Or... just buy a new one instead.

Anyway... yeah, that's not cool. What EXACTLY is the major engine work they said needed to be done and why did they say it went bad?

They said the engine needs to be overhauled, whatever that means. I just ran the Kelley Blue Book Value and the car is only worth $715 Trade in. (It has some body work that needs to have done as well as the interior roof lining needs to be replaced. Basically the car is ready to retire.) I'm gonna try to talk her into trading it in for a newer car. The problem is she LOVES her car. I mean emotional about this inanimate object. Every time I have tried to talk to her about upgrading it, she gets really upset. It's kinda silly.

i would trust an engine install for 2700.

Trade it

Is it worth $750 trade-in w/o the repairs??? Right now, it might actually be worth nothing.

Can you sell it for more than $750?

In an ideal world, I'd sell it and pay cash for a $3,000-5,000 used car. You should be able to find something decent in that range. Even if you need to take out a small loan, that's better than buying a new $12,000-20,000 car.

This was almost exactly like what I just went through. My honda's clutch went out, and so when I took it into the shop, they wanted a motor replacement as well.... I said forget it. Because the car was worth way less then what the repair cost was, I got rid of the car. I donated it, and then bought an older, decent running used car for like $1200. definately didn't want to put myself into more debt with loans, so i bought a cheap car with cash.

I am so glad I didn't dump money into my failing honda. There comes a time when you just have to dump it. Based on what you said the blue-book value of it is, I think you are probably at the stage of dumping it. What year/make/model is the vehicle? and whats the milage?

An overhaul is basically taking the entire thing apart and putting it back together with all maintenance and preventive maintenance taken care of, as well as part replacments. 2700 is just for all the hours it takes to complete that process. Honestly, the engine is probably in bad shape if they suggested an overhaul, but what I would recommend is taking care of whatever major repairs need to be done that can keep it running until it basically dies. Smoke coming out of the engine could be a possible number of things, and a good way to tell what type of repairs you'll need would be based on the smoke. I would keep an eye on the temperature gauge and see if your engine is running hot. If so, it could be anything from a water pump to a thermostat. If the engine is not running hot, you could be burning oil. If that's the case, the problem is a bit more severe. Just some speculations based on what I've seen and gone through. I went to college to be an aircraft mechanic so if you have any questions and want some real, straight up answers then let me know, I'm more than willing to help.