I need help sabotaging MY car!

Help! With 236,000 + miles on it, my 98 Ford Escort Wagon refuses to die! Any ideas how I can really discreetly sabotage my own car so my husband will give in and buy a new one? He's this close to getting that new car, but this little Escort stills runs well, so he needs a "little help" if you know what I mean. The tinkering needs to be safe (kids and I still use this car daily, but I can certainly "plan" ahead) and hopefully not obvious. He is not a mechanic, but he knows how a car runs and it's common problems. There's got to be something discreet I can do to mess up the engine a little?!

Wow, I'd say if it's still running strong at 236K, it's definitely a keeper! I'd want to hold onto it, especially since your husband is aware of the mechanical situation. The cost difference is enormous!

However if you feel that you MUST destroy the engine in a perfectly good survivor car, there are numerous ways to do so. I'd feel guilty suggesting any of them though, since I used to have an old station wagon myself that wouldn't die, which I drove for several years.


EDIT:

OK, after a little thought, here's a suggestion that's better than destroying a perfectly good car.

You can donate your car to many different charitable organizations, and get a tax break on it (if you itemize) based on the value of the car, which YOU set.

You could make the argument to your husband that since you're carting around the kids every day, that the safety of the new car would be greater than what you're currently driving. Suggest things like crash ratings, antilock brakes (if you don't have them on the Escort) and handling of the car you'd like to have.

mmmm get a job and buy a new one yourself..

Help! With 236,000 + miles on it, my 98 Ford Escort Wagon refuses to die! Any ideas how I can really discreetly sabotage my own car so my husband will give in and buy a new one?

Be careful what you ask for you might just get it, next car he buys you is going to be a 95 with 300,000 miles. Talk to him and let him know you think you need a new car. If I found out my wife pulled something like that on purpose..she wouldn't be enjoying a new car for a long time, i'd get her a nice moped.

Damn, I dodn't even know a Ford escort could last 236k mi. So much for Found on Road Dead :lol:

But if want to live up to that accromym, when the car is parked, pull a spark plug, fill the cylinder with water, and put the plug back. The next you go to start it up, the incompressable water WILL cause somthing to break:evillol:

Drain the oil and take it for a spin...

You could always you know.... Get a job and finance one yourself?

Throw a 6G72 into it and it should be done dealing about a week. That has been my experience anyway.

Seriously though, there are millions of people who would kill to have any form of vehicular transport, let alone one with <500,000 miles on the clock. It's self-centered (Somewhat) American bullshit.

Are you also fat?

wow...
i would kill to have that car..
me being a young kid that desperately needs a car.. lol
and plus.. what is wrong with the escort.. you said it runs perfect and all..
dont kow why you would want to get rid of it

Oh man, this thread is going to deliver. I can feel it.

Don't do it man

Nothing wrong with high mileage.

my friend has a Hilux his dad bought new in '92, it did 920,000 miles on the original engine (which still runs strong) before he dropped in a Cummins 5.9, and that's now done over 200,000 miles.

so the chassis' covered some 1,120,000 miles.

Hell if it gets more than 15mpg I'll be glad to take it off your hands and it's still running that well. Sell my jeep, just inc ase anything goes wrong i'll have money. That thing needs to be in a museum!

Lock him out of the bedroom until he buys you a new one. This strategy worked eventually for my wife - I left the ungrateful witch and she got to choose her own replacement transport [and pay for it].:smokin:

Not caving in to the lazy cow was the best thing I ever did. if you want a better car, get off your butt and go earn one!

You guys are great. I'm not fat. I also do work and will be contributing somewhat to the future car purchase. Let's put it this way, my husband is a procrastinator and will put things off forever. He will put it off until the car does die somewhere and leave me and/or the kids stranded. (how stranded can you be with cell phones now, but you get the point). It's not that we don't have the money, it's getting him to give the final go ahead. I'm not any more self centered than the rest of you and I'm most certainly not lazy. And fortunately, I have a decent ssense of humor. Oh by the way, we've had two other Escorts since 1985 and both of them have run and run forever. Both of them we gave away when we got newer cars and they still ran forever with their other owners. I can't even guess on the mileage they must have had. So in my experience Escorts truly never die.

I knew we should have never got rid of ours. Stupid thunderbird sucked...

Push it into a river and blame somone else.

Battery acid or hydrochloric acid in the engine block.

OK OK, I give in. Put a cup of bleach into the oil fill hole. It won't be long till the engine gives it up.

(but agree with position that if he finds out there will be hell to pay)

just drive it into a lamp post or something.

Hold your breath til your husband gives in?

Have somebody steal it then take the $750 insurance gives you and buy the most elaborate impressive dildo you can. Then tell him untill you have transportation he won't be necessary.

Have somebody steal it then take the $750 insurance gives you and buy the most elaborate impressive dildo you can. Then tell him untill you have transportation he won't be necessary.

might backfire if the husband says "go f**k yourself"

Help! With 236,000 + miles on it, my 98 Ford Escort Wagon refuses to die! Any ideas how I can really discreetly sabotage my own car so my husband will give in and buy a new one? He's this close to getting that new car, but this little Escort stills runs well, so he needs a "little help" if you know what I mean. The tinkering needs to be safe (kids and I still use this car daily, but I can certainly "plan" ahead) and hopefully not obvious. He is not a mechanic, but he knows how a car runs and it's common problems. There's got to be something discreet I can do to mess up the engine a little?!

