s%2Caps%2C382&sr=8-1
Here I can do a lot of work for what the taxes alone would cost me for a new vehicle. I'll baby mine to death before resorting to a new one.
If you generally keep your vehicles more than 150,000 miles (as we do), then you have to be picky. We only buy Honda or Toyota products for that reason. We've had 5 Hondas: 97 CR-V (160K), '07 Pilot (247K), '06 Element (232K) , '91 Acura Integra (187K), '03 Acura TL (248K) that all went well past 150,000 miles with regular maintenance. The '03 TL ate a transmission that was covered by Honda at 90K, but all the rest were trouble free.
My '18 Toyota Avalon Hybrid is at 111K now, and out '17 Pilot at 125K. No issues.
**One general rule that I've heard repeatedly is that "If the cost of repairs is more than half the value of the car, it's time to trade.**
I'd never heard that before, but that sounds to me like good advice on a really hard subject!
FWIW in my world 250k miles is the ballpark figure I use for the life of a modern vehicle when I'm looking at a car. In my world, under 100K is low mileage! I remember as a kid, my dad (& the other dads) going down to look at a neighbors odometer that had hit 100,000!
I have noticed several short/shorter videos where mechanics (??) talk about the best & worst cars, if I was going to be car shopping I'd take a look.
That issue you had sounds like the wheel speed sensor. If you have one of those auto-shifting automatic transmissions, everything is based on the wheel speed. Said sensor starts acting up and the idiot lights go on and off for no reason and the transmission acts funky.
How do I know this? Yep, had the WSS go out, thought I bricked my engine but it was ONLY a $450 repair...
I am not a car expert, but used to routinely put 40,000 miles a year on a car due to work travel and playing music in a band. I never did figure out what was best for such high mileage put on a car for one year. New, used, beater, ?
Back in the 70's we used to get close to 100k miles and you started to worry about the nickel and dime issue of a car, and got rid of it. Now you can reasonably expect to get more like 200k miles on a quality car. I see them for sale here in Michigan with 225-250k miles on them and they are still asking anywhere from $2000-6000 for them.
I hated debt and refuse to go into debt for a car. So if I could not buy a car with cash, I would keep fixing the car that I have. My current car is a 2009 Pontiac Torrent with about 144,000 miles on it. We have had it for about 10 years putting maybe 80k miles on it in that time due to sometimes having a second car. I plan on keeping it for probably 4-5 more years, putting what money into it that is needed, unless the cost is over $2,000 or so. That would probably be about half of it's value I guess. But a new engine or tranny no doubt would well exceed that cost.
But I had a new heater core put in last January along with changing the transmission cooling lines and the cost was about $1,400. But while that hurt, it is still cheaper than buying a new car and I know that my heater core is now under warranty for I think 3 years from my mechanic.
I don't think that there can be any hard and fast rules about cars. You do what you both can afford and what makes sense for your own needs, I.E. how much do you drive, and what type of driving do you do, road conditions for your area, etc.
Best of luck no matter what you decide, and I am glad you are healing well. I had thyroid cancer and surgery for it in late July and the incision, while nowhere as extensive as what you went through, hurt and was pulling inside it seemed, for around 6 weeks. Have a wonderful autumn and stay strong.
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