Owning one with around 140,000 mileage.. what is the suggested life expectancy of this car, and when would I expect it to die out on me?

 

You're going think I'm nuts for saying this but most cars can go over 400,000 miles if you really maintain them right. That means top quality filters, and oil, and antifreeze and everything kept in exact specs. The experienced mechanics I used to know had trucks and cars with over 300,000 or 400,000 miles that were running fine. Maintenance and keeping everything in spec is the key.

 

Everything is fine.. except for the anti-freeze.. it has a small leak, which drains the anti-freeze rather quickly.. would that affect how the engine runs.. and would you know how much this would cost to fix.. I'm being told real expensive due to the type of car it is.

 

That depends on where the leak is. If it's the water pump, get it fixed and replace the timing belt and pulleys. If that is all original you need to get that done right away because the 2.5 is an interference motor and a broken belt means a destroyed engine. It may have been changed prior. If it's a freeze plug leaking in the back on the passenger that could be expensive because it's hard to get to. Commonly a small water leak develops around the radiator cap at the filler neck due to corrosion. Solution either replace the cap and filler neck or just replace the cap and sand the filler neck smooth if it's not too bad.
Clean oil and top quality filters like Wix or Purolator and tuned right, a car can last a lot longer than most think possible. You can also use a bigger oil filter for that than the stock one.

 

There is a point where it no longer makes economic sense to pump more money into a car. If you do the maintenance yourself, and you don't mind the frustration that can go with that, then you can keep the car many more miles than someone who has to pay for each repair.

 

Where is this coolant leaking from? Are we talking about a convertible or a hardtop here?

 

I don't know exactly.. but I was told that it's coming out of the exhaust pipe.. and it's the convertible.

 

There was a recall on the freeze plugs. They mixed dirty Mexican water with the coolant. Have it checked. 752 is the number. Add to that....shifter, lower control arms and the throttle cable