posted
Another UPDATE: I just heard from the garage. There is one more possibility before the computer can be "condemned." They're going to replace the Throttle Positioning Sensor (I think that's what it's called) for $150. Of course, they can't get the part till Friday, but the car is drivable in the meantime, so happily I won't have to leave it there overnight, and I can cart my own butt around for a few days. As frustrating as all this is, I am increasingly satisfied with the service I'm getting. This guy is going way above and beyond to avoid screwing me out of money. I'm almost glad I had to go through everything to get to his garage, and I won't be going anywhere else, I can tell you.
*****
UPDATE: I should have known better than to assume that $245 would be enough to completely fix my car. Duh. I got about a half mile toward home when the hippy hippy shake commenced. Those of you who rode with me to swing dancing in Chicago know what I'm talking about. Yeah, it's been going on that long. I chugged it back to the garage and let it run so the mechanics could witness the phenomenon that's been plaguing me for most of a year. They are about 99% sure I do need a new computer. However, the problem is not even related to what the dealer told me (repeatedly) and charged me almost $1000 not to fix. I suppose I should take back a few words about them since they never got to witness the shaking, but that was because the car also tends to stall, and once it's off and restarted, it's fine. I am more optimistic than angry. I still trust these new guys, especially since they determined the source of the problem within minutes and without the use of a diagnostic machine. Unfortunately, "fixing" the computer could take three days. I work two jobs. My friend/coworker is bending over backwards to get me where I need to be, and for this I am eternally grateful, but I want my car back. I want it to stop misbehaving. I want it to be in prime condition when I drive it off the cliff.
*****
I can't decide whether to do a happy dance or start maiming mechanics.
Long story short: I drive a '99 Outback. Since I bought it in 2001, I have been told that I need a new clutch ($600-$800) and that my clutch is fine. I have been told that I need a new power steering pump ($400). I have been told that I need a new computer ($700ish). Most recently I was told that I needed a new head gasket ($1500).
As I still owe a lot of money on this car, getting a new one was out of the question, and while I may have been able to afford a very old one in good shape, that didn't solve the fact that I had a broken car that I still owe money on.
A shop was recommended to me by the people who told me I needed a head gasket. I took the car to this other shop today. They just told me that she's all good aside from the possibility of needing some minor adjustment.
It wasn't the computer. It wasn't the head gasket. It was basically just fixing previous incompetent work. For a total of $245. I am thrilled that I don't have to come up with money I just don't have and in the process put myself more in debt than I already am. I am also outraged that that many mechanics don't know which way is up. I can understand a small garage not being familiar with a Subaru, but it was the service department at a dealership that told me I needed a new computer on a then 5 year old car. And the only reason they told me that was because "With this error code it's either this part (which was replaced and didn't change a thing) or the computer."
So I guess time will tell if the place I took it to today is really as competent as they seem. If not, I give up.
posted
True. That definitely helps, but I have put so much pointless money into this car thinking the whole time that it was the car. Now, maybe she really will last forever.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Sounds like one of those things that has a good side and a bad side. So it all depends on if you're an optimist or a pessimist, which side you see.
Be glad the head gasket didn't need replaced. Over Christmas break, my car broke down three times. The first time it was the head gasket. The other two times weren't quite as expensive, but still, it was money I didn't have. I'm still trying to pay it off.
Posts: 486 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Well, let me put it this way: my original identity is fiazko which is what's on my license plate which is the story of my life. It's such a rollercoaster, I'm probably more of a pessimist, but every once in a while it dawns on me how lucky I am compared to a lot of other people and I quit whining for a couple hours.
And I totally feel your pain, Hester. I hope you get it paid off soon and that nothing else goes wrong in the meantime.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Defense attorneys say "my client didn't drink from the glass!"
Actually, they say, "You can't prove my client drank from the glass." Much lower standard of proof there. Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Hey, glad to hear that you won't be needing another car after all. How could the first place have misdiagnosed a blown head gasket though? Isn't that a fairly distinctive thing to go wrong with a car?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I have decided that 99% of shops no longer know how to "treat" a car without the council of the diagnostic machine, which apparently, can be wrong. Miracle of modern technology my a$$. I am appalled that the dealer was as incompetent as they were. It just seems like good customer service to know your own make inside and out.
