My Car is Trying to Kill Me! NVR
Hey Everyone--I last posted about my car stalling out and just in general being a pain in my butt--I thought I would up date all you kind souls who helped me last time!
So today I took my car in for diagnostics since the car has been running "funny" since the stalling incedent 4 days ago. After hours of testing they could not find anything wrong with the engine or any of its systems--that's the good news--the bad news is that they found a small hole in the exhust system which is leaking into my car--great.
Suposedly it is just a matter of having the hole welded shut but my guys could not do it so now i have to take it to a muffler shop where I will undoubtably be treated like a retarded kitten and be told that I "need" an entirely new system. I am hopefull that the guys I have been reccomended to will not do this--but as many of you girls know--it's not likely to e treated with any respect!
Oh well--I guess they could have found a much bigger problem! I just hope these problems stop and I can rely on my car--I just need it to last 2 more years!!!
Yes, good luck! Don't let them bully you into anything you don't want!
If you feel like taking a road trip to vancouver my hubby'll do it for you...
Otherwise, ask you mechanic to discribe exactly where the hole is and exactly what needs done and then go to the muffler place and pretend you know what you're talking about. OR get your mechanic to call the muffler place and set up the appointment and then drop the car off before they open.. I find it's much easier to tell someone to foff and just do what they were asked to do on the phone.
K^2
I am grateful that my hubby is a mechanic because I know that I would have been someone's sucker many times.
Is there someone you know, who could go with you, that knows a thing or two about cars?
Can't you bribe a burly male relative or friend to go with you? He doesn't have to do the talking, just stand close and possesive, lean on something and flex those biceps. Some vegan brownies should do the trick...or take him out after for beer and pizza!
Can't you bribe a burly male relative or friend to go with you? He doesn't have to do the talking, just stand close and possesive, lean on something and flex those biceps. Some vegan brownies should do the trick...or take him out after for beer and pizza!
The real tragedy is feeling like you have to do something like this in order to avoid being screwed! Just walk in, tell them what your mechanic told you and if they try to sell you an exhaust system walk away. I'm sure there are more than a few shops that can do this for you. Welding mufflers isn't rocket science and not every mechanic is unscrupulous. Someone will be able to do an honest job. In the mean time, ride with a window or two down...you don't need to be breathing in carbon monoxide!
I say call them up beforehand and ask what they are going to do. It will give you a chance in being one step ahead in deciding what your going to do next.
Can't you bribe a burly male relative or friend to go with you? He doesn't have to do the talking, just stand close and possesive, lean on something and flex those biceps. Some vegan brownies should do the trick...or take him out after for beer and pizza!
The real tragedy is feeling like you have to do something like this in order to avoid being screwed! Just walk in, tell them what your mechanic told you and if they try to sell you an exhaust system walk away. I'm sure there are more than a few shops that can do this for you. Welding mufflers isn't rocket science and not every mechanic is unscrupulous. Someone will be able to do an honest job. In the mean time, ride with a window or two down...you don't need to be breathing in carbon monoxide!
I'm with you Storm! I hate feeling like a victim just because I am a woman! However, I would totally bring a guy with me if I had one available--but I don't :'(
I'm planning on being as assertive as I can--hopeflly they will not screw me--I also plan on telling them I have no money so that should hopefully deter them from trying to get me into a major work order!
Thanks for all the good wishes ladies! Lets all try to stay strong out there!
I am happy to report that I got my car fixed and I was not screwed over!!! I was nice but assertive and the guys that worked on my car were super nice! It turns out that it wasn't a leak but a bad gasket--the part only cost $30 to replace which was cheaper then the patch job I orginally thought I would be getting! The car seems a lot happier now and running fine--I am sanguine taht it will run better from now on and give me the 2 years I need!
OH! And the guy that worked on my car was pretty cute--maybe I'll go back sometime *wink wink*!
That's good Capture.
A hole in the exhaust, if it's a supeficial one, is eay to repair. The auto part store sells a kit. It has a synthetic fabric tape and a paste. You soak the tape in the paste and rap it around the pipe. Work it like making pottery for a nice smooth tight seal.
Beleive it or not, a hole in the exhaust can cause a car to stall. Nowadays the computer tells the engine what to do based on what the sensors find. So lets say your computer 'smelled' something wrong with the exhaust because the hole was causing an exchange with the outside air. Yeah, it's nothing as far as the engine is concerned buy the computer doesn't know it's only a hole thats causing the exhaust gases to go all funky so it makes adjustments in the air/fuel mixture and it stalls.
