Car trouble *grr*

[lizzielou742]

I am so frustrated. I drive my grandparents' 1988 Chevy Caprice. They gave it to me as a graduation gift, and I appreciated it so much. It was very generous of them, especially considering the great shape it was in. They've babied it since they bought it...in 1988. I haven't had much trouble with it since I got it in June of 2003...until now.

First of all, my brakes squeak. It's so annoying. We've changed the brake pads, brake shoes and one rotor that needed replacing, and still they squeak. It's a mystery

Then it started leaking coolant. My hoses aren't leaking - they're all new too - so we're thinking it's coming directly from the radiator. But no matter how my dad and I try, we can't find where it's leaking from. I had a few guy friends who work on cars look at it too, but no one can figure it out. When I park the car, I always check as I leave the spot to see if I've leaked any out....nothing. Last week, it started to put out a bit of gray smoke when I start it from the tailpipe...so now we think it could be a cracked heat gasket.

My "Service Engine Soon" light comes on at random times, and that's a mystery to me. I can't figure out what the common denominator is that makes it come on, but I do know if I turn the car off and turn it back on, it doesn't come back on. It doesn't overheat or anything...I don't get it.

Then this morning I go out to the car and my muffler had broken off from my tailpipe during my drive home from Dayton yesterday. It's hanging down some, not dragging on the road or anything, but I need to get it fixed ASAP. But, I had to get to work this morning, so I drove it anyway. When I started it up, it stalled. I got it to start right back up...but this is the last thing I need, you know?

Sorry for the rant. I've had so many car problems...I've only been driving for 7 years and this is my 9th car. It's insane. I need to buy a new car, with a warranty, but I can't afford one. Maybe I'll just have to, if these repairs turn out to be more than the car is even worth.

*grr* I hate cars!!!

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Poor you! It's So frustrating when things don't work as they are supposed to!! Hope you get the car sorted out, or manage to make a plan for a new (or newER) one!

[pitc9]

I feel for you!!!

I hope things take a turn for the better!

My Chevy blazer is in the shop right now getting a new transmission put in it! It's going to cost me $1000!!!!!!!

[dukedogsmom]

I HATE car problems. I can't believe you've been through so many cars already. Sounds like you need to take the car to a trusted mechanic and give it a good going over.

[lizzielou742]

I am going to take it in this weekend, but the sucky part is I just moved to this town and I have no clue what mechanic to go to. Oh well, guess I'll just have to figure it out!

Here's the cars I have had so far:
1. 1975 Chevy Malibu (caught on fire )
2. 1988 Pontiac Sunbird (threw a piston)
3. 1986 Ford Bronco (OK car, but my dad sold it)
4. 1990 Chevy S10 (brother wrecked it)
5. 1988 Ford Crown Victoria LTD (awful awful awful car)
6. 1988 Pontiac Bonneville (belt and AC problems)
7. 1990 Chevy Lumina (various problems)
8. 1988 Chevy Caprice (current car)

So I guess I only had 8...I counted once and I thought it was 9...I can't even keep track anymore. My dad is kind of a control freak, and insisted he choose all my cars for me. I paid for the first one, and after that he kept trading them in.

I hope I don't sound like a spoiled brat....but I am just SICK of this. I hate driving unreliable cars, cars with over 150,000 miles on them, cars that have no floor in the backseat (in my Malibu I could see the road go under my feet), cars with melted duct tape all over the seats, cars with broken gauges, cars with constant problems. Wouldn't you think a dad would want his daughter to at least drive something safe? I know I should be thankful I have a car at all, and I am. I'm just sick of pouring all my money into this stuff.

Now that I'm on my own, I gave my dad back the last car and started thankfully driving my own car, the nicest one I could afford (free), in my own name, for the first time. Now that it's having problems, I'm ready to lose it. I just got back from lunch and the Check Engine light came on again. It's going to the shop this weekend. I also hate taking my car to the shop because people always try to rip me off. They think because I'm a girl I don't know anything about my car.

For example, the last time I took my car in to be serviced (it needed a new starter), the mechanics called and told me I needed all new belts. Well, I just replaced all my belts two months before, so I knew this was B.S. Just for the heck of it, I asked him how much it would be, and he told me "about $300." YEAH RIGHT. He said, "Well, you've got a lot of belts here!" Um, no, my car hasfour (maybe five) belts. I had bought the belts two months before and my dad replaced them - for a grand total of $30. So I said, "No thanks, I'd rather not replace them." And his response? "Oh, well you kind of have to, because we already took the old ones off and threw them away."

I about had a fit. I told him I didn't care if he had to go dig in the dumpster himself to find them, he was going to put my old belts back on, and quick. I had not authorized them to change the belts and I was not going to. I knew that they hadn't really thrown them away, or even taken them off probably. They were just trying to get me. Like I'm friggin' stupid or something. I picked up my car that day, with the old belts (which magically reappeared out of the trash), paid for my new starter, and left. Ha!

