I hate cars

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
I took my car in this morning for a routine maintenance, and to have them look at the coolant, because my light has been coming on sporadically. Well, it turns out that coolant is leaking into my oil because of a cracked head gasket. Apparently it's one of the most expensive car repairs. So now, instead of $50 for my maintenance, I'm looking at $2500.

Guess I won't be ordering any new Cathe for, oh, about a year until I can pay off this stupid repair.

;(
 
(((((HUGS))))) Aww Shelley, I feel so bad that you have to deal with this now. Not that there's ever a good time to deal with head gasket repairs. But you know what I mean. I'd send Matt up to Canada to fix it for you if I could!
 
Oh crap that sucks Shelley. But I don't get how a cracked gasket costs $2500? That seems really expensive to me. Is it a dealership? Can you get a second opinion? If the car isn't under warranty I would highly recommend going to an independent repair shop--dealerships will rob you blind if you give them a chance. Do you know anyone in the business? Maybe you can hold off for a day or two until you can get someone else to look at it.

OK now I'm ranting--my dad's been in the business for 40 years so I'm just telling you what he would LOL.

My poor car's in the body shop & the rental co. gave me a Ford Focus--OMG it is making me crazy! I can go from 0-10 in like 5 minutes. I hate cars right now too. x(
 
thats a horrible surprise. I hate car problems. I would definetly get a second estimate if I were you, as long as the car is still driveable.

Kathy
 
I'm sorry to hear about your car problems-- don't they always pop up at the worst times?!

A few years ago (and a different car), I had problems with continuous oil leaks. I took it in to have it looked at and the mechanic said that the head needed to be replaced. After I picked myself up off the floor at the price, I called my boyfriend. He looked around on the internet and found out that this particular model was prone to having such problems. There was an 'unofficial' recall on the car. We contacted a dealer who checked into it and lucky us, the manufacturer paid for the work! And the car had high mileage-- almost 80,000 miles.

L
 
Thanks guys. I have asked around about pricing, and it seems that is the going rate. Any small amount I might save by taking it somewhere else would be eaten up by the rental car I would have to get, whereas the dealer is willing to give me a loaner for a couple of days while mine is in the shop.

I hate being in debt, but since I don't just have $2500 lying around, I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and use my virgin credit line.x(
 
I feel ya. My son ( who is learning how to drive... ) has a GMC Jimmy that overheated on us last Saturday. 500.00 later!
 
>I took my car in this morning for a routine maintenance, and
>to have them look at the coolant, because my light has been
>coming on sporadically. Well, it turns out that coolant is
>leaking into my oil because of a cracked head gasket.
>Apparently it's one of the most expensive car repairs. So
>now, instead of $50 for my maintenance, I'm looking at $2500.
>
>Guess I won't be ordering any new Cathe for, oh, about a year
>until I can pay off this stupid repair.
>
>;(


I hear ya. I have a "minor oil leak" because of a cracked head gasket...$1,500 to fix it.
 
Shelley,

On a repair item that expensive, I'd take the car to another garage and get a second diagnosis. Make SURE it's the head gasket and not something else that might be less expensive. Is the car still driveable?
 
Gayle - there is coolant leaking into my oil. Which makes it not so driveable.

And I honestly totally trust my dealer. They always take the time to explain things to me in great detail, right down to drawing me diagrams!
 
that sucks! sorry darlinx( :-( at least you get a loner though. i used to work for a mechaninc and Enterprise Rental so i know how expensive head gaskets and rental bills are. major bummer:(


jes
 
Oh Gees I can relate ... My Van is in the shop 3,200.00 But I get to pay 750 $ .. My hubby rolled our other car about two weeks ago .We only had liability on that one so the tow was 300 $ And On my great credit we went and got him a new (New to us ) 6,000.00 car Which will be 7,800.00 after we pay for it for 4 years !!!.Then all in this same two weeks One of my teeth broke so I 'm getting 1200 worth of work on that ,no dental insurance and my youngest well hes got about 1000 worth of dental work right now ... Oh my gosh now after writing this and seeing it all on one page I'm kinda scared !!! How are we gonna do it ???? And gees my house well I will be 72 by the time we pay for it !!! So I can relate But Me I will still buy those Cathe workouts if I NEED them LOL ...They are what keeps me sane LOL . Good luck Shelley and hang in there !!!
 
Ouch, Shelley. I'm really sorry to hear that. Ugh.

Are you sure you shouldn't turn it in and get a new one. How old is your car?
 
It's a 1999. It did have a lot of kilometers on it, so now instead of repairing the head gasket, they are going to replace the engine, with one that only has 45,000 km on it, for less than it would cost to replace the head gasket.
 
I am so sorry! That totally blows! At least you will have a new engine that you won't have to worry about for a long time. Will the dealership offer financing? We had to get our car fixed and the dealership offered us 60 days of interest free. We were able to pay in 45 days. You may want to ask about it.

.......what is 45,000km converted to American measurements??? like 25,000m or something like that? I still don't understand why we don't just convert to the rest of the world.

Missy
 
Shelley,
I just read that you might replace the engine. I did that with my 94 Tercel ... It leaked oil until one day the engine blew. We went to a junkyard and they sold us the engine from a car on their lot (they gave us some sort of limited warranty I think) for a lot cheaper and we took it to a mechanic who checked it out and installed it .... and it's been working fine ever since (it's here in Italy with me weaving around those scooters!). Another cheaper option we looked at was a rebuilt engine. I'll have to ask DH about prices but I don't think it was too bad.
Cath :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top