Little Repair Shop of Horrors

So about my car…

I have a cute little 97 Saturn SC2. First car I ever bought ENTIRELY by myself – about five years ago. Aside from a few oil leaks (drips, actually. That left a yukky mess on the driveway, though) my little Saturn has treated me pretty well. Oh, except for the fact that the sunroof is permanently shut. Because it USED to be permanently open, and when I had to choose between the two, well… Of course, now if it rains torrentially, it DOES leak just a smidge on the passenger side from said sunroof… And the speakers are a little on the blown out side, I mean, I can hear the radio (or the CDs I play), but it’s more like listening to a transistor radio than a STEREO. BUT, with 113,000 miles, it still runs and it’s paid off and those are the two most important things, right?

Let’s continue. About a month ago, I drove out to a friend’s house which was about a 30 minute drive. We had a nice visit, then Lexie and I left. As we were driving, I thought “Hmmmm – I thought I had more gas than this,” but thought nothing of it and hopped on the highway to go home. We stopped at a gas station where I filled up the tank and thought “Hmmmmm – my car usually doesn’t take THIS much gas,” but again – blew it off. We stopped in a store and when we came back to the car, I noticed a pretty strong smell of gas. When we backed out of our spot, there was a HUGE puddle under where the front of my car was. I asked Lexie if she smelled gas too (yes) and if she noticed if said puddle was there before we parked (not sure). So I pulled into a different spot, sat a few minutes, and backed out again. SHIT! Another huge puddle. Obviously something was leaking. So, I drove home.

When I got home I decided to park the car on the street rather than in my driveway – you know, because it was leaking. Lo and behold, Cute Neighbor was outside with his girlfriend. I asked Cute Neighbor to look at my car and tell me what was leaking. Well, Cute Neighbor looked at it and freaked out, explaining my car had a leak in the gas line and I was lucky that it didn’t explode on the way home. That driving a car with a leak in the gas line is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS because any spark could ignite it. (Huh. Go figure. Good thing I quit smoking three years ago.) He told me I needed to have it towed right away to a repair shop and have it fixed. Since it was late Friday night, I figured I would wait until Saturday morning, and hope no one tossed a lit cigarette by my car before then.

So AAA came in the wee hours of the am and towed it to a shop we’ll call “Randy’s.” (Yeah, I know, I’m being pretty subtle, right??) I told Randy’s to fix the gas line leak, and while they were at it, to fix the oil leak as well, since my baby had been leaking oil for quite a while now. Not GUSHING oil, mind you, but enough to make a mess of my driveway over time. Had to rent a car for the weekend, and the long and short of it was that Randy’s had my car until the following Tuesday and the total bill was $1,236.31. After my nifty “$250 off” coupon, I paid $986.31. Pretty much a “Holy SH**!” moment, but what choice did I have? So I leave with my fixed car and am happy.

Temporarily.

Over the following weekend, I notice my car is smoking from the hood. I notice this as I am in stop-and-go traffic on the highway. And I ALSO notice something smells kind of off, but I’m not sure if it is my car or something outside my car. When I get home that night, I pop the hood and try to see if anything looks like it is burning, but all looks well. On Monday, there is more smoke and more smells. I call Randy’s and they tell me to bring it in, which I can’t because I have to work. They tell me to bring it in on Saturday so they can check it out for me. Fine.

On Tuesday, I have a thought. Maybe I’ll check the oil. Silly as I think that is, since they FIXED the oil leaks and just put FIVE QUARTS of oil in a week before. But I can’t help that nagging feeling… Sure enough, bone frickin’ dry. I buy five more quarts, put two in right away, and stash the rest in my trunk. Then I call Randy’s again, and explain the situation. What do they tell me? “You’d better put oil in it right away, then!” DUH! I tell them I did, but that there must STILL be a leak, and so I plan on putting in a quart at a time until Saturday.

