Elvis has entered the garage

Friday, August 11, 2006

Dear Tom and Ray: My wife and I own a 1996 Ford Explorer with 101,000 miles on it. We found out yesterday that the freeze plugs are corroded, on both sides and the back side of the block. We do not know if there is corrosion throughout. It was like the doctor telling us that our child has a disease. We love the car -- we've even named him Elvis. Elvis has been a wonderful car. My wife lived in Northern California and took him skiing a few times. That's where we think the possible salt exposure and corrosion source were. Our question: Is it worth the more than $1,000 to fix this car, or should we send Elvis off to the big Graceland in the sky, selling him to someone else? We've added stop leak to the coolant system, and we will make that known to whomever we sell him to. It is the first car my wife ever owned on her own, and there is some sentimentality there. We have one child and another on the way; we definitely need a working, reliable car. If we do move on from Elvis, we are looking at a Honda Pilot. Should we look to the Pilot, or back to Elvis? Thank you.

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