it's been doing this for a number of months and I happened to see a family friend who is a mechanic last night. I asked him to listen and he took it for a short test drive.
His diagnosis: this is a baaaaad noise.
Probably the engine rods. Likely due to a couple of times in recent past years I waited too long to have the oil changed (the oil light came on for a couple days).
Not worth working on the engine unless it's a Bentley. Ummmm, this is a 2001 Toyota Camry. With 130,000+ miles.
Alternative plans of action (some pillow talk, eh?):
A. Sell it sooner to capture as much resale value as possible, For Sale By Owner type of thing.
B. Drive it gently until Sept when the last payment for our small tractor is made. Use for park n ride, around town, for example. Then trade in with new car purchase, and meanwhile watch the local dealers on how strong they want to make a sale as well as watch the Feds on what they might do to stimulate auto sales.
C. Drive it till it dies. Donate it to charity, but don't want to have to tow it to do so. Least safe of the options especially since I carpool 2 of the neighbor's kids to school (and would mess up their life for a day or so possibly).
Want to Vote?
Car's making a clattering noise...
February 26th, 2009 at 06:17 pm
February 26th, 2009 at 07:28 pm 1235676514
Oh, and on the next car - make sure you get regular oil changes and check your oil every 1,000 miles or so! A blown engine can really ruin your day!
February 27th, 2009 at 01:01 pm 1235739704
And for what it's worth, it may be "worth it" on a Bentley, but I hear Bentleys are built so solid that to have such a problem would really be unbelievable.
February 27th, 2009 at 04:00 pm 1235750435
May I please plead 'mommy brain'??? I had 2 young kids under age 5 during that period... Nope? Ah well, at least I tried.
UPDATE: My man has $$ in his eyes and wants to go with option A. I put it for sale on craig's yesterday and have at least 6 responses. It will probably be gone by the end of the weekend