An clogged exhaust system can cause stalling too.
The stalling could be a million things though.
I am happy to report that I got my car fixed and I was not screwed over!!! I was nice but assertive and the guys that worked on my car were super nice! It turns out that it wasn't a leak but a bad gasket--the part only cost $30 to replace which was cheaper then the patch job I orginally thought I would be getting! The car seems a lot happier now and running fine--I am sanguine taht it will run better from now on and give me the 2 years I need!
OH! And the guy that worked on my car was pretty cute--maybe I'll go back sometime *wink wink*!
Now's the time to show up with that panful of brownies "as a thank you for being so helpful." No man with tastebuds could resist some of the treats on this site!
I get away with a lot. I have red hair. All I have to do is look like I am getting angry and about to blow!
Now truly, I don't have a temper to go with this red hair and the worst I do is get a little testy with people and usually only online. In person, if you know me, I am about a gentle and soft spoken as the day is long, I would not hurt a flea (though I gleefully murder houseflies). When I am not getting what I think is fair, I say something like "that really rubs my redheaded temper the wrong way" and think of something embarrassing so I turn red! It scares people off.
About the houseflies, before you think I am awful here...I am after all the mosquitoes and deer flies especially. About a month ago, I was bitten within an inch of my life. I looked like I had chickenpox. About 10 days later, I popped up with West Nile fever. This is something you don't want, trust me! The headache, well so bad I wanted to die. My neck hurt, my back hurt and my muscles ached. I spent several days chatting with Ralph over the big white telephone too. This has waxed and waned now for nearly a month. The dizziness is starting to clear finally and I am less miserable, but not well by any means. The houseflies are so thick, if I didn't whack them the house would be full. One can literally whack 40 of them an hour and they are still here in droves. I live too close to the river (about a block) and they are THICK.
All it takes is one episode and you really see bugs a different way. I had a brown recluse bite me in 2005 and I have the scars to prove it, so I look at every spider before I let them on their way and bugs in general.
Now you all can ban me off the board for killing houseflies.
I get away with a lot. I have red hair. All I have to do is look like I am getting angry and about to blow!
Now truly, I don't have a temper to go with this red hair and the worst I do is get a little testy with people and usually only online. In person, if you know me, I am about a gentle and soft spoken as the day is long, I would not hurt a flea (though I gleefully murder houseflies). When I am not getting what I think is fair, I say something like "that really rubs my redheaded temper the wrong way" and think of something embarrassing so I turn red! It scares people off.
About the houseflies, before you think I am awful here...I am after all the mosquitoes and deer flies especially. About a month ago, I was bitten within an inch of my life. I looked like I had chickenpox. About 10 days later, I popped up with West Nile fever. This is something you don't want, trust me! The headache, well so bad I wanted to die. My neck hurt, my back hurt and my muscles ached. I spent several days chatting with Ralph over the big white telephone too. This has waxed and waned now for nearly a month. The dizziness is starting to clear finally and I am less miserable, but not well by any means. The houseflies are so thick, if I didn't whack them the house would be full. One can literally whack 40 of them an hour and they are still here in droves. I live too close to the river (about a block) and they are THICK.
All it takes is one episode and you really see bugs a different way. I had a brown recluse bite me in 2005 and I have the scars to prove it, so I look at every spider before I let them on their way and bugs in general.
Now you all can ban me off the board for killing houseflies.
Have no fears lady! I despise bugs--I have a bit of a phobia with them so I have a "I'm gonna get you before you can get me" attitude! I do like lady bugs and fireflys though--so they are allowed to always go on their way peascefully--but flies, bee's, wasps, spiders, fleas and the like--they are mine for the killin'! Well actuallly I squeel untill my roommate takes care of them...
The one bug on this earth I see no use for is...the tick. Lyme's disease from the little parasite. Gross.
I went on a field biology trip in May one year...due to my waist-length, heavy curtain thick hair I didn't find the little (expletives deleted) that wedged itself on my scalp until the end of July when it was enormous and engorged and we played merry dingdong removing it without leaving any behind OR setting my head on fire (since someone suggested the old "hold a lighted cigarrette near it" ploy. I'm glad they tried that BEFORE swabbing the dee-ambdable thign with kerosene!)
And I'm still paying for that field trip...nearly 30 yrs later.
And I got a B.
There is no justice.