Your profile says you're a dude.

I'm just going to assume you're using your husband's profile or that you checked the wrong box and spelt your name wrong.


don't take the replies you get in here personally. this is COT, you're a noob. just how life is. we all went through it.

well, some of the stuff is personal. we're all car entusiasts and you're talking about destroying a perfectly good car for you own gain.

I didn't go through n00b life. Everybody has loved me since Day one.

Have somebody steal it then take the $750 insurance gives you and buy the most elaborate impressive dildo you can. Then tell him untill you have transportation he won't be necessary.
might backfire if the husband says "go f**k yourself"

:spit:

Man i wish all cars lasted that long how could you want to destroy it, My truck is going good still at 125,000 and i'm not complaining, well just about gas.

Yea, if the cars in good condition, don't know why you'd want to get rid of it.


But if youre cynical enough to where you wont donate it/sell it, you could just put sugar in the gas tank. That's always a guaranteed kicker.

The car seems like it's a keeper... and just like everyone else said, why would you want to destroy it?

drain oil
drive around for a while
obtain severe rod knock due to spun/flattened bearing(s)
put old oil back in
deal with having to drive a car w/ noisy destroyed engine
mope

You know I think you're very self centered. I'm 15, have a chevy lumina from-OMG- 1990! NINETY! And I feel I'm lucky to have that, after paying to buy, insure, drive, maintain and repair myself. Whats wrong with a 97? My mom only drives an 03, which she bought 4 years old.

Wow.

But if youre cynical enough to where you wont donate it/sell it, you could just put sugar in the gas tank. That's always a guaranteed kicker.

Sugar doesn't really do much. clogs the scavenger pump and/or fuel filter. if you want to screw the car up via the fuel system you're better off putting water in the fuel tank.

just pass the car onto the kids, and tell the husband that they need a car at their age, and you need a new(er) one to replace it.

OK OK, I give in. Put a cup of bleach into the oil fill hole. It won't be long till the engine gives it up.

(but agree with position that if he finds out there will be hell to pay)

You guys are starting to seriously scare me.

@2.2, great idea.

no point wasting a perfectly good car.

My husband refuses to put money into the car, thus, the winshield is cracked all the way across the front, back hatch door is dented, electrical plug in front does not work, driver window and passenger rear window do not work, dashboard lights work sometimes, gear shift light does not work, rear window washer blade does not work, rear washer fluid does not work, radio only has one speaker (sometimes none), driver door has to be in locked position to close and rear hatch and back passenger door do not lock at all. Tires need to be replaced twice a year because car is not aligned properly (never has been, never holds alignment work). Car is showing quite a bit of rust and I mentioned the back dent, so esthetically, it's looking pretty bad. Small issues, but they really add up and get to ya after a while. This is becoming a slow, suffering death and I'd like to hasten it a bit and put her out of her misery. Just FYI, had to return the comments about the "perfectly good car".

Fair enough.

i've you've brought up replacing it an stuff a few times, suddenly the engine not working or something serious going wrong is going to look suspicios. if he tells you he's not replacing it, then two weeks later the engine is seized and it won't turn over, it's going to look like you've done something.

Just something to think about.

My husband refuses to put money into the car......

Why is it always the husband's responsibility to decide where the family transport budget gets spent? If you feel that strongly about replacing the car, why not take ownership of the issue yourself?

The faults that you describe seem largely cosmetic, but in this part of the world, there are a couple that would cause issues come time to get the vehicle through its mandatory inspection. Doors that won't stay closed unless locked are an obvious nono, and large cracks in the windshield will definitely raise the risk of shattering if something hits it at speed.

These are dangerous defects that need to be fixed. Add to that the ongoing alignment problems [which are also a hazard,rather than just the expense of the tyres], and this car needs more work than it is worth.

I would not let my partner drive our children in such a potentially unsafe vehicle,unless I had reached the stage where I was not listening to her complaints because the majority of them were about cosmetic issues.

Concentrate on the defects that could cause you and your children direct harm. Get quotes to get them fixed, and decide whether you want to spend that money on making a tatty old car safe, or on a deposit for something more practical. Either way, ignoring the defects will not make them go away.

It sounds like you've already played this out with your husband,and built up a barrier to communication by complaining about trivia such as an unreliable radio. Focus on the safety issues and the cost/benefit ratio to repair or replace the car.If he still won't pony up, your kids are worth the hassle of you getting a safe car independantly of him and arguing about it later.Tackling the important issues head on will earn you more respect than trying to trick him into buying you a new car because you dented the tailgate on the one that you have.

I didn't go through n00b life. Everybody has loved me since Day one.
Not true. I still hate you.

lovers' tiff...

WOW! This is fun.

If he drives a different car then I would make him drive yours and you take his for a bit. Let him see what you have to drive day in and out!

Really all you ahve to do is get the car to throw a check engine light. Disconnect some vacume hoses in the engine bay and start the car. It will throw the code and then connect them again. It should stay on...

Or just pull the master fuze. Then nothing will work. If he cant find it then your in luck! Better blow it with some wire and the battery and then put it back in so if he does find it then you can play innocent and move on to your next plan.

Without a doubt, if you were my wife, you'd be looking at a new pair of hiking shoes.