Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
So after 7 hours of having my car in his shop he tells me he’s been working on what I took off which was the upstream o2 sensor and the 6th spark plug wire. How long could that possibly take in a shop? Then he tells me that it could be a fuel pump issue or a bad computer? I need your input guys. Is he screwing me already? He said I ain’t getting it back today but I can rent a car. I just know this guy is going to try to get another $500 to $1000 out of me.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
sounds like he never looked at it really or worked on it and is tossing out bs to get you off the phone.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
And on top of the I just paid him
$37 to rent a car for tomorrow. I wonder if this cars even worth keeping.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
im rather amazed at all these issues one after the next BS, not very common to be like this.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Most mechanics set up their schedules to overlap cars in order to stay busy. Look at one and order parts. While waiting for parts to arrive you start working on another. It's no surprise that it has been there 7 hours and he's barely gotten a chance to look at it. The sad part is he's likely charging you 10 hours for a 7 hour day of it sitting around.
You say that the car may not be worth it for you to keep, how can you not keep it with the investment you've made recently? What I'd do is schmooze Scott a bit and ask him to give it a look over after you have it back. If stuff is in bad shape or needs to be addressed, he would be honest with you.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Well I can tell you what I have put into it so far:
new water pump and serpentine belt
redone heads,valves,head gasket,cooling hoses and new radiator.
new thermostat
tires are all in perfect shape
new rack and pinion
new back brake pads and rotors
new Ignition Control Module
Cleaned out throttle body
new upstream O2 sensor
new crankshaft sensor
new JVC radio with cd/detachable face,bluetooth, siriumxm and pandora options
The areas that need fixing:
cracked windshield
drivers side rear caliper has a slow leak
low oil message appears every few days in HUD when it is not low (probably sensor)
Tailpipe needs to be replaced. rusty in spots but muffler and catalytic converter are fine
TPMS light on dash on. Probably batteries in valve stems or whatever causes light to appear.
190,000 miles
Check engine light was on with a code P0420 which I almost sure its a downstream O2 sensor.
Every time I check the internet to see what its worth its always somewhere between $375 all the way up to $1500.
Bought it used in 2016 with 130,000 miles on it for $5000 and have already put in over $5000 into it.
At this point, depending on what the fix is to my current problem, Im thinking of using it as a trade in for a new vehicle. Not expecting more than a few hundred.
Scotty,what do you think this car is worth in your opinion?
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
FWIW, you could list that on CL with all the new parts saying that you decided to get a new car (which at this time of the year is common) and easily get $2K.
I bought my 2000 Regal in 2010 with 160K miles for $1400. It needed gaskets, tires, brakes, struts, some interior help. I bought it for the rust free shell. Since I do my own work, I redid suspension, gaskets, cleaned a lot of gunk, etc etc. Around 204K I put in a transmission and later an engine. Total invested in car was $5k for 100K miles over 5 years. Sold that car for $2500.
Don't underestimate what you have.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
its hard to give a value sight unseen. its a 08 right, cant be that beat up id hope.
your in this deep may as well see it out.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
The outside of the car needs a good wash and waxing but it is meticulous otherwise. If I had the windshield fixed, Im sure that would bring up the value but I dont know if I want to pay $350 on a new windshield at this point. It still passes NJ inspection.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Wondering if those DIC errors are from the aftermarket radio. Did you keep the wheel controls with a module?
I guess I don't understand why there was head work done. Did it overheat or blow a head gasket? The latter isn't very common.
You'll need an OBD2 adapter no matter what vehicle you own in the future. Search "BAFX adapter amazon," and there are both options: Bluetooth for Android and Wifi for Tim Apple's stuff. BAFX and Amazon partnered to distribute the real deal directly, so you won't get a cheap clone. Android has Torque Pro for $5 which gives you all the DTC's but ABS codes, which require an ABS capable scanner.
If you're having trouble with visual inspections, use sites like wholesalegmparts to find parts diagrams. I just did last night to inspect my power steering, coincidentally. Way easier when you know where to look.
Dude.. this guy's jerkin ya around. I dunno what to say. Just one of those things where I hear that stupid mantra from long time ago - "When there's a doubt, there is no doubt." Sociology man, guy seems skiddish and shifty. That's just my opinion though. Good luck!
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Im sorry, what is a DIC? I dont even have controls on my wheel.
