Car Troubles
 

moving this out of the So.... thread.

Took my car in today for a second opinion. The shop is doing their standard check over ($149) which covers everything from under the hood to dings in the doors, the check list they showed me is a mile long.

Secondly they are inspecting for the oil leak and using a dye in the oil to determine (1) how bad the leak is and (2) to determine where it is leaking. I showed them the sheet I received from mechanic 1 and they told me, this is an awful lot to do, it could be one of these three things and not necessarily all of them. (valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket and intake manifold) but they would do the check to determine.

So, I'm comfortable with investing $250 to have them check the car over and find out what they feel needs to be done.

Fingers crossed the job needed is less than the 1180 I was quoted yesterday.

Fingers and toesies crossed!

These guys sound better. It's doubtful the valve cover, oil pan, and intake manifold are all leaking simultaneously. With any luck, a valve cover replacement would do it. With most oil leaks, tightening the bolts will stop the leak, unless the gasket has been compressed too much.

agreed, these guys want to 'fix the problem' not 'chase everything it COULD be and charge you for it'

good luck

Thanks Dread, WB and Capt. Jack. I'm hopeful for a reasonable result and, failing that, a honest deal, even if it is an expensive fix.

Good luck!!! I just forked over $800 for brakes and a tune-up.!

Okay, so here is the lowdown:

Oil Pan - needs doing, that has a significant leak

So, they are keeping the car, calling enterprise for me to have a rental and my car will be done tomorrow.

they are also replacing the air filter and wiper blades

other items needed in time (in order of urgency)

2 tires in the front
front struts are soft
transmission fluid needs a flush out
radiator/heater hoses need checking

So, even with the $250 for the check and then including the oil pan and the wiper blades and air filter, I will be getting out of there for significantly less than $1180. So, that is a relief.

The other items, other than replacing the tires, are not too bad. Whew, I guess I now have a new mechanic. :snap:

Glad it's not as bad as you thought. I hate having to deal with car stuff too. I have no idea what's what so it's very difficult to know if you're being taken or not.

Good luck with it.

Though I have heard that these tranny flushes are not all than nessisary. frankly, I have had a number of cars that I have NEVER changed the fluid, just keep up the fluid level and have had no problems.

That's great, and now you have a list that you can take a bite out of over time, instead of all at once.