cross roads......

[giddyuppony]

Alright, so ill give you an intro into my trouble some situation. I have a 98 pathy and over the last 4 months I have been doing nothing but spend money to keep my truck on the road.(Break and Bearing (front) $540 & Clutch $1600) and now the trany has to by fixed, there is a bearing loose in there somewhere and its making a whinning noise and potential will lead to a lot worse, or so i have been told($2000). Also the values are leaking oil up front and its causeing a terrible smell($500). And now I find out that there was an issue with the way they did the timing belt as it would appear the water pump and then serpentine belt werent done, so really everything in the timing belt area need to be hauled out and re done. And i Know that the control arms will have to be done sometime soon, despite not getting any of the wobbles.($1200)

So the issue is do I fund this or sell? I will tell your right now that this car is truly well kept, oil change, filter changes all of it done and reorded. I got this car as the 3rd owner, my parent before me. It hasnt got a spot of rush, garage kept since we have owned it.

 

As I read over this now it almost slaps me in the face with what I should do, BUT I like this car. So I guess I was wondering if anyone else out there has been at this cross road and the choices they made.

 

 

Thanks,

 

PS. If I did re buy it would be a Nissan either 03 R50 or Xterra.

[edicer2]

sounds like ur getting ripped off on all of that parts.... go to a different repair shop....a cluch cost me 400 bucks to get done a tranny is maybe 500 and those prices are with the parts inclused in the labor brakes do not cost 500 bucks

[Kingman]

Some tools and your own time would have cut the outrageous repair bills by at least 75%.

 

How many miles are on it?

[pathfounder]

If you were a DIY kind of truck owner, I'd say replace the transmission (it's a black box) and then carry on. But if you're taking it in to a shop for all of these repairs, ditch it, and ditch it now.

[Kingman]

Some examples:

 

Clutch kit: at most $150

Rear bushings: $200 or thereabouts

Oil leak: $20 gasket, if that

Transmission: $500 at most. Craigslist.

Bearings and brakes: $100

 

Has that transmission been serviced before? If so what kind of fluid was used? The wrong kind and it'll eat it up quickly.

[giddyuppony]

Hey thanks for the responds.

 

It has 188km on it.

 

If I had the tools and/or the time I would have been out there fixing, problem is i am a student and really dont have the money either.

 

Im an curious though, you say a trany is only $500? Hmm. What should I being searching for ( part numbers etc?)

As for as a trany service yes it was done by the stealers when i was taking it to them, now i take it to a private shop.

[DanAK]

Wow! maybe its time to try a different private shop, those prices you listed are crazy!

[Precise1]

Part of the problem here is that you are listing wear items as if they were repairs. Brakes/bearings and clutch could have to be done on any used car you buy, that's just the way it goes. The other part is the prices you list are quite high!!

 

Valve covers leaking? Try tightening the screws a bit. Takes 5 minutes and is usually all that is required.

 

And now I find out that there was an issue with the way they did the timing belt as it would appear the water pump and then serpentine belt werent done, so really everything in the timing belt area need to be hauled out and re done.

Who did the timing belt?? Was it when you had the vehicle?? Seriously, what is the issue?? Who told you this and how do they know??

 

And i Know that the control arms will have to be done sometime soon, despite not getting any of the wobbles.($1200)

Ok, now you are just borrowing trouble!! My wife's 1999.0 has 260,000km on it and no death wobble yet. Not even a wounded shimmy...

 

The tranny is a bit of a stumbling block but it has to be removed to replace the clutch anyway so you save on labor there.

 

I understand the poor student scenario having done it myself, but in all reality you should be able to have your car back on the road for about $2000. An 03 would be $6-8k, correct? Also, it could need brakes/bearings, timing belt replaced, etc...

 

B

[rgallant]

Clutch had to be done at a dealership, but then he is in Canada. Depending on where and who it took it to they use the dealer time and generally charge very nearly the same for labour. I found a decent guy where I am for anything that I can not do my self.

 

But you had a clutch done so it is a manual transmission, you should not be having many issues beyond that unless you have seriously abused the transmission. I am talking dump the clutch and stall, stomp the gas and dump the clutch, really stupid stuff.

 

I get the feeling you are being screwed over, have your mechanic drain and replace the gear oil. You might want something a tiny bit lighter for winter it makes those 1st few shifts on a cold morning easier. And find out what bearing they think is going. Oh and noone tears down a standard transmission they replace them, you can buy used way cheaper than repair.

[GoPathyGo]

Dude! If I'd had to spend that much, I'd be pretty frustrated too - specially since it's only got 100k and change miles (kilometres shilometres ).

 

As others have pointed out, dealership and fancy mechanics charge A LOT. Heck, I get quoted 200% markups on AIR FILTERS - I had a local dealer ask $33 for ONE! BUT, I used to pay $75 for oil changes at the dealer until I started working on my own cars - so I can understand why things happened the way they did.

 

Here are a few suggestions:

 

1. Don't feel bad about things. All cars have problems. You'll run into this with anything on the road, whether it cost $10k new or $100k new. Specially with used cars. All used cars require some amount of initial maintenance - filters, belts, tires blah blah.

 

2. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The temptation to keep the car "like new" is high. Preventive maintenance can also turn into gold-plating the car. As B pointed out, control arms don't need to be fixed until the the wobble begins. Remember, some things were meant to last forever while others will wear out over time. The things that wear should be replaced and help keep the long-life stuff going.

 

3. If at all possible, do it yourself. This saves money and, just as important, ensures it's done right. I just bought a used car. The owner had taken it in for service regularly, right on schedule. The dimwits didn't tighten the oil filter enough so it leaked oil. *sigh* A local tool supplier told me that out of the 150-odd mechanics he supplies, he'd trust maybe 5 to actually work on his car... They are usually focused on volume, not quality - specially since problems down the road mean you come back for more repairs.

 

I know it seems time-consuming but, honestly, think of the time you will be waiting for it to be done at the dealership - and fixed again if they get it wrong...

 

4. Buy parts online even if you don't install them. Parts markup is insane. Factorynissanparts.com usually has the lowest parts prices around (I check regularly) and the parts manager is a good guy who is on this board.

 

5. Find a decent independent mechanic

 

6. Spend $15 on the Factory Service Manual and read some online guides on how cars are put together. This will allow you to tell if the dealership/mechanic is being accurate. It may also be helpful to see how straightforward most things are.

 

7. If you do do-it-yourself, expect skinned knuckles and wasted time to start. I just changed the rusted-out rotors and gunked-in-place pads on my Altima. Took me about an hour and a half. The first time I did rotor-and-pad changes on a car, it took the better part of a day because I had no idea what was going on...

 

8. Don't get discouraged. We are around to help.

 

 

Oh, and tell that "serpentine and timing belt weren't done right" guy to take a long walk off a short pier. What's the worst the previous mechanic would have done ? Not tighten it correctly ? BIG DEAL! Either he should fix it or the new mechanic should do it in 20 minutes. "Everything needs to be taken off"... It's a longitudanally mounted engine with the belts up front. Gimme a break... Nonsense...

 

Good luck!

[ModiFinder]

GoPathyGo,

Thanks for the post. Really helpful for the beginners.

[giddyuppony]

Thanks all for you comments. I'm going to take it to a new shop Tuesday and have them take a look. Ill post the results then.