Car Mechanic advice

[Kiki]

so I'm driving home on Friday afternoon, minding my own business, and suddenly a block from my home, my car just....shuts off. It was like I lost power. Although the radio still worked and was on, etc. So there I am, can't get it to turn over, nothing. I'm in the middle of a busy intersection at 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm freaking out.

Thankfully some nice lady pulled over and helped me push my car around the corner.

I called the tow truck, they towed it. I get a call later telling me that my timing belt broke.
Ok, so fix it. Well, no you need an entire new engine.

WHAT?! The guy starts telling me how the chain broke and it completely ruined my engine. Um..... don't think so buddy!
My car's a 2002 pontiac sunfire, it has 60,000 miles on it. Its never made funny or awful noises, nothing that I've been ignoring, etc.

So I take Brian (my hubby) up there when he gets off work. He talks to this kid mechanic, can't be more than 20 years old. Brian plays dumb, listens to the guy. Takes what he tells him and we leave. Brian talks it over with his dad, both of whom have and like to work on cars. Neither of them agree with this. This mechanic is telling me it's gonna cost me $3400-$6400 just for the engine.

Saturday Brian drops me off at school, he calls the Pontiac dealer. Talks to a head mechanic who looks up my car and says theres absolutely no way in hell this could have ever happened or damaged my engine to the extent this guy is saying it did.
So Brian calls the guy back today and asks him to just change the timing chain and possibly the gaskets if they're damaged. The guy refuses. He lets it slip that yes my engine really isn't damaged, but unless they can switch out the engine, they can't stand behind the work, therefore they refuse to do it.

So I'm going to take it to the dealership.

I need to know if there's anyone else out there thats dealt with a place like this or if dealerships would possibly take a financing plan?

I'm trying hard not to be screwed over here. I just can't believe this other place won't fix the problem without fixing what's NOT broken. I've gone there for years and I've also heard alot of people talk badly about the owner, and now I'm wondering how much money I've thrown away in the past.

gez............. this sucks.

 

[mandy1973]

I have never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life. Garages over there must work VERY differently to here - if any mechanic here tried to pull that kind of shonky deal they would be refered to consumer affairs VERY quickly

 

[Liesje]

I guess it all depends on the mechanic. and what they are capable of, what they are allowed to be liable for.

I fix laptops and there are some problems where I know specifically what is wrong, but I also know that I'm not certified to fix the problem or I don't have the right tools and parts to fix it. For example, if the connection from the power cord goes bad, some people have the capability to fix that area by soldering a new connection. I can't do that b/c I don't know how and don't have the right tools, even though I *can* say for sure that that's what's wrong, but my fix has to be replacing the entire motherboard. That's just how it is. We're not trying to screw people over (though plenty of mechanics and computer technicians do), it's a matter of skill and liability.

We bought a car from my parents that needed a new part. Most mechanics would've bought a brand new part for $600, plus the labor costs. Luckily, we knew a mechanic that agreed to install a refurbished part rather than forcing us to buy a new part. We bought the $600 part for $199 on eBay motors and paid the mechanic to install it.

In our experience, some mechanics are more skilled at actually diagnosing and treating the problem, while others like to make a general guess and just replace anything (or the entire part, if only a small piece is broken).

I hate cars.

 

[BluRmGrl]

Kiki, Mr. Blu is a mechanic - and a damn good one, though I am slightly biased - so I've learned a few things over the years (by osmosis ). It sure sounds to me like that guy's giving you a load of BS.

Anyway, I'm not the expert but I'll check w/one when he gets home from work tonight & let you know what he says. It's a sad truth, but one of the places that a lot of women still get taken advantage of is in the world of cars. I mean, not all guys know what's what when it comes to repairs so they can be snowed over too, but I wonder if this mechanic's answer would have been the same if your hubby had approached him first instead of you?

I'll let you know what Kelly says later tonight.

 

[Butterscotch]

The same thing happened to me, it was the timing belt, and when they fixed it and I went to pick it up, they noticed that severe damage had been done to the engine. I have heard of this happening, and had been warned it might, but the thing that gets me is the low mileage of your car. Mine had over twice as many miles. Belts aren't supposed to do the damage a chain does. My elderly neighbor had his chain break on the interstate and it broke is whole engine, too. When mine broke, I had to rely on credit cards-2 different ones because there was no way I had that kind of cash. If it happened now I'd be screwed because I no longer have credit. (Mine was $1200 because they only repaired the engine and didn't replace it. Replacing is not always necessary but the mechanic is too lazy to take it apart. BTW I got a different person to do the engine work because I thought the timing belt changer might have broken it) This guy does sound shady so DO get another opinion.

If it turns out it is broken you have credit, might as well finance, it, but there is another option. If the car is paid off, you might consider buying another car rather than fixing this one. You can get a good used car out of the trading post for much MUCH less than what they want to fix the one you have.

I am very sorry about this. It's scary to think our cars might die at any time, just like a friend.

