Don M
Active member
- Jan 8, 2010
- 2,254
- 14
"D" for 'Diagnosis.'
Most of you may know that I got a $4,200 estimate for repairs on my Camaro for the following things: 1) Bad Wheel Bearing, 2) New Clutch, 3) Unknown Check Engine Light/"Engine Power Reduced" message and finally, 4) Oil Change.
The shop I have been going to for the last 7 years, diagnosed the Check Engine Light as being a vacuum leak in either the front or rear crankshaft seal(s). That alone accounted for $2,800 of the $4,200 total. Being as messed up as I've been from work, I didn't question it right away, but I did post about it on a few Camaro forums - DANG! Did I get BLASTED!! I was told everything from the basic: "They're straight out ripping you off," to "Take it to a Chevrolet Dealer, they know your car the best," to: "get at least TWO other estimates, including one from a dealership."
Up until the Camaro, I never really HAD a shop I trusted to work on my cars. There was a guy in Cleveland that had a small shop, that I trusted to do a few things to the cars. One of the things he did was turn me on to AMSOIL products. A few years go by, he closes his shop (he said he was too old & tired to continue). So my source of AMSOIL dried up - they DON'T sell it in stores, you either have to find an independent retailer who carries it, or order it on-line directly.
When I got the Camaro, I knew I wanted to use AMSOIL in it (I had lost 2 engines using Mobil 1), so I started searching and located a local shop that carries it. I'd had the car a few months by then, and was taking advantage of the Free Oil Change package offered by the dealership when I bought the car. By then, I had spent a lot of time on the forums and learned a lot about the ins & outs of my model Camaro & its mechanicals, including possible long-term issues. So I went to the shop to get an oil change and while the car was being worked on, I 'grilled' the owner with questions I already knew the answers to about my car. He was 100% right on everything I asked. That's what started the 7 year run with the shop. All that time, they never took advantage of me, or anyone I sent there.
A $4,200 estimate later, and now I'm concerned and torn. Do I want them to be right and have my car really need the work they estimated (but can't afford), which would mean they are still being honest with me? Or do I want them to be wrong/mistaken about what needs fixed, so It won't be as expensive to repair? **I'm still having a very hard time wanting to think that they are just intentionally trying to soak me.** I've lost trust in a LOT of people over the last 30+ years, as a result, I don't have many (if any) friends, certainly none I can talk to about what's going on currently. So you could say that posting here is an act of desperation. It's relatively anonymous (even though it's a public forum) and I feel KIND OF safe saying some things here. So take that for what it's worth.
Anyway, a new "wrinkle" has popped up. The car had been sitting for almost two weeks, unused. I went out to start the car a few days ago, to take a picture of the "Engine Power Reduced" message and the car almost didn't start. It acted like it had sat for months through the depth of winter, instead of just two weeks. The battery acted like it was almost dead, but it did start. ALL of the warning lights stayed off, the only light showing was the basic "Check Engine Light." So I took it for a spin around the block. It wasn't in "Limp Home Mode" anymore. This is raising OTHER concerns. I know, for example, that in a modern car, with all it's computer controls and sensors, that a bad battery can, and often will cause the car to kick out error codes. Doing some digging, I'm starting to realize that the 'life' of a replacement battery these days is roughly 2 - 3 years. Which is about how old this battery is, but when my original battery finally went out, the car would "lock" itself constantly and the alarm would occasionally sound, when neither I or the remote was anywhere near it. But there were no engine lights.
I've already notified the shop that's looking the car over tomorrow and told them to check the battery before doing anything else. A simple bad battery ($200 - $250) would make my life SO much easier, but with MY luck, I don't expect anything to be that simple.
Wish me luck.
Most of you may know that I got a $4,200 estimate for repairs on my Camaro for the following things: 1) Bad Wheel Bearing, 2) New Clutch, 3) Unknown Check Engine Light/"Engine Power Reduced" message and finally, 4) Oil Change.
The shop I have been going to for the last 7 years, diagnosed the Check Engine Light as being a vacuum leak in either the front or rear crankshaft seal(s). That alone accounted for $2,800 of the $4,200 total. Being as messed up as I've been from work, I didn't question it right away, but I did post about it on a few Camaro forums - DANG! Did I get BLASTED!! I was told everything from the basic: "They're straight out ripping you off," to "Take it to a Chevrolet Dealer, they know your car the best," to: "get at least TWO other estimates, including one from a dealership."
Up until the Camaro, I never really HAD a shop I trusted to work on my cars. There was a guy in Cleveland that had a small shop, that I trusted to do a few things to the cars. One of the things he did was turn me on to AMSOIL products. A few years go by, he closes his shop (he said he was too old & tired to continue). So my source of AMSOIL dried up - they DON'T sell it in stores, you either have to find an independent retailer who carries it, or order it on-line directly.
When I got the Camaro, I knew I wanted to use AMSOIL in it (I had lost 2 engines using Mobil 1), so I started searching and located a local shop that carries it. I'd had the car a few months by then, and was taking advantage of the Free Oil Change package offered by the dealership when I bought the car. By then, I had spent a lot of time on the forums and learned a lot about the ins & outs of my model Camaro & its mechanicals, including possible long-term issues. So I went to the shop to get an oil change and while the car was being worked on, I 'grilled' the owner with questions I already knew the answers to about my car. He was 100% right on everything I asked. That's what started the 7 year run with the shop. All that time, they never took advantage of me, or anyone I sent there.
A $4,200 estimate later, and now I'm concerned and torn. Do I want them to be right and have my car really need the work they estimated (but can't afford), which would mean they are still being honest with me? Or do I want them to be wrong/mistaken about what needs fixed, so It won't be as expensive to repair? **I'm still having a very hard time wanting to think that they are just intentionally trying to soak me.** I've lost trust in a LOT of people over the last 30+ years, as a result, I don't have many (if any) friends, certainly none I can talk to about what's going on currently. So you could say that posting here is an act of desperation. It's relatively anonymous (even though it's a public forum) and I feel KIND OF safe saying some things here. So take that for what it's worth.
Anyway, a new "wrinkle" has popped up. The car had been sitting for almost two weeks, unused. I went out to start the car a few days ago, to take a picture of the "Engine Power Reduced" message and the car almost didn't start. It acted like it had sat for months through the depth of winter, instead of just two weeks. The battery acted like it was almost dead, but it did start. ALL of the warning lights stayed off, the only light showing was the basic "Check Engine Light." So I took it for a spin around the block. It wasn't in "Limp Home Mode" anymore. This is raising OTHER concerns. I know, for example, that in a modern car, with all it's computer controls and sensors, that a bad battery can, and often will cause the car to kick out error codes. Doing some digging, I'm starting to realize that the 'life' of a replacement battery these days is roughly 2 - 3 years. Which is about how old this battery is, but when my original battery finally went out, the car would "lock" itself constantly and the alarm would occasionally sound, when neither I or the remote was anywhere near it. But there were no engine lights.
I've already notified the shop that's looking the car over tomorrow and told them to check the battery before doing anything else. A simple bad battery ($200 - $250) would make my life SO much easier, but with MY luck, I don't expect anything to be that simple.
Wish me luck.