Go on, try to take advantage of me. I dare ya.

*SORRY* for the rant!

[DJFyrewolf36]

People at mechanic places get really at me because I've been teaching myself how to work on all sorts of cars. My hubby got me into rebuilding them so I pretty much know when someone is trying to screw me. I had one moron tell me that my clutch needed replacing and I was driving an automatic . Now I don't trust anyone with my car, I even change the oil myself No one touches my baby! (Well Im kind of attached since it IS my first car I bought myself)

I know what you mean about the Crown Vic LTDs...UGH central. I wouldn't even rebuild one if I was paid a million dollars lol. When they decide to die, they die wholeheartedly! Oh and here is a hint, next time you find a car from 88'...

Light it on fire lol! I haven't had any luck with any car built in 88'. I'm starting to think it was just a horrible year for cars. Too bad you didn't live closer to me. I'd wrench on your cars, and make em runnin spiffy again! Making old cars live well again is a hobby of mine.

Good luck finding a car that isn't a money pit. Even sometimes I have to throw in the towel.

Oh and by the way, from the discriptions you gave of what the Caprice is doing, it does sound like a blown heat gasket. As for the breaks, sometimes if there is dirt up in the lines it can make them squeak. Try doing a complete break flush (although Im sure you did that when you replaced the breaks the first time) My breaks (new or not) always squeal when its either wet or cold. Its just a quirk of my car.

[joycenalex]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lizzielou742
[B]I am going to take it in this weekend, but the sucky part is I just moved to this town and I have no clue what mechanic to go to. Oh well, guess I'll just have to figure it out!

go check out the mechanix (yes that's spelled right) on cartalk.com. it's organized by tom and ray mazzolgi (that might not be right tho). they're the hosts on car talk on npr radio. if someone loves their mechanic enough to list them, then there is one very happy customer. good luck. a good mechanic is as useful as a good doctor.

[Cincy'sMom]

I feel your pain!! I finally got rid of my money pit last month and got a leased truck..under warentee the whole 3 years I have it!!

My ranger that I just got rid of was the first car I bought myself. I had it fro 4years and in that time replaced the engine, the water pump, several radiator hoses, the breaks, the muffler, the battery and who knows what else! What a pain in the rear!

Other cars...

My first was an Olds Forenza. It was a 4 banger that after about a year was running on 2 somdays 3 cylinders and lost reverse.

After that I got a Chevy Cosica...til my mom decided she'd rather drive it. And I got the family van...full sized brown box...but man could I pile the friends in!!

Then I got an '82 Mustang. Good car for quite some time..the driver's door didn't always open, you had to go to drive from reverse witha coat hanger, and if you went up hill in the cold soemtimes the choke would freeze open and the car would stall...but that thing ran for 10 years, back and forth to Cincy.

After that I went back to the Corsica...and had to replace the engine.

Then came the Ranger...

we did have a ('88!) Shadow for a bit too that we bought cheap. It got Ralph through a winter when he had his mustang, then blew a head gasket. We donated it to charity.

and now I have my Dakota

[lizzielou742]

Thanks for the advice everyone! DJ I wish you lived closer!

I called my dad last night and asked him what to do about the "Check Engine" light coming on. His response was, "Wait 'til it breaks down, then you'll know what's wrong with it."

[RICHARD]

She didn't need a new car after all
By Dennis McCarthy
Staff Writer-L.A. Daily News


TGIF. Here's some good news from a couple of self-proclaimed little old ladies from the Valley who thought they were going to be taken for a ride recently when they went looking for a reliable used car to buy.

Elsie Ableser and Rita Carson didn't get the car because they didn't need to. But they did get something else they weren't expecting.

"The whole experience renewed my faith in people," Rita was saying Thursday, still driving her old 1984 Toyota with 120,000 miles on it.

Her car's transmission was supposed to be on its last legs, according to the mechanics Rita took it to a few weeks ago. "They said it was going, and that it would cost $3,000 to replace."

Rita figured putting $3,000 in a 20-year old car was throwing good money after bad, so she called her friend Elsie to help her go shopping for a car she could afford. They wound up at Valley Dealer Exchange in Burbank, which finds cars on the Internet for customers, and also has a retail lot of about 40 cars for sale.

"They saw two old ladies walking in, and could have taken us for a ride," Elsie said. "We were prepared for the worst. Instead, the first thing they wanted to do was not sell us a car, but to make sure Rita's car was really on its last legs."

Turns out it wasn't.

"She didn't need another car, she just needed some transmission fluid and additives in the one she had," said Juan Carlos Renteria, who helped the two women. "I told her you don't have to spend your money on a new car now, save it. This one works just fine."

So Rita wound up spending $36 for oil and additives.

"I was bowled over," she said. "They saw I was in a bind, and could have taken advantage of me. But they were decent people with integrity."