Saturday comes, and I drop off the car again. This time when they call back, they explain that they made a mistake, and they needed to install a new oil thingamgiggy which they didn’t do at the first visit. That since it was their fault, they wouldn’t charge for labor, only for the part. Which was $600.00, give or take. As I feel my chest constrict, I manage to spit out – “Ok, do what has to be done.”

About 20 minutes later they call back. “How long was your car running without oil?” they accuse. “I don’t know!” I retort. “I mean, you DID just put FIVE QUARTS in and had SUPPOSEDLY fixed the leaks, so until I checked it on Tuesday, I had no idea it was even low!! WHY WOULD I???” This was a lead in for the next bombshell – my engine was shot. And I needed a new one.

Before my mind wrapped itself around that information, I was quickly assured that since they made the mistake, I wouldn’t be charged for the new (rebuilt) engine or the labor for that either, but it would take about a week. I would only be paying for any upgrades and that $600 oil thingamagiggy. Whatever – do it. What choice did I have?

So a week later, I return the rental car (oh, yes, they paid for that baby) and pick up my “like new” car. With my “like new” engine that has (supposedly) 40,000 less miles on it than my old one. Like they were giving me this huge gift or something. I paid the new bill to the tune of $642.62 (“Boy, we really kept your bill low!”) and left.

Next day? The damn car stalled. Three times. And had NO pickup at all. AND? The “Service Engine Soon” light came on. Instead of going back to Randy’s immediately, I called a friend whose husband is a mechanic. I drove it out to him, he said he couldn’t see anything wrong with it, but that he didn’t have any diagnostic equipment either. He suggested trying some fuel injector cleaner. Did that, didn’t help. So what choice did I have? I called back Randy’s.

Their response? “You’d better get it back in as soon as possible so you don’t ruin our engine!” Wait a minute – YOUR engine??? PUH-LEASE!!! Brought it back last night, rented another car (this time on my own dime) and got a call this morning. “Well, it’s not our engine,” (again with the OUR ENGINE BS) he tells me, “It’s your EGR valve and O2 sensor. You need those taken care of right away. Now, I called on the part, it runs about $700, but tell you what, I’ll give you a $200 discount.” WHAT?????? I told him (in a freakishly high panicky stressed out voice) that I had NO money left and I couldn’t AFFORD $500. And how could those things have “suddenly” gone bad? I never had problems before!

He explained that it was an emmissions thing, and that “these things happen” with older cars. But they had nothing to do with it. I told HIM I just had my emmissions test and my car passed with flying colors. But he insisted that was the problem. I told him not to touch my car and I would call him back.

After calling both my parents and my brother and crying and panicking and thinking irrationally, I finally called another mechanic that my friend had told me about. And guess what?

He laughed at me.

He told me Randy’s was notorious for that kind of crap and I was lucky to get the engine out of them. He told me there was no way an EGR valve would cost $500, and besides, if I was planning on only keeping the car a few more months, there was no need for a new one. He told me he could clean out the carbon in ten minutes and not even charge for it – that all I needed was for the car to run smoother, right? And he also asked if I could bring the Randy’s receipts for him to look at, because he never heard of any oil thingamagiggy that cost $600.

He said that IF there is anything that does absolutely, positively need to be fixed, he’ll take care of it, but he doubts it is anything that would run even near $100. That even with a messed up EGR valve, the car may be annoying to drive since it stalls, but it won’t blow up or ruin the engine in the few months I plan on keeping it. So I am getting my car from Randy’s tonight after work and bringing it to my Car Mechanic Prince tomorrow morning at 8:00 am. I don’t even know this guy, but I think I love him.

Oh, and? When I called Randy’s to tell them to leave my car alone, I’ll pick it up tonight, they again warned how “serious” this is. And how they offer “90 days same as cash” plans. Yeah, I bet. Well, guess what, Randy’s? You’ve taken enough of my money. And you’re not getting another penny. I’M SO SORRY, CAR!!! Let’s hope my prince comes through.