As for the head work...my cars temperature gauge started rising closer to the red one day out of the blue and every time I drove it it would practically hit the red mark which made me nervous thinking it was going to overheat although it never actually did. So I checked the fluid level, changed the thermostat, looked for leaks and even let air out of the system. Nothing worked but something in me said it had something to do with that dex cool stuff they used for anti freeze, It kept gunking up the radiator. I brought it to the guy at my job who is a mechanic and he flushed the radiator and said it was in good condition. I then brought it to this guy who I am having problems with and he's the one who said that they pressure tested it and the heads had to be shaved and all this stuff. Since Im not a mechanic, I dont remember the terminology he used but it costed $1750. He then put in a new radiator for an extra $200 which, looking back, was probably all it needed all along. I have the feeling they did the heads, saw that it still didn't help, then as a last resort did the radiator and just made up a story that they were doing me a favor by not charging me labor for this new radiator. Ever since then it's been a love hate relationship. He loves my business and I hate him more and more every day.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Get ready for this. I've been texting this mechanic to get updates. He never responded yesterday or the day before. So he texts me to call him. He then proceeds to rip me a new A**hole because, by mistake, I broke the 6th spark plug wire and to get to it, I had to take the oxygen sensor off. I figured by leaving the sensor off would make his job easier. He tells me he can't respond every time I text him. HE never returns calls. He said he thinks its the wiring harness that plugs into the ICM. I swear I was this close to replacing it because it's cheap. He also said the plug wires I bought were arcing so he had to get them exchanged for better ones. He also thinks one of my coils is bad. He said it should all cost around $400. I feel like belting this M'fer! But fool me once,shame on me,fool me twice....
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
I would've gone to a different place by now lol and ask them if they think the previous guy screwed it up I've done that before and isn't new jersey pretty populated? Idk if its like here but metro Detroit there is a place on every corner that does car repairs. gas stations, shops, car wash places, parts stores, even belle tire is a complete shop by me haha and ive been to all different types they can all do good or bad work. even the gas stations some are surprisingly honest lol
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Time for a new mechanic. To much "I think this", "I think that" going on for my liking.
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bronco Boy
Time for a new mechanic. To much "I think this", "I think that" going on for my liking.
yea especially after 3 days lol
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Yep.The story ends here. No matter what the outcome after this. Im done with this guy. And if I can get the money in the coming weeks,then Im done with the car too. I appreciate all your advice and comments. Thanks
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
I feel your frustration. This all seems very awful, tbh. Wish I coulda helped out some way further. I'm good at swearing, does that help? :th_sick2:
Hope you enjoy your next vehicle better. Remember when you buy; One of the best things you can do is remember you can walk out at any time. Leave your number. You might get a call about your offer.
Sucks cus you seem decent enough. Good luck with your purchase. Don't let em get you by the wallet again! :th_beer-toast1:
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tzerilli
I would've gone to a different place by now lol and ask them if they think the previous guy screwed it up I've done that before and isn't new jersey pretty populated? Idk if its like here but metro Detroit there is a place on every corner that does car repairs. gas stations, shops, car wash places, parts stores, even belle tire is a complete shop by me haha and ive been to all different types they can all do good or bad work. even the gas stations some are surprisingly honest lol
sadly NJ is no longer like that, the city parts are, but hes in what id call rural north jersey. shops are far and few between, the gas station mechanics/shops are mostly gone too, the garage is now a store. so that leaves us with some shady fuk at a gas station, or pep boys.
dont get me wrong, im not trashing every shop left out there, there are some good ones out there. like the guy i got across the st from me. his lot is full all the time, theres nothing they wont do, engine and tranny swaps are done there, if they do that they do it all. hes even renting parking from the guy 2 doors down cause hes out of room on his lot. hes helped me out for no reason other then i asked him for help with small crap like using his snap on scanner, or ohm ing out the chip in my key for me. did have him do my brake lines, in and out the next day. and got phone calls when things didnt look like they were going right and what his plan of attack was... thinking i need to drop the regal off to get its ac fixed over there next. if i dont sell it first lol
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
I got the car back yesterday and Im not even going to tell you what he charged for the work he did. But thats all behind me now. Took out a small loan which should be here within the next week and I can finally say goodbye to a car that by all means should have had a longer life.I wish to GOD this mechanic never touched this car. But anyway, I want to get as much for this car as I can. The 2 biggest issues are a crack on the passenger side window and my TPMS dash lighjt is on. Anyway to turn that light off without replacing the parts?
Re: Need you help. Car won’t start
i personally wouldnt replace another thing on the car. TPMS is tire pressure sensor-check the air pressure in your tires. if the pressures are good,leave it alone and let the new owner determine what to do.
what i would do is shiney it up good. first impressions can sell a car.