OT: Car guys/gals, my mom needs advice on repairs
11-11-2003, 04:23 PM
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OT: Car guys/gals, my mom needs advice on repairs
Sorry for the OT thread, but my mom asked me to post a message for her 
She has a 1995 Nissan Maxima with 150k+ miles that is starting to require a lot of repairs. She's put 3-4k into the car in the last few months, but she doesn't want to put any more money into it as she wants to buy a new car.
She just had her car checked up by a reputable shop (although she doesn't trust the mechanic that worked on the car) and was quoted the following:
$640 - power stering pump that has just started to leak
$374 - for her starter motor that is starting to make noise
$335 - to fix her power antenna for the stereo
She'd rather not buy a bunch of parts that she's eager to sell, but the mechanic told her that the first two need to be repaired immediately. I told her that if her steering pump dies she can replace it then. I thought that if it went out while she was moving she'd have time to pull over safely. Also, that if the starter motor went out her car wouldn't start and that's it. The mechanic said that if the starter died completely it would "take other parts with it" and cause more damage.
Is this
or is their truth to this rationale? Should she throw $1,000 into the car immediately like the mechanic wants her to?
She has a 1995 Nissan Maxima with 150k+ miles that is starting to require a lot of repairs. She's put 3-4k into the car in the last few months, but she doesn't want to put any more money into it as she wants to buy a new car.She just had her car checked up by a reputable shop (although she doesn't trust the mechanic that worked on the car) and was quoted the following:
$640 - power stering pump that has just started to leak
$374 - for her starter motor that is starting to make noise
$335 - to fix her power antenna for the stereo
She'd rather not buy a bunch of parts that she's eager to sell, but the mechanic told her that the first two need to be repaired immediately. I told her that if her steering pump dies she can replace it then. I thought that if it went out while she was moving she'd have time to pull over safely. Also, that if the starter motor went out her car wouldn't start and that's it. The mechanic said that if the starter died completely it would "take other parts with it" and cause more damage.
Is this
or is their truth to this rationale? Should she throw $1,000 into the car immediately like the mechanic wants her to?
11-11-2003, 05:32 PM
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Get a new mechanic.
You are right. The power steering failure would leave her withat car that can still be steered, but with much more effort, and the starter motor would simply fail & not start the car.
In either case you take the car to a generic import mechanic & have used or rebuilt parts put in the car. It has 150K miles & is 9 yrs old. It is time for rebuilt or junkyard parts, not dealer parts.
Just make sure she can call you on her cell phone when stuff breaks.
What did she do that cost $3-4k? a new engine or transmission?
--Mike
You are right. The power steering failure would leave her withat car that can still be steered, but with much more effort, and the starter motor would simply fail & not start the car.
In either case you take the car to a generic import mechanic & have used or rebuilt parts put in the car. It has 150K miles & is 9 yrs old. It is time for rebuilt or junkyard parts, not dealer parts.
Just make sure she can call you on her cell phone when stuff breaks.
What did she do that cost $3-4k? a new engine or transmission?
--Mike
11-12-2003, 05:28 AM
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flitcroft, you are right. $640 for a power steering pump and $335 for an antenna? My goodness! One other thing to note. If you did go ahead and replace the power steering pump and starter at the same time, you should get a discount for labor because they don't have to take the belts off and on twice, only once. Also, whenever you replace either you should go ahead and have them put on new belts (unless they are relatively new) because, again, you are already paying for the labor so they should just charge you for the cost of the belts. Also, power steering is needed more at slow speeds than at high speeds. When the power steering pump in my Altima went bad, it would just not work at slow parking lot speeds, but it worked fine at higher speeds where the wheel doesn't get turned as much.
11-12-2003, 12:21 PM
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Thanks for the advice. I told her to go to another mechanic and to call my cell when she gets a quote so I can talk to them.
Her previous $3-4k was a radiator for $1000 and other stuff like that (she can't remember). She thinks they ripper her off, just wanted to sell parts, and that they caused the current leaks (she got it fixed there, drove for 3 days, and the leak happened all of a sudden).
Her previous $3-4k was a radiator for $1000 and other stuff like that (she can't remember). She thinks they ripper her off, just wanted to sell parts, and that they caused the current leaks (she got it fixed there, drove for 3 days, and the leak happened all of a sudden).
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