Automobile repair.......Ugh!

“TM=$107.89 share.”

“My door on the 88 Jeep Cherokee wouldn't shut Sunday night. So Monday a.m. -- in snowstorm No. 1 -- I have tried to bungee it shut.

I took it to a body shop around noon Monday. The guy smiles and says, "I saw that bungee on the door and thought we might be seeing you today." LOL! (small towns! lol)

He pushes in the door handle on the outside, messes with it 2 seconds and that's that.

The cheapest "repair" on that Jeep in a long time. :-) But, to quote Cap'n Dan, I love the offroad/4WD capability. (and NOT the gas mileage!!)”

“Sienna's are about the only toyota's that i've ever heard anything bad about...not sure why that is, if it was just a bad design or if someone else designed it”

“My '97 Subaru Impreza Outback has 330,000 miles and is starting to make some noise LOL! And the brake pedal has always felt mushy

Have a 2000 Chrysler Town and Country van that needs a new water pump.
last edited: 3/16/06 12:03:49 PM”

“that's awesome...just once i'd like to get a car over 300k...it's not that they break down it's that i usually total them first ;)”

“The best vehicle I ever owned was my 1990 GMC Sierra. The main reason I got rid of it was because I wanted something that got better than 20mpg and wouldn't get stuck in the driveway every time it snowed.”

“thriftyhiker - you probably heard about the engine sludge issue in pre-'03 Siennas. Happily that problem has been fixed in 03+ models (mine is an 03). Pre-03 models are now covered by an extended factory warranty on the engine.

I've never heard of any issues with trannys so I'll chalk mine up to just one of those things that can happen with any car.”

“Mushy brakes, eh? Could be a vacuum issue. Check the booster and associated hoses and check valves for leaks. It could be as simple as replacing a worn dry-rotted hose that split open somewhere.”

“Buddur the brakes work just fine. Subaru is known for having brakes that feel mushy in comparison to other brands of cars. The only way a lot of Subaru drivers even notice is if they have to switch to another make of vehicle.”

“'03 Subaru Legacy wagon here. I don't drive it a lot any more. But the brakes are really inconsistent.”

“I have never driven a vehicle with brakes more mushy than my Camrey.

Whenever I get into another vehicle, I damn near come to a skidding stop at the first stop sign.”

“I owned an '87 Subaru GL-10 in the early '90s. Very mushy brakes.

Update on my Toyota Sienna tranny issue: dealer says the van is ready to go, I just need to go pick it up. Brand new tranny at 48K miles under warranty, and a loaner van since Thursday. Earning loyalty from me.”

“Subaru will soon be Toyota.”

“Where'd you hear that Salebored?”

“You gotta be kiddin' me! Went to p/u my minivan yesterday afternoon, and nearly ran it off the road a quarter mile later because the steering was so sloppy. At one point my wheel was 1/4 turn to the left and I was drifting right. Yeah, right, they really test drove it!

Customer service person said they had to drop the rack-and-pinion to do the tranny replacement. Obviously they left something, or a few dozen somethings, loose.

So, I was there for the 4th time w/o returning home with my vehicle. Got to put more miles on the loaner, though.”

“From what I read Toyota is the top shareholder of Fuji Heavy Industries which owns Subaru. Subaru's Indiana plant will even be producing the new Camry.”

“Oil Change instructions for Women:

1) Pull up to Jiffy Lube when the mileage reaches 3000 miles since the last oil change.
2) Drink a cup of coffee
3) 15 minutes later, write a check and leave with a properly maintained vehicle.

Money spent:
Oil Change: $20.00
Coffee $ 1.00
Total: $21.00


Oil Change instructions for Men :

1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, write a check for $50.00.
2) Stop by 7/11 and buy a case of beer, write a check for $20, drive home.
3) Open a beer and drink it.
4) Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.
5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.
6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.
7) Place drain pan under engine.
8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.
9) Give up and use crescent wrench.
10) Unscrew drain plug.
11) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.
12) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.
13) Have another beer while watching oil drain.
14) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.
15) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.
16) Crawl out from under car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.
7) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.
18) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.
19) Remember drain plug from step 11.
20) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.
21) Drink beer.
22) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.
23) Get drain plug back in with only a minor spill. Drink beer.
24) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame removing any excess skin between knuckles and frame.
25) Begin cussing fit.
26) Throw stupid crescent wrench.
27) Cuss for additional 5 minutes because wrench hit bowling trophy.
28) Beer.
29) Clean up hands and bandage as required to stop blood flow.
30) Beer.
31) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.
32) Beer.
33) Lower car from jack stands.
34) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during any missed steps.
35) Beer.
36) Test drive car.
37) Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.
38) Car gets impounded.
39) Call loving wife, make bail.
40) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

Money spent:
Parts: $50.00
DUI: $2500.00
Impound fee: $75.00
Bail: $1500.00
Beer: $20.00
Total: $4,145.00

But you know the job was done right!”

“LOL, you forgot

Set in car, forgetting you have oil all over your @ss, getting oil stain on seat.”

