OT You're not going to believe this...

Old 08-09-2007, 07:57 PM
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OT You're not going to believe this...

But I have decided that I hate all things technology, and apparently the feeling is mutual, because my car; yes, my car that I just bought last week that has 37k miles on it; now possibly needs a NEW TRANSMISSION. It is leaking transmission fluid, and my hubby checked all the minor places it could be coming from... Oh, and btw, remember that I live in GA where there is absolutely no law to protect consumers from used lemons! I didn't buy the warranty b/c I figured if it only has 37k miles on it that it better not need $1500 in work done to it (the price of the warranty was $1500).

I hate life right now... I have been trying to hard to cling to HP through everything else... and I thought I was doing better... now I clearly see from my reaction to this setback that I have a lot more work to do than I thought...

The thing is, I have no money to pay for the repairs right now... not while hubby and I are still living out of a hotel. I do have a friend who is a mechanic who says he'll fix it for less than others would charge, and what he does charge I can probably pay him in installments, but the thing is he's an hour and a half away... and I would have to drive the car to him. Or, I can take it to the Ford Dealership across the street from my hotel room and pay double what I would if I took a little risk... I just don't know what to do right now. My head is spinning, and I'm even more annoyed when I think about the fact that I'm going to have to miss my third day of work for the school year dealing with this... I mean, I can't drive it to work like that. Work is 45 minutes away, and there is no good place to stop if I have problems...

Grr... What a way to start my year
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Old 08-09-2007, 08:58 PM
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that is messed up!! What kind of ford is it?
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Old 08-09-2007, 09:00 PM
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It's actually a Mercury Sable. There's not a Mercury dealer out here, so sister company Ford will have to do if I stay in town...
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Old 08-09-2007, 09:01 PM
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Hey lady,
Sometimes life sucks. That being said, get the car fixed and move on. You have dealt with more intimidating stuff in life. YOU can handle this. I vote for the friend.
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Old 08-09-2007, 09:03 PM
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Thanks Khrea.

I know I can handle this, that I have dealt with more intimidating stuff by far... I guess I'm just so exhausted that everything feels like a big deal right now, if that makes any sense...
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Old 08-09-2007, 10:14 PM
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Yeah lady,
I know what you mean. Sometimes we can handle the big stuff and the little stuff just tears us up. My house payment went up $150 a month because of taxes and I was on the phone crying to my banker. I freaked out and then I dealt with it. Who needs groceries? lol. Anyway, things seem to work out somehow. Have faith.
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Old 08-10-2007, 01:30 AM
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Thanks Khrea. I needed that
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Old 08-10-2007, 06:29 AM
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Hey lady...you may want to check further with Ford. I don't know what year it is, but just about all cars come with the manufactures warranty. Here, other than the "As is" stuff there's also an automatic three month, $3000 mile warranty. There's also a short time return policy.
Call around...it wouldn't hurt. The purchased one is for extended or bumper to bumper. Transmission should be part of a power train warranty.
Good luck!
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:10 AM
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Hi, Lady ~ I hate cars. All cars. Everywhere in the world. They lie in wait for me to buy them, just so they can roll over and die, wiggling their four little wheels in the air and daring me to fix them.
I think Cece makes a good point about bumper to bumper warranties ~ it's worth checking with the Ford folks.
Good luck, and go kick the tires. It always made me feel a little better....
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:15 AM
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ouch! sorry, k
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:36 AM
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If I bought a car that had 37k true miles on it at a dealership and it was needing a transmission the next week........ARGHHHH I would take the car back and tell them you are not accusing them of knowingly selling you a damage car but it appears they did. Ask them to take the car back and you will buy another car from them instead but this car you will not buy. BTW you did not buy a lemon at least buy the law in Texas. The lemon law applies to cars purchased new straight from the factory that for whatever reason cannot keep from breaking. In you case the dealership misrepresented the used and damaged car that you purchased and since it only had 37k miles on it you would never have bought a car new that needed a new tranny. There are ways that dealerships hide problems and move cars off to unknowing victims. I found a long time ago most people/businesses say there is nothing they can do until you start hitting below the belt. Be professional, explain you will trade up for them to take the car back and apply you down payment towards another vehicle. If they deny find out if they are a member of better business bureau and or call consumer advocate group for assistance if need be. I think if you are stern, loud and threatening if need be they will kiss you butt just so you will not run off any future business. Don't let them get away with this, fight back. BTW as far as dealerships I had one damage my car when i took it for a oil change. Put a small dent in it and I knew and they knew they did it. At first they had the tuff luck attitude but i stayed on them and they fixed it for free...had to repaint it 3 times and buff it 5. In the end it still did not match perfect but my car was 6 months old. Be tuff I think you have a great case to present and win.

PS A friend of mine had the same problem one car had bad tranny, traded up to car that had a slightly bent frame. He has a third car now and they worked with him each time though they did not like not getting to sell thier junk to some innocent consumer.
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:40 AM
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Sorry life is sending a little kick...i know how it is to handled the big things with ease then fall apart over something minor in the grand scheme of things. Years ago...unrelated to addiction...The straw that broke this camel's back and landed me in the hospital for exhaustion and generally a mental and physical breakdown was related to a stupid car problem...Don't let it get the best of you, kick those tires a few times, you'll feel better

If I were in your shoes, I'd buy some trannie fluid, fill it and take it with me and stop to check it once or twice and go with the friend/mechanic if he is a good mechaninc. But then again, car dealerships spell r-i-p-o-f-f- to me..I just have no faith in them at all.

