My Personal Car Disaster

[falafel]

I drive (drove) a 2005 Kia Spectra. I got it in law school, and despite being a very cheap car, it has been absolutely great in terms of reliability. I have about 73,000 miles on it.

Yesterday on the way to work in the morning, my AC went out. At lunch, I went to pick up my daughter at school. On the way home (driving up hill on the freeway), the engine began to lose power and I slowed to a stop, despite having the pedal to the metal. I opened the hood and noticed that the radiator hose near the top had split. So I had it towed to the Kia dealership.

Today the service guy calls and tells me the engine is gone and it needs to be replaced. If I can't cough up service records to show that I've done all the regular maintenance, the repair will not be covered under the 100,000 warranty. I don't have any records. The cost of the repair is likely about the cost of the car, so unless I can find someone to do it for much cheaper, I will likely need to get a new car.

What is the likelihood that I can replace this stuff somewhere else and have it be significantly less expensive?

If I decide to scrap it, where can I sell it with a dead engine? Can I hope to at least get a couple thousand out of it?

[LiveCoug]

Hey, I have a very similar story....

Just last week, my honda civic with 192k miles on it started overheating. Took it in and 500 bucks later, I had a shiny new water pump and timing belt. 2 days later, my wife is driving to work and driving up a hill on pioneer crossing, the engine sputtered and died. Towed it back to the mechanic and I was informed that an idler bolt had broken in half and that my engine might be dead. He is replacing the bolt as we speak and will then be able to determine if the engine is ok. Waiting for the call.

We both might be looking for a car here soon.

[Maximus]

I drive (drove) a 2005 Kia Spectra. I got it in law school, and despite being a very cheap car, it has been absolutely great in terms of reliability. I have about 73,000 miles on it.

Yesterday on the way to work in the morning, my AC went out. At lunch, I went to pick up my daughter at school. On the way home (driving up hill on the freeway), the engine began to lose power and I slowed to a stop, despite having the pedal to the metal. I opened the hood and noticed that the radiator hose near the top had split. So I had it towed to the Kia dealership.

Today the service guy calls and tells me the engine is gone and it needs to be replaced. If I can't cough up service records to show that I've done all the regular maintenance, the repair will not be covered under the 100,000 warranty. I don't have any records. The cost of the repair is likely about the cost of the car, so unless I can find someone to do it for much cheaper, I will likely need to get a new car.

What is the likelihood that I can replace this stuff somewhere else and have it be significantly less expensive?

If I decide to scrap it, where can I sell it with a dead engine? Can I hope to at least get a couple thousand out of it?

Lame they require all service records.

[falafel]

[Moliere]

Looking for a new car is actually fun....at least I think it's fun.

Sorry to hear about your cars. One of my great fears in life is car trouble.

[TripletDaddy]

Looking for a new car is actually fun....at least I think it's fun.

Sorry to hear about your cars. One of my great fears in life is car trouble.

lease. you will eliminate one of your greatest fears in life.

[falafel]

Looking for a new car is actually fun....at least I think it's fun.

Sorry to hear about your cars. One of my great fears in life is car trouble.

I'm not all that broken up about getting a new car. I had planned on doing that within the next year or so anyway. But I was counting on selling this one to help with the new one. And I don't like having to get something fast. I'd rather take my time and find what I really want. My wife works so we both need cars.

[LiveCoug]

Looking for a new car is actually fun....at least I think it's fun.

Sorry to hear about your cars. One of my great fears in life is car trouble.

Sure, when you are prepared and have the money for it.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

What service records do they require? Oil changes and lame inspections they do along with it? Do they still require a 60k mile maintenance on cars as new as a 2005?

Just contact the people that did the oil changes and see if they have any service records.

BTW, whenever I get a new car I get the car's oil changed at the dealership for this exact reason. The dealer is much more likely to go to bat for you with the manufacturer if they see you've consistently brought it into their shop. I buy the oil and filter at Wal Mart or Autozone (oil change specials sometimes make it a bit cheaper at Wal Mart), bring it into the dealership and I get charged about $12 for them to change my oil.

Also, if you're looking for a new car then you might want to look at the outgoing Honda Accord. They're coming out with a totally new 2013 model and they're really trying to get the 2012s off their lots. A friend of mine got a really, really good deal on one within the past few weeks. If you're the least bit interested in a car like that then there isn't a better time to get one -- August of its last model year. But I had the worst car buying experiences of my life in Las Vegas (actually, buying isn't the right word -- negotiating is more proper, I ended up buying a new car in St. George even though I was still living in Las Vegas). There's an article on edmunds.com from several years back from a guy who went undercover and got a job at a huge car dealership in SoCal (think the size of Findlay Toyota) and it's pretty eye-opening. Some of these dealerships welcome guys with a criminal record (a certain type of record, they're not looking for pedophiles or murderers, more like fraudsters) because they know they'll be more aggressive and pushy. My experience with the Vegas dealerships confirms this more than dealerships in, say, Utah.