I suppose there's still the chance that the place that fixed it is wrong, but they're so good at acting like they know what they're talking about. That, I can tell you, is a first, so I'm inclined to trust them.
[edit: To better answer you, Noemon, the only other alternative I can come up with is that they're all just infinitely lazy.]
posted
Just out of curiosity, what were the symptoms? What was your car doing that had you so concerned?
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
The issue that lead to the "bad head gasket" was overheating. I would overheat, the heater would blow cold air, and the coolant would boil over. The "bad head gasket" guys couldn't find a leak, and replacing the thermostat didn't work, so the only other explanation, supposedly, was a bad head gasket. They were the ones that recommended the competent garage to me with the "chance that it could be a restricted radiator" which the compentent garage was better equipped to figure out. I somewhat forgive them because they are nice guys, and they did admit that they could be wrong and they recommended the other place, but I am so angry with the dealer, I very well may send a letter of complaint.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Inifnitely lazy is a possibility; it's that or infinitely unskilled.
I lucked out in that a coworker of mine with whom I've gotten to be friends is an absolutely brilliant mechanic. He's was a GM master mechanic, and is quite simply astoundingly good with cars. Had his own shop until his back started giving him trouble and he decided he needed a desk job.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Yeah, when I was reading the beginning of your post, I thought to myself, "well, did they check the hoses and the radiator system to see if there was an obstruction?"
That's the problem I see with modern garages- especially at dealerships. They just hook it up to the computer and let it think for them. It would be better if these kids actually worked on cars without computers for a while to understand the mechanics of the whole process. There are some things you just have to check first.
The universal technician's creed: K.I.S.S.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
With all the problems I've had with this car, I have been sorely tempted to get certified myself, just to save some money. I am able to do more on it than most people, mainly because some things, I've learned, are way too easy to have a shop do for $80/hr labor. There's still the possibility that my clutch will go, which I can deal with since that's a wear and tear issue, but I'm just at a loss over some of the stuff I've been through. I was dead set on a Subaru as car #5 because my mom swears by them (she's only on her third in 20 years), but I had no idea they were so expensive to keep up.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Last Saturday I took my car to get the oil changed. Usually I do this myself, but I was in a hurry because we wanted to go hiking to take advantage of the terribly brief time during which the desert is still in bloom, before all the flowers have been scorched off.
So I took the car to this place that does about a million oil changes every day of the year. After I leave, the oil light comes on and the car starts making ugly noises, and before I know it the car has died. I had to walk all the way home (with my two young kids, what a treat!).
Come to find out the flunky at the shop had neglected to put any oil in the car. He had also failed to check his work out with the manager.
I am now in a rental car (paid for by the shop, natch). My own car is getting a "new" (used) engine installed. At times like this it's fun to be an attorney. I have these jokers right where I want them, and I'm not going to let them off the hook. But I'd rather have my car back. I'd rather not have the problem to begin with.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
The same thing happened to my mom. I certainly hope you're not paying for the engine, and I'm not really sure why you're only getting a used one.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:At times like this it's fun to be an attorney. I have these jokers right where I want them, and I'm not going to let them off the hook.
I can't wait. Well, really, I could wait a long time before someone trashed my car. But I know something like that is going to happen, and I can't wait to take advantage of being a lawyer when it does.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
It's great when they call your work number and they hear the receptionist say "law office." They fall all over themselves trying to keep you happy.
Both my mother and mother-in-law have used me this way, too. They like to call me and discuss their problems, then tell people that they have discussed the issue with an attorney. Really gets people's attention.
The one place this really doesn't work is with the police. They're not impressed at all, and in fact if you get pulled over and mention your profession, hoping it will make some difference, it can make things worse.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:They're not impressed at all, and in fact if you get pulled over and mention your profession, hoping it will make some difference, it can make things worse.
Well, prosecutors might have better luck with that.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
The first garage replaced the thermostat. Apparently it was bad because it had to be replaced by the good garage which also bled/burped the system "really good." The overheating issue is solved. The issue now is computer/misfiring or something like that. I am still waiting for the final verdict.
Posts: 226 | Registered: Mar 2005
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