 

[BluRmGrl]

Kiki,
Here's what Kelly said about it: the timing chain breaking loose COULD bend your engine valves. If that's the case, then you are facing a significant repair because the valves would need to be rebuilt; your mechanic could check for these bends by simply removing the valve cover gasket. But he still didn't see where you'd have to put in a completely new engine - just rebuild the damaged valves and (of course) replace the chain.

Hope this all works out for you - let me know if you want me to make any other inquiries on your behalf!

 

[Kiki]

hey, thanks guys. Thank you to Kelly and you Blu.

Well here's what happened last night:

Brian picks me up from work, we're driving home and suddenly we hear a shot. His tire blows. So he pulls over, fix's the tire, goes to a shop that specializes in tires. They close at 7, it's 6:55. They tell us to go to the other place that's opened past 7, nope they close at 7. We go and pay the tow bill at the place my cars at, their mechanics are still working, they patch the tire.

ok.....I go to my car to get some stuff out of it. The battery's dead. No lights go on. I look at my headlights and see they were left on. I was towed at 2:30 in the afternoon on Friday, sunny warm day. NO LIGHTS WERE ON BY ME. My batteries dead.

The guy comes out to jump it. Um.....I tell him to wait. The timing chains broken....how do you expect to jump the battery since the car won't turn over?

Oh.......he tells me.

I went totally psychatic on them. I was furious.

I call this morning to talk to the owner. oh....we'll I've had it on the charger since 7am. He calls me back----yeah it's dead and it's not our fault. Your battery was dead when the car got here.

I tell him...um...NO it wasnt. When the mechanic who was towing it asked me to turn the key to see if the battery would turn over to let the radio on, the radio and the dash lights came on.

He informs me that this is not his problem and he will not be replacing my battery free of charge.

I WANT TO SCREAM.

Ok, so my engine is a 2.2 liter Echotech in a 2002 pontiac sunfire.

Then the owner starts giving me this lecture on taking it elsewhere and how I'm only getting half the work done,

I finally tell him, well the other mechanic I've been talking to is the Pontiac dealers head mechanic!!!!!!!!!!!! He goes....Oh.......well ok....

I'm thinking....YOU PUTZ! I just caught you in your lie!!!!!!!!!

UGHHHHHHHHH I'm seriously sick to my stomach and about ready to break in to tears here.

 

[JessicaAnn]

Anytime I have ever needed work done on my car, I take it to the onsite mechanics at the dealer I purchased the car from.

No offense to any mechanics at independent garages, but I have heard too many stories about them taking advantage of people.

At the dealership, I know I will get someone who is very familiar with my type of car and will make sure things work correctly. And best of all, I have never been taken advantage of and when I ask question something (because I know nothing about cars), they take time to explain it.

 

[Sicy]

Um get your car out of that shop asap. Have it towed somewhere else.

 

[~BrightestStar~]

I'm no expert, but I think they're taking you for a ride. And even if they "repaired" it, I wouldn't neccessarily trust the work they do. I'm sure half way through they'd find another "problem" that needs to be "fixed".

Take it somewhere else.
Now.






Is anyone else having flashbacks from The Mask?

 

[Kiki]

Im waiting to hear back from one other service center, actually at the Carmax I got the car from. If they can offer me a better deal than this Tuffy place, I'll go there. But for now, Brian's actually fighting them on replacing the battery.

He talked to the guy that picked up my car on Friday and the guy admitted (this guy's known me for years), that he knew my hazard lights were on when he got to the scene and my dash lights and radio worked because he asked me to turn them on. He told Brian he actually saw the other mechanic turn my lights on, but he wasnt ordered to work on the car. He advised me to get in touch with the cop that was on the scene because she also asked me to turn my key to see if I had gas in my car.

The pin for the gas tank went up as soon as I turned the key and the battery kicked in. So he said to get her statement to them and they'll have to fix it free of charge--------the battery that is.

This whole thing is a nightmare, I just want my car out of there, but Brian says he's going to make "damn sure that Stan replaces the battery before that car goes anywhere else".

 

[Sicy]

Stubborn men.

 

[Kiki]

well no, now he's telling me to just get it out of there as soon as I get a quote from Carmax and decide on where I want it taken care of. He said he'll still make sure they give me a new battery.

 

[Kiki]

WOOHOO I'm getting my car outa there! all I gota do now is get the credit card to go through for the tow.

have I mentioned yet that I hate bills and money too?!

 

[BluRmGrl]

It's nightmares like this that always remind me to be thankful I'm married to an excellent mechanic.

I'm glad you're not letting them touch your car again, Kiki - what a bunch of a**holes.

 

[Kiki]

the car was picked up last night and taken to the other place. Brian told me this morning he's going to tell the original place that they'll be getting a bill from Tuffy, where it is now, for a new battery. He doesnt want them putting in some crappy old one.

He's got an excellent point there.

 

[~BrightestStar~]