Car Advice

[StevieP]

This is too bad they are shafting you on the price Crysta. I seriously hate hearing about people having to pay this kind of money for car repairs. Oh well, at least once it is fixed you shouldn't have anything major go wrong for a while.

Dawn, what's your insight on cars with V6s that have a timing chain as opposed to a belt? I (like most red-blooded American men) have an obsession with cars and have never heard of a chain breaking and leaving someone stranded (except for the Mitsubishi designed 2.7L V6 in chrysler cars.) Oh and are you hiring? I will work for free if I can play with Frank the Tank on my lunch break.

 

[Essentia]

Christian is a computer junkie, not a car junkie.

I am getting my car back on Saturday and the entire cost is $1288 including tax. Just the belt was going to be $958. The $538 was just the charge for taking apart that part of the engine. I got shafted, I know, and it will definitely not happen again in the future. That's the last time I bring my car to a dealership, especially for work like this. Lesson learned.

And like Tiffany said, my extended warranty ended at 77,000 miles.

...at this point I just want my car back.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

My daddy said (he's fixed several cars due to jumping time), he said it would be best to find a private gargage and have them fix it. The dealership is Extremely overcharging you for everything.

 

[Essentia]

It's too late. They already have my car taken apart. I would have to pay them $600 just to take my car out of there, in pieces, to another place. By the time I have it towed and fixed somewhere else it would be the same price. Like I said, the lesson is definitely learned and this will be the last time I bring my vehicle to them.

Oh, and the $1288 is actually with me fighting with them about it. It was more like $1450 plus tax beforehand. I just don't get how they can rip off people like this and get away with it. I can't imagine how many people bring their cars to them daily and pay double without ever doing any research to realize how much they are overpaying.

 

[ticklechin]

If your car is only an '05, I'd be asking what's still under the warranty. Most are 10 years or 100k miles, your car is under both.

Timing belts are a maintenance item, never covered by any warranty.

 

[ticklechin]

This is too bad they are shafting you on the price Crysta. I seriously hate hearing about people having to pay this kind of money for car repairs. Oh well, at least once it is fixed you shouldn't have anything major go wrong for a while.

Dawn, what's your insight on cars with V6s that have a timing chain as opposed to a belt? I (like most red-blooded American men) have an obsession with cars and have never heard of a chain breaking and leaving someone stranded (except for the Mitsubishi designed 2.7L V6 in chrysler cars.) Oh and are you hiring? I will work for free if I can play with Frank the Tank on my lunch break.

The old days with over head valve engines with steel gears there was never a issue unless the car was abused. Ford in the 80s and early 90s went with a teflon cam gear which would break apart. Then the V8 in the late 90s went with over head cam engines with plastic chain rails and cheesey tensioners which bleed of hydraulic pressure at rest and the chain would slacken upon start up busting up the rails. V8 and V6 engines with OHV engines are the best as far as chains go.

Frank is the PR chin for Autoquest, he is the show and tell chin!

 

[Essentia]

UPDATE:

Now that the belt and such is fixed my battery has started dying every 2 days. It randomly did it the other day, and now leaving work it did it again. Husband is on his way to once again jump the battery.

What would you guys recommend? I have been reading online that this is a common problem when it comes to a short somewhere that is draining the battery, but the problem there is that the short is usually hard to find unless it's a light or something like that (it's not, I've checked them all). I am going to bring the car to Auto Zone on Monday to get the battery checked and I guess go from there?

 

[AZChins]

How old is your battery? I know that the new batteries don't require maintenance like the old ones did, but they can still dry out and stop charging properly. What you can do to find out if it's your alternator is start the car and take the battery cables off the battery and if it stops running after that, you need a new alternator (or there's something else wrong with your electrical system.)

Definitely get that battery checked out. Hopefully that's all it is. I've had the same battery in my car for four years and I know that any day it's going to stop working...

 

[Ash]

I'd say check the battery. If it's not the battery, maybe the alternator.

 

[Essentia]

It very well could be the battery then if you're worried about it being 4 years old. Mine is just over 5 yrs old. I'll try the alternator check tomorrow and see what happens. Let's all hope it stays running! I would much rather replace the battery than the alternator.

 

[addictedtochins]

Oh, I just remembered, I had a newer car and was surprised when the battery went dead. For some unknown reason the inside of the positive cable was ruined. I don't know why, maybe someone before me did an improper jump start and melted the wire inside the plastic coating

 

[ticklechin]

If the alternator was defective the car would not run since the battery is low on a charge and your battery light would be on the dash. Original equiptment batteries are junkie and I am suprised yours lasted 5 years. Replace it and you should be good to go.

 

[StevieP]

Oh man Crysta that stinks. I'm voting on the battery is going kapoots. I think autozone puts them in for free though if you buy from there of course.

 

[Ash]

Also, take your old battery with you wherever you buy the new battery from, as they will usually knock off some of the charge.

 

[Essentia]

Oh man Crysta that stinks. I'm voting on the battery is going kapoots. I think autozone puts them in for free though if you buy from there of course.

I wonder if they will install it for free when they figure out it is in my wheelwell and the tire has to be removed to get to it? I won't tell them until they tell me if it's free installation or not.

 

[AZChins]

They mess with batteries all the time. They'll know where everything is located. Are you saying that you have to take a wheel off your car to replace a battery? That's so strange...

 

[ticklechin]

Chrysler does all kinds of weird "stuff". To do a water pump on a PT cruiser you have to release all the motor mounts and shove the engine 4 inches over to remove it, like DUH its a item that wears out.....or a Mini, you have to remove the entire front of the car including the headlights to do a clutch.

 

[AZChins]

That's why I like the Mustangs we have here...nothing needs to be removed when something needs fixing. They're simple and require so little to fix them.

Chrysler can make all sorts of money on repairs if they make their cars complicated, I suppose. Battery in the wheel well is strange indeed.

 

[GorillaJTA]

It is all about requiring a dealer to replace items. I have never owned a vehicle made after 1999, and never a car, but I have worked on friends vehicles (replacing belts on the side of the road, spark plugs, etc.) and you can tell when a part is unnecessarily difficult to get to.
But yeah, Autozone will hook your car up can tell you if it is the battery, alternator, etc. but it sounds like the battery and the longer you wait, the worse it will get since newer cars pull a constant trickle of power.

 

[Essentia]

Yeah, no more Chryslers for me! I initially wanted a Mustang, but since I was younger I went with a car that my insurance company wouldn't make a killing off of. Now that I'm over that age hump I shall get my nice, easy fix Mustang when this car wears out.

Oh, and yes Susan, I really mean I have to take the wheel off the car to take out the old battery and install the new one.

I doubt Auto Zone will replace it for free. When I looked at their website it specifically stated that is was a "labor intensive 30min job' for my battery. Ah well.