DoorDasher Loses Job. Then Her Honda With Bad Battery, Alternator, And Transmission Won't Start. Then A Mechanic Steps In

'Doing DoorDash in a [Honda] with 220k mi and a bad transmission is an interesting choice for work.'

DoorDasher loses job 2

Photo by: TikTok

Stacy Fernandez

By: Stacy Fernandez

Mar 6, at 11:00am ET

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A dead battery is stressful enough on its own, but this woman also has a failing transmission and a job that requires her car.

While mobile mechanics get a bad rep from time to time, this one came in clutch for a woman who needed a way to keep supporting her family.

Mobile Mechanic Comes Through

In a viral video with more than 170,000 views, mobile mechanic Matt (@mattthemechanic43) shares the story of a woman who had a Honda with over 200,000 miles. She’d lost her job that day and planned to use DoorDash to make up for it, but the car wouldn't start.

The video cuts between Matt, the woman, and her husband as they walk through the full situation together. She starts with the battery. At her last oil change, she was told it was testing at 288.

"I thought I had more time to get it fixed," she says. With limited funds, she made the call to fix the brake lights first and left the battery for later, but the later came sooner than expected.

The couple is worried about the alternator and the transmission, and the car won't go above 35 mph (which is a problem if you’re driving on the highway). They've already been quoted around $2,500 to fix it.

"This car is honestly a piece of crap anyways," she says, "but it needs to get me by until I can afford another one."

Matt pops the hood and tests the battery.

"It can't be recharged,” he says. “It says it's bad. It needs to be replaced." He swaps it out right there. Then he hooks up the scanner to check the alternator and watches the voltage. Fourteen volts.

"Yes, ma'am, we're great," he adds.

The transmission is a different conversation. Matt suggests that they “probably should get a new vehicle." He even offers to keep an eye out for something—says if they come across a donation from anywhere, even out of state, they'll go get it and bring it back.

The caption: "If it's not one thing... it's another."

When Do You Fix It, And When Do You Walk Away?

There's actually a pretty clear framework for thinking through when it’s time to invest in a car versus get rid of one.

According to Car-X, the general rule of thumb is this: fix it if the car is under 10 years old or under 150,000 miles and otherwise reliable. Replace it if projected repairs over the next year are going to exceed the car's market value or if multiple major components are failing at once.

AAA points out that repairing is almost always cheaper than buying, even when repairs are expensive, but only up to a point.

They recommend adding up all repair costs from the past two years and averaging them monthly. If that number is creeping toward what a car payment would cost, it's worth running the numbers on a newer vehicle.

Commenters React

“Doing DoorDash in a car with 220k mi and a bad transmission is an interesting choice for work,” a top comment read.

“I definitely wish that you were closer to where I live cause I definitely could use the help,” another wrote.

What do you think?

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Comments

“Sadly this is more common than not these days. Prayers they get the help they need,” a commenter added.

Motor1 reached out to Matt (@mattthemechanic43) for comment via TikTok direct message and comment. We will update this story if he responds.

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