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Comments
I'm trading the car in within the next 4 weeks and really don't want to lay out the cash for the repairs. Is there any way to reset the error code? Anyone have any idea what this would likely cost to repair? Any other recommedations?
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Is the noise actually a grinding? or is is a knock and a tick. those nissan V6s are notoriously loud, And after long periods of neglect not changing oil and so on they do become noisy after a change the sludge is actually deadening noise it was already doing it it just wasnt obvious. but thats only a tick or a knock. it sounds like if it is the engine and it goes away after the revs build its a oil pressure issue or lack of at startup, another symptom of neglect. alot of times gunk can keep oil up in the engine and prevent circulation. Ive seen quite a few engines only have a quart come out of the pan and the top end will be swimming in oil. not good. if there is an actual metal on metal grind that is something different, I suggest you open the hood have someone start the engine and listen If there is a tempo or a rythym to the noise like tap tap tap tap tap or anything repeating at interval its valvetrain noise or a low end knock, If its a growl like brakes that are metal on metal take the car back to the Firestone and make someone come out and point out the sound. An oil change alone will not cause a problem unless there was something done wrong or the engine was so beyond the pale the gunk was actually glueing it together. One example of that was a customer brought in a Toyota pickup V6 with 65k on it for the first oil change, Pulling the plug resulted in nothing coming out and the dipstick was almost cemented in the tube, after a waiver was signed I pulled the pan to try and clean it and a thick semi solid goo was all that was left of the oil, After the flush and change the motor siezed. But that is the absolute worst case scenario.
Having Worked At a firestone For over 5 years and at a fastlube for 5 years before that I can tell you they must look at the car and it has to be free if you have a complaint about the service.
Does anyone have significant reasons why this is not a good car to purchase? If so, please let me know. Thank you
Happy New Year
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
There are two coils, about $100 each. These can be pulled and tested however, prior to replacing. Well the resistance can be tested.
Also a coil can go bad because of bad connectors or spark plugs--these kinds of excessive resistance can damage the coils internally.
How was it determined that the coils were bad? If all they did was scan and got a P0300 code, that's not enough. That's just a misfire code.
They are not a shop that gouges people and I think they are figuring that after 12 years if one coil is still fine it probably won't be for very long anyway. There are 6 coils.
The other things have been fairly straightforward. A broken radiator fan. Alternator. Starter. Battery (the big 3 of electrical problems). It's just the never-endingness of it all that is starting to get to me. Plus with two of them, we had just come back from a long trip. I keep thinking, what if it had conked out on some godforsaken highway. I've always felt this was a very dependable car. I'm just wondering if that's still the case.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Given that a modern car has a predictable (statistical) lifespan of say 175K to 225K, and that you are already in the second half of that life span (which is generally, not the best half---same as people! :P ), then you have to weigh the expected costs of upkeep against new car payments.
The car may settle down, but it'll always be something on an old car. I'm sure a new Maxima would cost you easily 2X as much per month, or more.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
After spending quiet a bit for
-- Axles, Rear brakes rotors, Tires, Control Arms and tie rods, engine mounts, Regular fluids
It still has some problems. The mechanic says the spark plugs, front brakepads has to be changed
Recently it has started sputtering. When I took it to the dealer-mechanic he mentioned a vaccumm leak and told it is fixed. However in the next couple of days it again started. Now the mechanic says there is a bigger problem with the car, starting with fuel injection cleaning to probably some chains that are making noise and might cost upto 3k.
I had mentioned to the mechanic that I am fed up of dealing with the maintainance and planning to get a new car. Not sure whether the mechanic is pushing towards me buying a new car.
Here are my questions
1. Is the mechanic pushing me to go for a new car at the dealer? Does these happen?
2. Should I go for a new car or go for some more maintenance ? (Financially might be tough but would be better for mental peace)
PLEASE GIVE ADVICE TO HOW I CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM
do you have a check engine light on? and did the dealer give you the trouble code that popped up when they told you you had a vacuum leak? they should. if you have it post it and I can check my Mitchell on demand car care program for the cause and give you an answer.
