Ongoing car advice

[teejay]

I guess we are all a product of our car experiences . Including company demos as well as personal stuff , I've had about 50 cars & trucks over the years . Unfortunately my worst experiences were with Chrysler products ...trans , A/C or both is the norm . I did luck out on my last one . Four years ago my wife offered to babysit her grandson who live on the other side of the city . I never tell my wife what to drive since we don't necessarily have the same needs in a car . I did see a 10 year old Neon traded in by a little old spinster who managed to put 25k miles on in 10 years . We kept it 3 years , doubled the mileage , and I sold it privately for what I had paid ....sold it before anything went wrong .
I'm sure there are happy Chrysler owners here on the Forum ...I just am not one of them . Ford and GM are what I buy and I've never had major problems ...motor , trans , AC etc . I do maintain cars regularly .

Robert , NOT to dump on you, Buddy , but you should have picked up on the oil leak a long time ago ...look the car over once in a while , lift the hood . You don't have to be a mechanic to spot stuff that doesn't look right ....oil drips , tire looking low on air , etc. etc . Some of these issues can be headed off before they become big . You can check stuff like the air filter , oil level , washer fluid level ...every few months . It pays to do so . Dirty air filters are easy to check and almost NEVER done by the average guy . They cost you in gas consumption . In other words $$. If you have any teenagers in the family , teach them to do it .....serious !!

T

[Brakie]

The days of repairing a car without all the proper tools and diagnostics are long gone so be careful of the Mom and Pop garage. Many times all they can do is hang new parts until they get lucky, if they ever do.
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The the garage I been using for 24 years is good and I'm yet to return a car because it wasn't fixed right.

There is a lot of things you can fix without diagnostics or "proper tools"..

Last time I took a car(actually a 98 Ford Ranger pickup) to a Ford garage(against all advice) I ended up paying $ 384 plus tax repair bill..Had I listen I would have saved around $200.00..Lesson learned the hard way.

[teejay]

Last dealer I worked for , a year ago , the shop rate was $90 / hour ! They are there to make money . Mechanics are about $25-30/ hour , +overhead , etc . It's not a cheap business .

I take my car to a nearby " Lube Joint " and of course they don't want to just change oil , they want to " super-size your fries " as it were . Before I take the car in , I check everything myself , wiper blades , tranny fluid level ( and colour ) , visual condition of rad hose , belts ect , etc .....just so I know . If I don't they'll try to sell me everything . They've gotten to know me so when I say "OIL & FILTER ONLY " , they know not to try to upsell . Robert , that's what I'd suggest you do from time to time , get someone else to inspect everything while you do an oil change , if you can't do it yourself .

T

[RobertInOntario]

Last dealer I worked for , a year ago , the shop rate was $90 / hour ! They are there to make money . Mechanics are about $25-30/ hour , +overhead , etc . It's not a cheap business .

I take my car to a nearby " Lube Joint " and of course they don't want to just change oil , they want to " super-size your fries " as it were . Before I take the car in , I check everything myself , wiper blades , tranny fluid level ( and colour ) , visual condition of rad hose , belts ect , etc .....just so I know . If I don't they'll try to sell me everything . They've gotten to know me so when I say "OIL & FILTER ONLY " , they know not to try to upsell . Robert , that's what I'd suggest you do from time to time , get someone else to inspect everything while you do an oil change , if you can't do it yourself .

T

I actually thought of doing that next time. I've done this in the past but don't have the work done. I've just taken it to a garage I trust and then ask if all the quick lube findings were correct.

I think started to first notice the leak in early December. It was so small that it was hardly noticeable or you second guess It. Yes, I'm going to have to get under the hood more if I'm going to keep such high mileage cars.

[Brakie]

the shop rate was $90 / hour !
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TJ,The last repair on my Buick cost less then that($72 plus tax) at the garage I use.

As far as oil changes I take my car to the same garage since I know he will change the oil/filter and check all fluid levels and add as needed at no extra cost since that's included in the oil change price.