[Uncle Ted]

Did you tell them you had left the maintenance records back at your office, the Law Firm Dewey, Cheatam, and Howe?

CMBF makes a good suggestion of contacting the place you have the oil changed. I know that the place I go to has mine because I had them print of a copy when I sold my car once to show that it had been well maintained.

If they don't honor the warranty you might want to consider picking up an used engine (with low mileage) or a rebuilt engine and find some shop that will put it in cheap for you. Sometimes you can find a deal on a salvage motor. Then give the car to your kids to drive themselves to school when they are old enough and buy yourself something nice.

[falafel]

What service records do they require? Oil changes and lame inspections they do along with it? Do they still require a 60k mile maintenance on cars as new as a 2005?

Just contact the people that did the oil changes and see if they have any service records.

BTW, whenever I get a new car I get the car's oil changed at the dealership for this exact reason. The dealer is much more likely to go to bat for you with the manufacturer if they see you've consistently brought it into their shop. I buy the oil and filter at Wal Mart or Autozone (oil change specials sometimes make it a bit cheaper at Wal Mart), bring it into the dealership and I get charged about $12 for them to change my oil.

Also, if you're looking for a new car then you might want to look at the outgoing Honda Accord. They're coming out with a totally new 2013 model and they're really trying to get the 2012s off their lots. A friend of mine got a really, really good deal on one within the past few weeks. If you're the least bit interested in a car like that then there isn't a better time to get one -- August of its last model year. But I had the worst car buying experiences of my life in Las Vegas (actually, buying isn't the right word -- negotiating is more proper, I ended up buying a new car in St. George even though I was still living in Las Vegas). There's an article on edmunds.com from several years back from a guy who went undercover and got a job at a huge car dealership in SoCal (think the size of Findlay Toyota) and it's pretty eye-opening. Some of these dealerships welcome guys with a criminal record (a certain type of record, they're not looking for pedophiles or murderers, more like fraudsters) because they know they'll be more aggressive and pushy. My experience with the Vegas dealerships confirms this more than dealerships in, say, Utah.

Technically, the radiator hose split, which they say caused water to mix in with the oil in the engine, somehow. Then the water caused the engine to seize, I guess. The engine had no compression.

They want service records showing that I had the coolant serviced every 30,000 and the transmission (which is lame, since there's nothing wrong with the transmission). I don't know whether I had that service or not.

I think I'm just going to get a new car. I don't like the Honda dealers in Vegas though.

[SoCalCoug]

We just got my wife a nice, but used suburban (old car was too small for school carpool in the fall). We brought it home Monday night. Tuesday morning, the babysitter for the neighbors across the street backed into it. It's now in the shop until next Friday, having the damage fixed.

Fortunately, it wasn't a brand new car, so although the paint was still in really good shape, it'll actually come back from the shop a little shinier than it was.

[SoCalCoug]

We just got my wife a nice, but used suburban (old car was too small for school carpool in the fall). We brought it home Monday night. Tuesday morning, the babysitter for the neighbors across the street backed into it. It's now in the shop until next Friday, having the damage fixed.

Fortunately, it wasn't a brand new car, so although the paint was still in really good shape, it'll actually come back from the shop a little shinier than it was.

By the way, it's probably a good thing I'm not rocking the MOFOE signature anymore. We've now got 16 cylinders of gas-guzzling engine between our two cars. Not exactly keeping our carbon footprint down.

[Moliere]

lease. you will eliminate one of your greatest fears in life.

And then create the fear of going over my allotted mileage? No way. Horrible idea.

I just buy new(er) cars that are under warranty. I also buy quality cars.

[Moliere]

Technically, the radiator hose split, which they say caused water to mix in with the oil in the engine, somehow. Then the water caused the engine to seize, I guess. The engine had no compression.

They want service records showing that I had the coolant serviced every 30,000 and the transmission (which is lame, since there's nothing wrong with the transmission). I don't know whether I had that service or not.

I think I'm just going to get a new car. I don't like the Honda dealers in Vegas though.

I can see this happening. After trying to float my newer car across the lake that had formed in the middle of a street I got very lucky to not have my engine seize up. In fact, I've been told a dozen times (half of those at the dealership) that I was very, very lucky. Good think I was coming home from attending the temple (you atheists wouldn't have had my luck!!!).

But seriously, I'd push back on them. Don't throw a couple grand out the window without pushing. What does it mean to service the coolant? Does that mean to drain it and replace it? Sounds like a very easy thing to do at home. Just tell them you did it at home and therefore don't have records (I'd suggest learning really quick how to do it in case they ask you to demonstrate).