Has my Speed6 hit end of life?

[KSUWildcatFan]

2006 Speed6 GT, 168K. Not currently being driven, contemplating whether I'm at the stage of parting out/cutting losses or if tearing into this could bring it back.

It's had a CEL on for quite some time. It used to be that it would come on for a bit, then go off on its own. Now it seems stuck on. When I had it checked it popped up (I believe) as an intermittent misfire. I've not messed with coilpacks or so much as touched sparkplugs. It's run fairly rough for a while now (basically since the condenser crapped out) but started using a ton of oil recently. I'm not seeing any signs of leaks anywhere as far as I can tell. It sounds terrible (think of a dump truck) when idling. That said, it's still drives "fine".

As far as cosmetic condition goes, my idiot kids have put nice scratches all over it with the handlebars on their bikes and scooters and I'm not sure if it's even possible to really fix that. The scratches aren't the end of the world but when added on top of the mechanical woes, it does make me wonder even more if there's much point in bothering with it.

Thoughts?

-jordan

[Vansquish]

If the car has 168k on it and is still on the original spark plugs, then that is almost assuredly at least a portion of your misfire problem. As for the oil consumption, that is more concerning, but without a compression and leak down test, it's hard to know where or what your problem might be.

[KSUWildcatFan]

No idea on how old the plugs are. I drove to Tulsa to buy it at 115k, from the original owner... So they at LEAST have 50K on them.. And probably more.

I finally bought myself a mom mobile A-to-B car (07 Camry Hybrid) because I knew the MS6 was going to grenade itself if I kept putting miles on it without turning some wrenches. But I fear maybe I limped it along for too long already. I love the car, so it'd be great to bring it back from its current state, but if it's cost prohibitive to do so (IE too much has permanent damage) then my questions are answered.

What always threw me for a loop is that my MPG definitely went up the worse the car seemed to be performing (in terms of sound and overall idle 'feel') but I couldn't ever tear into it because it was my only means for transportation so I just kept limping it along and hoping it didn't explode.

Hard to really give a full assessment with just what I've mentioned above, I agree.

[Bertospeed3]

Originally Posted by KSUWildcatFan my idiot kids

I laughed at this part way harder than i was prolly supposed to.

but yeah definitely get a compression and leakdown test done

[KSUWildcatFan]

Man, there are so many awful scratches on it because of those geniuses. Granted, I'm sure a pro could touch them up.

I went outside to take a video of how it sounds (I'll arrange the compression and leakdown test asap) and totally forgot that the initial start is RRRRROUGH and stays that way for a few seconds, then it idles down. Still sounds like crap, but definitely better than when it starts. Yikes.

Subsequent starts are fine. It started doing that a while back. Oh, and not that it matters but mileage is actually a hair under 170. She's been pretty neglected the past 10-15, I hate to admit. I blame the idiot kids for that one also.

[Thor Hammer]

I don't understand. It takes at best a $50 investment and 1 hour of your time to change the spark plugs. Do you always park your cars for the long term when they need basic, required maintenance? Then go buy another one? Lol.

My car has 171K on it now. I bought it at 80K. I've kept up on maintenance and it still runs great and uses a little oil as I know with certainty that my stock turbo is leaking past the seals. Very normal and expected. Just not so in love with the car anymore to upgrade at this time.

I wouldn't part it out. I'd change the plugs, oil, filter, and get it running right. Then sell complete. You'll get far more and it will take you much less time.

[KSUWildcatFan]

Nah, realistically I've made excuses to not do small things and they've kinda just caught up with me. I did really well for a while. But I'm not exactly great at turning wrenches to begin with (nor do I particularly enjoy it) so it's not hard to justify not doing things because I'm just "so" busy with work and dealing with keeping my three kids and my house cared for. The MS6 just stopped being a priority and now I'm not entirely sure how far gone it really is.. Which sucks because I do love the car. The stealership quoted $140+tax for the tests.