Buying a different car may leave you with the same issues on that new car since your probably talking about buying another used car, What i suggest you do is get a quote on a timing belt water pump replacement and a fuel injection cleaning, and the spark plugs from that dealer, and then call around and ask for quotes on that same job elsewhere, you will always pay more for everything at a dealership, even if its just a small used car dealership. Go to a Chain repair shop like Firestone or whatever, because 3 thousand seems very very high for a 120-180$ tune up, a $100 dollar fuel system clean and an 8-1200$ timing belt job.
Also some advice I want to give is dont let yourself be intimidated into not asking questions, know exactly what your paying for, ask in no uncertain terms the question "if i pay for this, it will fix my car correct"? then ask "If you say i need all this done to fix the car and it doesnt, what will you do for me then?" Ive worked in quite a few different shops and have seen all manner of mechanics and sales people from the dead honest to the completely unscrupulous. And more often than not there are both types of people working at the same shop.
For instance, Ford Expeditions have a very over sensitive fuel pump cutoff switch in the passenger kick panel, a whack with your foot will trip this sensor into thinking the car has been in a collision and to cut the fuel pump, rendering the car stuck, its a super common problem and "standard" procedure is to make the customer pay a $100 "inspection fee" and another 60$ to "fix" it ( pull 2 screws out and press one button).
A woman came in in a tow truck with her kids, her expedition just wouldnt start, she was in tears, her kids were crying it was just a bad day, I heard her say she went into a store for 10 minutes and it just wouldnt start, the truck had less than 20,000 miles on it, so before she was able to go into the office and get hosed by my jerkoff ex boss, I ran out there asked her for the keys, popped that one panel off and reset the switch, started the truck, and told her to be on her way, I showed her where the reset was I told her to try that first if the truck ever fails to start. She asked where to pay I told her it was free, I said I couldnt charge her for 2 minutes of my time, a 200$ tow bill was bad enough. My boss had come outside at that point wondering what I was doing and why she was leaving, I hoped she wouldnt say anything and just leave, but she was understandably appreciative and told him what I had done, well I ended up getting written up and deducted the labor cost of what the "repair" would have been out of my pay, it was just under 2 hours at 17.50 an hour so i lost a good chunk of change. And had to listen to a lecture on how thats not how you run a business. We had a "where did you hear about us" question on the intake forms and over the next few weeks about 20 people came in saying they heard from that woman what a great shop we had and to bring there cars to us. Not to mention she became a customer for life and spent over 3k the next month completely fixing up her old car for her oldest daughter to start driving. She always asked for me personally to work on her cars and then when I changed shops in the same chain of stores she brought her cars to the new location I was working at, even though it was farther out of her way.
I wish I could give you a more certain answer to your questions, but I would need to see the car first, and I dont know the mechanic. So im just speculating.
But you do need to either get a refund for the "repairs" that didnt fix anything, or get credit toward your next repair. Also shop around for the best quote, you dont have to take it to the dealer, you can ask for all your service records and take those to any shop. Even under warranty you do not have to take a car to the dealer for oil changes or any other basic stuff. As long as its done and you have a receipt your warranty is intact, but since its used and you have paid to fix all these problems im assuming you dont have one.
That should be another red flag if you do decide to buy another car, first I recommend buying from a private seller in cash, you get a better deal dealerships charge waaaaaay to much, 8k for that maxima with all those problems was a ripoff an 04 maxima in fantastic shape is an $8,000 car . Avoid Dealer cars that have no warranty, they have the mechanics look the cars over and if they arent willing to back it up you can be certain you will need major work in less than a year You have probably spent close to $2,000 on that car already on repairs, so you spent 10k on that Maxima, and have just been quoted another 3k. And for 13k you can buy a 1-2 year old Hyundai that are fantastic cars, Kia is ok but they have cheaper construction, door handles window cranks and interior stuff breaks alot and most of the engine is aluminum so it wears quickly
Also if you do decide to buy another car whatever the dealer is asking take 3 thousand off of it and set that as your MAXIMUM your willing to spend on that car with tax title and license fee included, if they show you a blue book Value ask to see the blue book itself and then look at the condition rating, if they say the car is in Very good condition look at the fair condition value and thats closer to the real value, And also if they are Asking for top KBB value and dont offer a warranty there is something seriously wrong, if the car has the Very good price it should be in very good condition, th