Automotive money pit
The car is now back in the shop for repairs. Apparently the pipe that goes from the engine to the exhaust is broken, and has been leaking exhaust fumes into the car. Lovely. Guess that explains the headaches and above-average exhaustion. The O2 sensor that sits on the catalytic converter is also the wrong one - despite the good folks at NAPA telling me otherwise - and will need to be changed out. Finally, there's a tube in the power steering system that has apparently rotted through, and will need to be replaced.
Unfortunately, these are all "dealer" parts - meaning that the parts shoppes don't carry the ones needed for my car. This also means that they've had to be ordered, and the car can't be worked on until the parts arrive, which will be sometime on Wednesday. This also means they're expensive. Thrilled? You bet I am. I'm so thrilled I haven't been able to unclench my fists for the past few hours.
Thankfully, my limited knowledge of car repair will allow me to save ~$100. I can change out the O2 sensor myself, after purchasing it from the dealership's parts department. No additional labour costs, and as an added bonus I get to entertain the neighbours with my rendition of a drunken long-shoreman.
Wherever I end up moving to next, I'm going to do whatever I can to try to ensure that everything I need - food store, job, etc. - is located within walking and/or biking distance.
Screw the car. I have two perfectly usable legs.
Labels: Rants
posted by Hare @ 10:26 AM
9 Comments:
Are you sure the dealer is telling you the truth about the O2 sensor being the wrong one? Maybe they're just trying to screw you for more money. What proof did they offer?
Incorrect pin combination; cord is way too long for it...
...and it's actually a heated sensor, which it shouldn't be.
I did some further investigating, and found out that it really is wrong. Those bastards at NAPA lied to me - over the phone, on their site, and in person.
While you are doing all of the other work, pop off a letter to the Better Business Bureau and take some of the piss out of NAPA.
... and tell us where you got your car so we can NOT GET ONE THERE. You've had more problems with this thing than you should have. It's almost as if they changed out BAD parts onto it, then sold it to you.
Actually, it's better than the Saturn...
...just had some bad luck with parts.
This'll teach me to be more careful with who I buy parts from - that's pretty much the issue; one bad part spoils the whole engine...
Oh, and the exhaust pipe and power sterring tube I can understand - the car is nearly nine years old, and has ~90,000 miles on it. Parts fail/rust out.
geez, I put about 100,000 miles on my first Saturn, MYSELF, (it had 150,000 on it when I totalled it) and didn't have the mess you've had. Then again, I didn't buy it from F.B.N.Used Cars.
Exhaust, yeah we're in Michigan: expect to replace exhaust at least once on every car you own.
The mess is from the wrong O2 sensor - everything else is just normal wear and tear.
O2 sensors are supposed to be replaced at 50,000 miles - it was due. I got some bad information; that's why the car is running badly. Putting in the CORRECT sensor will take care of the problem.
Not all of us can afford shiny new cars...
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