“My steering wheel was a bit loose on the '88 Jeep. Got that fixed. Somehow I figured it might be a $20 fix. Nope, $60. And that was a first-time-ever repair of that for me!”

“My wife sent me that. Women think they're so funny.

Check out this investigation of Jiffy Lube before you laugh too hard though: http://mfile.akamai.com/12924/wmv/vo...52183.200k.asx”

“bad link”

“Yikes, I almost clicked on that. Geez, I must be going senile.”

“You can tell a joke is old when people are writing checks in it! ;-D”

“What the hell is a check?”

“Jiffy Lube link?: http://mfile.akamai.com/12924/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0503/9152183.200k.asx”

“...The joke writer totalled those charges on a slide rule.”

“ARGH!!!!!!

SO I had to get a new windshield, effing $250 deductible on that one. I have the dealership replace the timing belt too, since I'm at 105k miles on my 2002 Subaru Impreza wagon. Yes, I drive a lot. THis afternoon they call me and say "we need to replace the head gaskets, you've got a leak." I have noticed a whiff of coolant the past week, so when I went down to the dealer this afternoon to get the loaner I now need, I looked at where the leak was. Holy cow, that was bad. There's no drip marks or anything on the concrete, the coolant smell is new, the performance drop I noticed is also very recent, but damn that looked bad. No grunge stuck to the leak area yet either. That bill is gonna be a b!tch though. $1700 for the timing belt, head gaskets, and fluid replacement. Ouch.”

“DANG....sorry to hear that tree, We have a place in Augusta that will do the window replacements for about 1/2 of the normal cost...and it is a DARN good job.”

“Certain models of Subarus have a history of leaking head gaskets. From what I read it was from a defective material in the gasket. Subaru might help you with some of the cost if you contact them and let them know what happened.”

“Treebait, you may want to check for recalls for the head gaskets. There was a known flaw in the head gaskets that had a recall on all Subaru 2.5 L engines, but I don't remember what years. I remember coming across it when I had to have the head gaskets replace on my '98 Forester (it was actually right around the 105k mark). Unfortunately the recall started with 1999 models, but I don't remember the end year.

BTW make sure your mechanic knows Subaru engines well. When I had my timing belt replaced, it wasn't done properly and the head ended up getting damaged.”

“The work is being done at the dealer.
I would assume that they are aware of their own recalls. (one would hope anyway)

Thanks for the tip gang.”

“Merry Christmas on that bill.”

“That's actually less than what I paid to have the same thing done about 3 years ago.”

“I already had the recall work done way, way back when. They put in some additive that might have worked, but was guaranteed for 100k miles. I'm past that mark now, but the service manager is going to see if the Subaru rep can do anything about adjusting the price down a bit since I had the work done when I was supposed to.”

“I'd also ask if it was guaranteed for 100k miles after the work was done or total mileage. The you worded it implies that the additive was good for 100k after it was added. Nitpicky, yes, but you never know.”

“THe repair was and I quote "good for up to 100 thousand miles." I'd have to dig through a bunch of paperwork to find out what my odometer was at when they originally did the "fix."”

“It sounds like you may be able to work with that then.”

“Right before I moved up here I had my previous car dealership print out the entire service history on my car.”

“I talked to the dealership this morning. My car is ready, and the Subaru company rep knocked $450 off of the bill. That helps.”

“That is nice. 1250 still sucks though, especially this time of the year.”

“yay!”

“1250 would suck any time of the year.

I feel the pain. I had a Subaru in '94 that blew a gasket - got a new engine at over $1000. That blew (under warranty), then got another, then yet another. When the 4th one was installed I was informed the warranty would no longer be honored - sell the car and walk away. I did.

In '03 the lower intake gasket on my Chevy minivan blew, at around 60K miles. $850 to replace the gasket and blow out the contaminated oil. Because of that around 94K it threw a rod. $14000 to buy a new minivan.

Barf.”

“Ouch.”

“Maybe you should just ride a bike, Tech.”

“Too cold in January around here.”

“True, and you're too far south for a dogsled.”

“Maybe buy a horse?”

“I'll see if there are any HorseMax showrooms around here.”

“Horsemax...that's a good one. My neighbor (emphasis on the neigh) just bought 2 horses.

I got my car back, everything seems ok, except for the smell of parts cleaner inside the car (kind of fruity smelling) and the occasional whiff of something toasty, which should burn off in a day or two. Engine compression difference is definitely noticeable.

I told the service manager (Eddie, nice guy. Also has koi fish) about HPM's 1948 ford F-1 panel truck, and Eddie said whenever HPM gets all the pieces up here from Florida that he'd be more than happy to help work on it, lol.”

“Pay a little more up front for a Honda or Toyota and get a car that statistically has the least chance of breaking down and has the highest resale value. Or pay what you pay now and get a Hyundai. My 2000 Elantra lasted 150K miles and never broke down, never needed new brakes, nada. My 2001 TransAm has had several problems and it doesn't even have 50k, my Olds was a $300/mo repair bill as was my S10 and my moms escort and dad's explorer broke down quite a bit too. I'm done with domestic cars, I hope GM and Ford go out of business for building the piss poor cars they build.”