buggar, my cavalier's first emergency problem

[legoalex2000]

i just got the brakes and tune up on the car done about a month ago.

I leave on my road trip to new mexico to help my mom move, so she has no money.

my car just broke down, and it's gonne be sitting at the chevy dealer until monday. I cant believe this happened. I was in evanston at the time (evanston is next to Lake Michigan) with is a good 25 miles from my home. i picked up a friend to see the new pirates of the carribean (AWESOME MOVIE!). i went to pick up another friend with i sorta touched the curb with my right tire. i dont know what could cause that, but my gears wont shift, wont go above 20mph, and it acts very rough. the OCD sent off the check engine light. i drove around for another parking spot, and called for a tow. it was sent off to the dealer.

I get to the dealer aroung 6:20. we're supposed to be at the pickwick theatre (historical landmark appearantly) by 7:15, and the show started at 8. so my friend's mom drives me to the dealer, thanks!, and i go the service area only to find out the mechanics left at 6, and the service manager was waiting for me. just to tell me he can't look at the car unitl first thing monday. well gee, a simple phone call could've helped.

so i have no money for this, my mom just took her truck in to get a class III hitch installed, and the guys broke the spare tire lock. more mone my mom doesn't have. i guess this is where credit cards come in, cause i dont wanna know how much my car's gonna cost. good thing i lack a credit card? cause i've been declined twice due to "insufficent credit history".

query, how can i get a credit card if i have no history? in order to build a history, i need a credit card, and round the loop we go. idiots...

ok enough of that, im carless until monday.. grr im stuck with you lot on Simv and Multiplayer FS (oh no the horror )

Ramos

[H]

It's even worse than that -- this:
"grr im stuck with you lot on Simv"
means we're stuck with you!
Hope you, the car and all recover.

And considering the gist of this -- you're not asking for auto repair info or such, I'm not sure why Ozzy moved it to here.

8)

[Brett_Henderson]

Sounds like your transmission went into "limp" mode. It's a safe, default when there's a serious transmission issue looming. You might luck out and the limp mode will have done its job.. keeping you from doing serious damage.. or (bite tongue).. the damage is already done.

This gets into a gray area that kinda overlaps your credit card dilema..  You don't say what year the car is (which means my limp mode theory could be completely wrong) or how many miles are on it. If it's an older car with high-mileage, it's probably not worth dumping a bunch of money into. Transmissions anymore aren't really worth fixing. Most of the labor involved is to remove and reinstal and it's really better just to put a rebuilt tranny in there (or have yours rebuilt)... UNLESS the car's not worth it. In that case.. any money would be better spent toward the purchase of a new or newer car. If your only problem credit-wise, is that you have no credit history.. that's not a problem. If you DO have some bad credit.. that's another issue that I'll steer away from.

With no credit history, but a steady job you should be able to get a car loan, rather easily. Then you'll be on the road to establishing that credit AND have put the transmission repair money to better use.

[legoalex2000]

here, lemme give you the lowdown as of this post.

A. im no longer employed...
B. it's a 1997 Chevy Cavlier with 84742 (oil change comes at 85005) miles.

Kelley blue book valued my car at $500-600.

mom said if it's more than $250-300 to fix, time for a new car.

about the employment thing, appearantly i told my boss that after i get back from my vacation, im quitting. i told him i'm looking into another job after i get back. so im out of the system, and no paycheck rolling in.

ramos

[legoalex2000]

okee, called the chevy dealership. this is what i understand

there is too much gas flooding into the engine, and is killing it. also it's doing something to the Catalytic converter. now it wont be fixed until tommorrow, after they tell me how much it's gonna cost. if it's over $300, it's not money well spent, and i might as well just get a new car as that one's time is near.

ramos

[legoalex2000]

thats it. >:( >:( I hate dealerships!

i just got info on whats wrong. something about coils and modules burning up, and the catalytic converter isn't working properly, and the muffler is hanging.

It's gonna cost $400 for the module that burned up, he didn't say anything about the coil. and if the catalytic converter is borken, bam another $750.

i told him we're not getting it fixed. He still expects $210 for diagnosis and another $125 for towing.

F*** that, my car is only Blue book value of $475.

Ramos

[Brett_Henderson]

That's a little steep for towing, but not outrageous.. The diagnostic fee is WAY out of line..

When you took the car in, you had to approve a certain ammount of time for diagnosis.. There should be a little area that you initialled. Unless you ok'd that ammount over the phone(depends on what they charge by the hour).. you're not bound to pay it. See if you can negotiate something less. They know the car isn't worth dumping that much money into.

Another option is to fix it and sell it, advertising the new repairs..  You might even come out a little ahead.

Good luck..

[legoalex2000]

here's the totals given to me IF they were going to fix it.

$125 for towing - to be reimbursed by State Farm.
$105 per hour for labor
$386 for the fuel cylinder module
$353 for the Coil
$725 for fixing the Catalytic Converter if messed up

$1,589 for repairs not including labor

even though i told him straight forward, HELL NO. then apologized. im normally not that way, but that was outrageous.

he was still nice enough to charge me $170 for labor (from $315) and $125 for towing, cant get out of that. $306, i can afford.

here's the beauty, is the mechanic's cousin is looking for a car. he mechanic fixes it up, and we're looking somewhere around $800, with my custom radio installed. thats a good price, above Kelley blue book value. i use that and a (name witheld) co-signer to get another car. used definetly, no way an i getting a new car, especially with no credit

Ramos

[Brett_Henderson]

All things considered.. it sounds like it's going to work out ok...

One last hint of advice..

(Honda, Toyota or Nissan     )

[Mushroom_Farmer]

I can't get over $725 for "fixing" the catalytic converter. How can it be fixed? It is filled with catalyst apllied to a honeycomb material. It would need to be replaced.
The last one I bought, an aftermarket version through Walker, was around $125. I hope that $725 is including labor, which still seems high.

Always a good idea to have a used car checked over by a reputable mechanic before buying it.  ;)

[legoalex2000]

car go bye bye  ;D for $500, he took the radio out.

here's the rap on the buyer. he just moved here from greece. 16 years old, and this will be his first car (just like when it was my first). it needs a lot of work, more than i mentioned here, but he's up to the challenge. and his cousin, being the mechanic at the chevy dealership, all the better.

im $500 richer. sock it into savings, and spend on college &/or new car.

ramos

[Brett_Henderson]

$500 as is.. and you got to keep the stereo ?

Sounds like a good deal for all..

[legoalex2000]

$500 as is.. and you got to keep the stereo ?

Sounds like a good deal for all..

well it's a $250 sony radio i had installed 2 years ago. it's in great shape, there is no problem with it. but the mecahnic's cousin didn't show up, and the mechanic only brought the original $500. he'll call me today or tommorrow if his cousin wants the radio.

btw, this dealership is some odd 20 miles away. this week i've pumped $90 into my mom's truck to get me there and back aroun 6-7 times.

Ramos