sherry_obrien

Hi Guys:
First, let me say I am a woman who owns a 2002. I am also a nurse so I don't make a lot of money. My car now is starting to cost me alot of money in repairs every 6 months or so. It's in the Chevy shop again today and is costing me another 1200. Oil pan leak this time. Always something lately. Sigh. But I love her.....

I love my vette. Love driving it everyday, but my husband died last year and I have one income now. Repairs are becoming very hard on me. Wish I could repair it myself but can't. Do you think I should try to just keep repairing it every 6 months or so or get a newer one? Don't want big payment but ???????? Or should I just suck it up and keep doing repairs??????

Thoughts??????? Thanks guys

FLZapped

I had a car that reached an age where it needed something every couple months for a while. Then it was fine again until the day I finally got rid of it.

dadaroo

If you are going to the Chevrolet dealership your costs are going to be very high. I recommend you find a local Corvette car club. I am sure some of them would help you find and fix issues for free (or for a beer or two). I am sure they could also hook you up with a good mechanic that would charge a lot less for parts and labor. Good luck.

MrGary2011

If it is payed for keep it! Find a corvette specialty shop, join a local corvette club (you will meet nice folks and get good local advice and have some fun too). Dealerships are notorius for drumming up business and overdoing repairs. Best of luck!

oh1vette

Well Sherry, first off - sorry for the lose of your husband
Thats tough, really a personal situation type thing, - you know 11 year old cars are gonna need repairs. Hope your not going to a dealership for those, if so, try to find a tuner or shop that works on vettes, that should save you some on repair bills.

Think you gotta find the balance financially, repair bill every so many months Vs monthly car payment....that is if you must have a vette...

Good Luck to you on whatever you decide....

momo20

Sorry to hear about husband..I would never take my car to the chevy dealership..tbey are a rip off..like others have said find a local corvette club. And tell them whats going on and you find out how much they would be willing to help you out.where are you located?

Corvette_Ed

I understand the OP's disappointment with the constant repairs. For the past three months I've had one thing or another break, wear out, or receive damage every single week. I would have spent thousands in labor costs at the dealership if I hadn't fixed everything myself.

Mariah

Sherry:

When I purchased my '98 last July I took it to the local dealership, as I had no Corvette connections, and I spent way too much money. Like you I'm a woman who is unable to do her own repairs - so you're not alone there. I asked around on this forum and was given the name of an excellent mechanic who has cut my repair bills in half at least.

Go to the "Events & Regional" section under "Forums". Find your region and post a question asking for mechanic referrals in or near your city. I'm sure you'll get quite a few responses. Maybe finding a mechanic who charges realistic and affordable prices will help you make your decision.

Good luck.

Patches

As others have mentioned, contact local forum and club folk to get the best mechanics and pricing.

Personally, I offer my help, garage and time to anyone who contacts me locally when they are unable to do repairs themselves and need to keep the costs to a minimum. I've done everything from installing HID headlights to adjusting exhaust systems - big or small, doesn't matter. I have a member coming by this weekend for a full fluids change, etc. on the lift because he no longer has a garage to do his car maintenance on. That's what this forum is all about - reaching out to each other to enjoy these cars and keep them on the road.

Hopefully, someone local to you will chime in with some relief.

Phanni

An oil pan leak in a LS-1?
Seriously, has anyone else ever seen that happen?
I've been around literally over a hundred LS-1 engines and have never seen that.

It appears to me, it's the ol; 'we got her in the shop, let's rip her off routine'.

sherry_obrien

3boystoys

Probably the Oil Pressure Sensor leaking.

sherry_obrien

Hi guys:
This is what I was afraid of. I told him to call me and I will demand to speak to management and the owners of Power Chevy in Mesa AZ. I am furious now. I work hard for my money and don't want to feel I'm bending over when I pay the bill. What do you think it should cost me so I can go on there armed??? Thanks so much for any advice. Sherry

sherry_obrien

Thanks for the advice. I am going to join a vette club so I don't keep a getting ripped off, and have future avail mechanics and references. I appreciate your answering my question.


Anyone out there, how much do you think it should cost?? I have already told them I'm speaking to management about this. I'm furious

sherry_obrien

Hi. Yes took it back to dealership this time bc I tried taking it to a place called Sun Devil Auto here in Chandler AZ and they did shoddy work had I take it back 3 times to get it right fixed right. I will keep it. It's paid off and a great car most if the time. .

sherry_obrien

LOL. Hope not! Have had the oil pressure sending unit replaced 3 times now by the shoddy shop I took it to, which is why I brought it back to Chevy!!! Over torqued it I believe. Causes it to fail and leak so I've been through that many times. This is the problem, I have to trust them that's what the leak is. They are already repairing it now or I would have taken it to get another opinion.

azmusclecar

Sherry, I see you are in the Phoenix Area. I'm down in Tucson. I will send you a link in a private message that will allow you to open it and see what car clubs are available. I used to belong to ACES, Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts, and there are other Corvette clubs as well. You are in a very good area as far as the popularity of clubs and organizations. Check your PM box and I'll send you the link.

sherry_obrien

LOL. Hope not! Have had the oil pressure sending unit replaced 3 times now by the shoddy shop I took it to, which is why I brought it back to Chevy!!! Over torqued it I believe. Causes it to fail and leak so I've been through that many times. This is the problem, I have to trust them that's what the leak is. They are already repairing it now or I would have taken it to get another opinion.

3sACROWD

I’m in agreement with the others that say to find a local mechanic and do away with the dealership. (flame suit on for my next statement) For all intents and purposes, the Corvette is just like any other car. There are a few jobs that take Corvette expertise but most repairs can be made by a competent mechanic so long as they know how to properly lift the car.

Many Corvette owners are fanatical about their car, but I’ll offer another perspective. Ask yourself if the repair is truly a problem or a nuisance. If it doesn’t affect safety / reliability / performance (in that order), then you likely have a nuisance problem. If you can live with the nuisance, wait until you have the funds to make the repair or consider waiting until you have a necessary repair so you can “bundle” the labor costs. If you don’t know if a problem is serious or not, utilize that trusted local mechanic, local Corvette club members, or this forum for guidance. Being an informed, not arrogant, owner helps keep costs down too.

An example of bundling; I had leaky rear axle seals. The leaks weren’t severe enough to cause much more than minor spotting on the garage floor. I waited until I had a slave cylinder problem before getting the seals replaced. In the meantime, I kept an eye on the fluid loss until the repair was made. (I placed a piece of plastic on the floor so I could monitor the spotting and then would occasionally do an actual check of the fluid in the differential. The losses were so minimal that I didn’t have to add anything between oil changes and not every oil change did it need filling.) I drove it for about a year this way.

In order to access the slave cylinder, the rear cradle (includes the differential and axles), the transmission, and the torque tube needed to be removed. While they had the car apart, I opted to have the axle seals, torque tube bushings, and torque tube bearings replaced. They also performed upgrades on my transmission. The labor costs for all of this work was not significantly higher than what it would have been to just replace the slave cylinder. If I did each item individually, the labor costs could easily have been double to triple.

Good luck!

sherry_obrien

Great great advice I will do that. I'd be willing to buy them a case of beer to make sure it's being fixed right and for a good price. Being a woman stinks when you have to take it to shop for repairs bc you want to trust people and not get ripped off