What to do.....car problems
 

Here's the story...
Went to start my car yesterday afternoon and it was "deader than a doornail" thought it was because the temp was at zero and the battery was dead, but after trying to jump start it...nothing. Had it towed to the garage I bought it at in July and where my stepson is a salesman (the "HUGE" place :p ), it started when they took it off the flat bed and later hooked it up to a computer where it said that a sesnor in the transmission may be bad and would have to be replaced. The cost...$600, lot of labor involved. This same thing happened about 20 years ago with the first car I had to make payments on, had that one 3 months and the transmission went on that one. Had to "bite the bullet" because at the time, there were no lemon laws in N.Y. state and my grandmother was the co-signer on the loan. It's cost me over $800 then, just my luck the same thing happens two decades later. Made 5 payments with 67 to go! :( They don't think it's under warranty anymore, so guess what.....
Anybody got any ideas or is a mechanic here? Do I just let it go and take my chances or fix it. I probably should get a second opinion or even get rid of it. This is the first car payment I've made in almost ten years....just drove "clunkers" but decided to get a "trustworthy" car.....see what happens!

If the car is under warranty that sensor should be covered...Otherwise, i would just fix the darn thing.

What is year/make/model of the vehicle? mileage?

2004 Chevy Impala...40,000 no problems til now

You are probably SOL then on the warranty, just barely.

I don't really understand your options though, do you really want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere because of a sensor?

Yeah, I guess you're right.....I'm pissed though, thought I was getting a reliable car for what I paid for it. Oh, well!

Dude, it is a car, it isn't like any of them are reliable, you could hit a bump wrong and blow out your whole assembly going 5mph. **** happens, especially with sensors, I have blown more o2 sensors that I care to talk about, just happens

First thing is no matter what, you have to fix it. Because no matter where you drive, local or even worse far away, you will be wondering if and when it is going to happen. That is a very unesay feeling. If you bought this car used, sometimes the lot gives some sort of warrenty. If not, maybe your stepson could pull some strings or call in a favor for you. But outside of that, it seems that your options are limited. Mechanics are one of those services that if you do not know one, you always think you are being screwed. Just ask around, maybe someone knows a mechanic or is happy with some work they had done by one. I would think that if your stepson is in the car buisness he could refer a good one to you also. Good Luck.

Finding a trust-worthy mechanic is a difficult proposition, but not impossible. You definitely need to get it fixed, then you can consider trading it in later if it continues to give you trouble, and starting the process all over again. I'm driving a 2002 Toyota Corolla with 172,000 miles on it. Just had to get it fixed (spark plugs, manifold gasket, $400) today.

Japanese

agreed.

Triple H.... Does the car have theft coverage on it ? I know a few guys from south philly who could do a Magic Trick with it ! :D :D

real japanese, or made in america japanese??

a sensor MAY be bad? i'd want more info before shelling out $600 that MAY fix a sensor that MAY be bad.

i used to know a couple guys on LI that could do the same magic.

made in america japanese limited edition bill belicheck model.

goes zero to 16 in 17 weeks?

as an aside....

guy forgets his wifes birthday.
he wakes and finds a note. 'you better make it up to me this afternoon. i want something that goes from 0 to 200 in six seconds'.
he arrives home that afternoon, and tells his wife her present is in the drive. she runs outside, only to find a scale on the pavement...

his funeral is later today.

HHH,

First tact is to take the stand that this American car has less than 50K and should be covered. Complain to a regional service rep.for Chevy. Ask where he is and call and bitch, bitch, bitch. They can, sometimes make something warrantee when it's not. Especially when they think you're giong to tell the world chevys are crap.

As someone else mentioned, maybe bad? Have someone else look at it. Quite odd that a sensor all of a sudden goes bad.

stupid as it sounds to some....but buy the extended warrantee next time....I used to have a nissan and when it was 8 years old the alternater died (in the middle of an intersection no less)....the car only had 70,000 miles on it so the whole thing was covered (about $800) by the extended warantee (even though it was 8 years old)....saved my ass at the time, since I was flat broke at the time and needed the car to get to work.

Toyota....
If your car is out of warranty...dont go to a dealer to get it fixed...you will get robbed every time.

Vintage.

67 payments to go...
You got your loan
from the place you
bought the car I'll bet.

These guys frikkin...
arrr... they rip people
with these loans.

Bank would never
have done it this way
for a very good reason.
Makin payments on a
item that is worthless
later on. 67 payments...
Default.

Bandits I tell ya.