everybody needs a good mechanic
Posted 05-30-2008 at 05:32 PM by ticki
so it's that time again. vehicle registration is due and california makes us get our cars smogged every 2 years. problem is that my check engine light is on and the code from it says my catalytic converters are failing. i talk to the dealership and they tell me i need new ones and the new cats cost over a grand a piece. my car has 2 of them. add in labor and i'm looking at around $3000 if you factor in tax. not looking good for me. i've had the codes reset before, but they keep coming back so i figure i have to bite the bullet this time.
just by chance i'm looking up something else on yelp and i catch this rating for a shop near me. everybody gives this shop 5 stars and i figure what the heck, might as well give it a shot. i bring in my car and he tells me new cats run about a grand. i give him a dejected look and ask about aftermarket ones. he says that he might be able to get me rebuilt ones for about $500 each. things are looking better already. then i tell him, i just want my car to pass smog and if we can do it without replacing anything, even better. he says he'll see what he can do.
flash forward to today and he calls me. he says he's been resetting the check engine codes and he's been driving my car for a few miles here and there all week. it's popped back on a couple times, but he's waited for it to stabilize out. once he got it to stay off for a while, he made a mad dash to a smog check station and got it to pass!
so much for the bad catalytic converters that the on board computer was telling me. if they were really shot then i don't think my car would have passed. anyways, he ended up charging me only $260 for the labor. not a bad deal considering that it's less than 10% of what the stealership was going to try to take out of my bank account. that money is well worth the work and hassle he put into that car.
i'm glad i found this shop. i think most shops would have tried to get me to get new cats installed. he was totally cool and worked with me to get it done the cheapest way possible. i'll be taking all my cars to him in the future.
just by chance i'm looking up something else on yelp and i catch this rating for a shop near me. everybody gives this shop 5 stars and i figure what the heck, might as well give it a shot. i bring in my car and he tells me new cats run about a grand. i give him a dejected look and ask about aftermarket ones. he says that he might be able to get me rebuilt ones for about $500 each. things are looking better already. then i tell him, i just want my car to pass smog and if we can do it without replacing anything, even better. he says he'll see what he can do.
flash forward to today and he calls me. he says he's been resetting the check engine codes and he's been driving my car for a few miles here and there all week. it's popped back on a couple times, but he's waited for it to stabilize out. once he got it to stay off for a while, he made a mad dash to a smog check station and got it to pass!
so much for the bad catalytic converters that the on board computer was telling me. if they were really shot then i don't think my car would have passed. anyways, he ended up charging me only $260 for the labor. not a bad deal considering that it's less than 10% of what the stealership was going to try to take out of my bank account. that money is well worth the work and hassle he put into that car.
i'm glad i found this shop. i think most shops would have tried to get me to get new cats installed. he was totally cool and worked with me to get it done the cheapest way possible. i'll be taking all my cars to him in the future.
Total Comments 5
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I'm confused! Probably because I don't know anything about cars.. by resetting the check engine, are you just buying yourself some time?
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Posted 05-31-2008 at 11:10 AM by Ashley
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haha, yeah. bought myself 2 more years of not having to get them fixed. the way california works is that if you have any problem with the emissions system on your car, you automatically fail smog checks. since we're only required to do smog checks every 2 years, i don't have to worry about it until 2010 now.
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Posted 05-31-2008 at 11:23 AM by ticki
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wow, never heard of those smog checks before?
but it sounded like those guys from the first "stealership" wanted to rip you off!! 3000 dlls for everything, wtf. Glad it didnt cost you that much. Reminds me of our truck breaking down on us the other day at a grocery shop parking lot, we thought it was the battery that was dead, turns out it was the alternator and it ended up costing us 700 dlls to get it repaird, add to that, that my husband also bought a new battery that cost almost 200 dlls, so 1000 dlls spent in two days, -sigh- ridiculous lol |
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Posted 05-31-2008 at 10:29 PM by daer0n
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That's why I love my husband.
My check engine light came on while he was in basic, I told his ass it was the Oxygen Sensor, he's all "I dont know baby, it could be a lot of things, I'll check it when I get home." After he was finally able to check it, it was the O2 sensor, and the IACV. Yesterday he bought me an O2 sensor and installed it, no more check engine light! |
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Posted 06-03-2008 at 10:04 AM by KatJ
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Oxygen sensors are usually pretty easy (maybe not as easy on my Subaru) and make a huge difference. in fact even if you don't have codes but like 120,000 miles on it replace them and you will be guaranteed to see an improvemnt. On cars that have 2 the front is the one that does 90% of the work.
You can buy a small adapter to read the codes on most cars, There is one for GM and one for Ford and one for the rest of the cars called ISO 9141 (chrysler too) . Basically i bought the cable for like $30 the sw is free online. BMW has a proprietary connector for which a bought a Peake Research tool ($300) . 90% of the ISO 9141 codes are standardized. But i would be very hesitate to replace all the cats. what year and what car? your Audi? |
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Posted 06-05-2008 at 01:29 PM by Darla_G
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Recent Blog Entries by ticki
- everybody needs a good mechanic (05-30-2008)
- ragin' cajun thumb (05-03-2008)
- Beating up my bank account (04-26-2008)