Good luck with this and I hope you are having a better day today. The ABC gratitude list always gets me into a better frame of mind...even if it is just laughing at myself for the words I come up with that start with X. Big understanding hugs
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:43 AM
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Noah gives some great advice. I wasn't really thinking about the ability to go back to where you bought it. Even if purchased "as is" lots of dealerships will do something if you are firm and not obnoxious in order to avoid bad customer feedback.

Whatever you decide...good luck!
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Old 08-10-2007, 07:46 AM
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Good luck, and go kick the tires. It always made me feel a little better....
Nitelite, I hadn't read this before my response...great minds think alike! What is it about kicking the tires or hitting the tv or computer screen that makes us feel better? Same with when i hit my funny bone. If I shout a 4 letter word, it feels better...Saying oh gosh, that hurt doesn't have the same result
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Old 08-10-2007, 09:01 AM
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Lady, No advice just sending a hug.

(((((((Lady))))))))
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Old 08-10-2007, 10:15 AM
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I too hate cars. The engines seem to be better.. often lasting many more miles than engines from the 60's and early 70's.. but that being said the rest of the car is just plain CRAP.

My Dad was a mechanic.. the first timing BELT cars came out and he laughed saying they ran ona rubber band. Now timing belts and the FUNCTIONAL OBSOLESENCE of needing to be replaced at 60k or 90k miles for around $400 or more just really really STINKS. A timing chain lasts longer but is more expensive to make and install at the factory.. and now the make the GEAR out of steel with PLASTIC TEETH. the teeth can strip and you get to do a chain and gear job and if the mechanic neglects to clean the oil screen the engine can starve for oil and be ruined after the repair.

Then there is the Oil pan. I have a 2000 S 10 truck.. the OIL PAN is RUSTING THRU.. and you can't just take off the bolts, scrape off the gasket and replace it for about $100. No no.. not today's vehicle.. you have to loosen the engine mounts and hoist the engine so the stupid pan can be removed arond the frame. The $100 repair turns into a $500 repair. What Einstein designed this? First of all, designing a vehicle with the Oil pan out of light guage steel so it rusts thru and THEN making the frame so you cannot get it off easy? HEELLLOOOOO? And Where did YOU go to get YOUR engineering degree and License mr Auto Design Engineer? The Cracker Jacks BOx School of engineering? BTW my mechanic routinely replaces rusted thru oil pans on Ford Taurus's at 50,000 miles .... so it ain't just GM...

Oh but the truck radio stays on when you shut the key b4 you open the door for your listening pleasure. XCUSE ME BUT I WOULD RATHER A BETTER OIL PAN THAN THE RADIO DELAY FEATURE!!! oh yeah.. that is right.. the heavier guage oil pan would still be more than the electronic gizmo made in China radio delay thing....

Same truck had the tranny rebuilt last October... so I have paid for that as well. It cost me $2100.

My Mechanic told me the best fix for most vehicles was to jack up the radiator cap and drive another one.. made in Japan.. under it!

I like to live in the Country so I have to deal with cars and trucks to get to work. Hate 'em. Expensive awful things.. and the worse investment in the world. From the minute you buy one the value decreases.

I would go back to that dealer, Ladyamalthea and offer the firm a polite discussion first. If that does not work, I would then offer to park the car on top of the salesman...

Certainly if they do NOT make good on it, WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE LOCAL PAPER. I would go beyond this and take out an AD on the AUTO's For Sale PAGE and DETAIL THE WOE OF THIS CAR WITH THIS DEALER.

CONTACT THE STATE's ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU and WRITE TO FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

Whatever you do, do NOT lay down and take it!!!!!
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Old 08-10-2007, 10:51 AM
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If that does not work, I would then offer to park the car on top of the salesman...

lol - Well stated!!
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Old 08-10-2007, 11:01 AM
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Check to see if there are any hidden warranties that you do not know about. I found this out several years ago when I owned a Chevy that needed the steering bore replaced. There was a problem with that make and of course Chevy did not send out recall notices but if you had less than 50,000 on the car it was fixed for free. I think that dealerships have to have the book that lists these there for the public to look at. Hugs and I hope that things work out. I know one time I needed a repair that Ford wanted $1700 for (head gaskets) and our neighborhood mechanic fixed it for $500 and parts. Hugs, Marle
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Old 08-10-2007, 12:00 PM
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i will agree with cece, the car came with some warrianty.call the lot you bought it from.there is something on major parts. let us know how it goes. they can also give u a loaner car while they work. prayers you get it done for free.
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Old 08-10-2007, 02:02 PM
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Thanks everyone,

Actually, in GA, there is absolutely NO requirement for the dealer to give any kind of assistance on used vehicles... not automatic warranty, no nothing. They do offere warranties you can pay for, but that is just such a huge ripoff as well... And the car probably does not meet any kind of manufacturer's warranty just because the car is so old, even though the mileage is amazingly low... basically this car was someone's grandma's car, and the car was used for bare necessities, groceries and such... it only has half the mileage of what kbb says it should have for its age. Plus the paint looks brand new... so, while it is basically a new car, it is not treated as such for the reasons above.

I did find out some decent news though... I braved the long haul to my mechanic this morning. He couldn't fix it for me, but he did refer me to a friend of his who could. This other guy is a transmission specialist. He looked at it and figured out where the leak is and told me that the repair is going to cost $600. I know, it sounds like a lot, but when you think about how much other tranny work can cost... plus he's giving me a discount for coming through my friend; it should have been more like $800. The really good news: He said that the rest of the tranny is perfect. So, I don't know what caused this leak, but he said it is fairly common...

As far as being a victim here... I still plan to complain to everyone possible about it... because this still isn't right; plus I plan to write my governor a letter telling him how disappointed I am that GA does not protect consumers in the used car market.

Either way, I'm glad it wasn't any worse... and I guess maybe it could have been if we didn't notice the leak when we did.
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