I need advice and to vent....
 

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

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.

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.

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!:cheers:

Well Sherry, first off - sorry for the lose of your husband:sadangel:
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....

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?

:iagree:

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.

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.

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. :thumbs:

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'.

Thank you!!! Great advice!!!
 

:iagree:

:iagree::iagree:Probably the Oil Pressure Sensor leaking.

Now I feel ripped off. God I hate that!!!!
 

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

Thank you!
 

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

Dealership..
 

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. .

Have had that replaced 3 times!!!!
 

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.

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.

Have had that replaced 3 times!!!!
 

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.

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!

Thanks
 

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

Chandler AZ. Have found several vette clubs near me. Will join one pronto!! Thanks so much!

How mi h do you think an oil pan leak should cost????

Thank you!!!!!

Hi Sherry here is the link for National Council Corvette Clubs
http://www.ncccroadrunner.com/ there are 13 clubs in your region. Some may be sponsored by a Chev dealer. The club I am in is sponsored by Sunrise Chev and they offer all members 15% off parts and labor. Good luck with the car:thumbs:

Thank you!!! If anyone reads this in AZ and knows a great mechanic
That won't rip me off if appreciate any help you could send me. Sherry

Sorry to hear of your husbands death and the many problems
you have had with the dealer. The forum has given you good
advice.
Most dealerships take advantage of women. My wife had this thing
about going to the dealer instead of a good independent shop.
I could not convince her so I told her to call me before any repairs
at the dealer. She soon learned that the dealer would take
advantage of her when I would take her car that was ready to
blow up according to the dealer, to a independent dealer and
her car had NO problems at all.
Women beware of dealers the service tech works on comission
and the service dept. is a cash cow for a dealer. They will use
emotion to sell you service you do not need. Save your money.

Great great advice. Yes I typically rush right in when anything at all is wrong when in all actuality I could wait awhile. Thank you for responding. I sure appreciate it. Thanks. Sherry

Great great advice. Yes I typically rush right in when anything at all is wrong when in all actuality I could wait awhile. Thank you for responding. Ouch on the cradle repair. So labor intensive!! I sure appreciate it. Thanks. Sherr

Yep, I have seen them and, in fact, just fixed one on the wife's '02 C5 over the holidays. It was actually a combination front timing cover perimeter and oil pan leak that combined to create some glorious drops on the garage floor occassionally. Car has ~35K on the odo.

I fixed a leaking water pump on it at the same time. :yesnod:

Sherry - contact Randy at HRW Motorsports. I believe they are in Mesa (or Tempe?) He is a Premium Supporting Vendor here on the forum and has a shop specializing in Corvettes.

Be careful who you trust, this is especially true at dealerships. They are the lowest life forms on earth.

You could have one of a few things going on to cause a leak. Yes, the Oil pressure sensor is a possibility, but going to a local auto parts store and getting a non-gm part, then getting that installed, should resolve that once and for all. It should be a 1 hour job for any competent mechanic.

PCV could also cause a leak, and it's more likely than a bad pan gasket. This is an item any member would gladly find/fix for free. Cost is roughly 0, time is almost 0, headaches when its not working is a lot. Engines just sweat out oil when it's (PCV) not working properly/plugged.

Find a local mechanic. I suppose a Vette specialty shop is fine too, but I don't advocate that a person needs to be a Vette mechanic to be a mechanic. Cars are cars. Your Vette is no more different than an Accord than my Pickup is, yet nobody would tell you to find a Pickup mechanic or Accord Mechanic. They'd just say find a decent mechanic. There are fair ones out there. Very honest folks. All they have to do is have a little common sense and not lift your car by the fenders (as shown in another thread recently). Just ask them if they know how to lift a C5, if they know that, they're probably fine.

I'd seriously doubt the pan is what's leaking. As mentioned above, that's not a common maintenance issue. If it truly is that, I'd estimate 100-400. Just guessing.

Well please hang around us more often. You may have to ignore much of the crude men's humor but you can learn a lot!! Plus, this forum makes enjoyment of your car all the better!

Best of luck!

I used Corvette Culture in Mesa for an oil change on my 1994 vert with good results. I was looking at some of their beautiful cars as I was in the market a few weeks ago. Very clean shop and helpful. I can recomend them for at least an opinion on your problem. I think they have advertised here.

Years ago, when I took a job as a service director (at a Porsche, Subaru dealer that was dropping considerably in profitability), I had to immediately start monitoring all requests for service tickets (non warranty, customer pay repair transactions) because all but a few of the mechanics were raping customers on "repairs" that were not needed.

I had to fire one guy within the first week because not only was he recommending repairs that were not needed, but he also was sabotaging cars to add to the bill (one of his specialties (and the reason I posted) was creating fake oil leaks where he would loosen bolts on the oil pan, let it leak a bit, then recommend a labor intensive and very expensive gasket replacement.........then he would leave the car on the lift, go have a coffee or two and come back and simply tighten the bolts,.."problem solved, repair completed"). This is near criminal behavior in my mind.

I was also embarrassed to discover that women were targeted more than men because of the general perception that they knew less about mechanical things than males. Myself and the owner of the dealership had a meeting with the entire service department to address the issue (along with a new hire (a Master Mechanic) that became our shop foreman). Every ticket and need for repair would be double checked by the shop foreman (who was salaried, not on commission). This system cleaned up the business very quickly and we soon had a reasonable reputation and were profitable legitimately.

Many consumers do not realize that the service departments at dealerships make the business more money than the car selling, sales department.

If you believe that this type of behavior has occurred at this dealership, ask for an appointment with the service manager/general manager/owner to review all repairs completed at their facility........make photocopies of all the receipts and if you think you have been taken advantage of,.......contact the Better Business Bureau, the local TV station (Fox 5 On you side) or ask him to contact the Factory Service Representative on your behalf (ask when he will next visit their dealership, usually once every 3 months or so). This will generally get some goodwill action on their part.

Take the advice given by other members, find a good mechanic (found by recommendation) and stay with him.

They probably used the GM sensor, which is well-known to leak. You need to make sure that if it is the sensor they use the brass one, which they can purchase from O'Reilly. And yes, make sure they do not over-torque it because the lifetime warranty on the sensor will not cover that.

Just my 2 cents,like everyone else. If it's paid off and you love it like I do, keep it. It's still cheaper fixing it, than payments for 4-6 yrs on a new one. I've been thinking about new one myself, but LOVE not having payments. Now about the oil leaks, I just had two fixed by Corvettes of Houston. One was the oil pan, the other was the rear seal. Total was a little under $1800,this included a oil and super charger oil change too. The kicker is like everyone says, find someone in a club to help with labor, my labor was $1400. Good luck and keep the car,$1200 is still cheaper in a year than over $6000 in payments. L8R ZFLASH

Yes I am hoping that doesn't happen to me. I love her and hopes she doesn't need repairs too frequently BTW great member picture of the flaming tires. Where did you get that?? I have to change my picture when I get a chance.

Also today's ended up paying 975 for the oil pan leak gaskets, it was top one leaking, oil, labor was 90% of cost. I will be definately looking for corvette club so this doesn't happen again. Thanks

Funny all the references to women geting taken advantage of. I know some pretty gullible fellers too.:rofl:

I agree with others about finding an independent. I have a bodyshop and some of the worst repairs I have seen came out of dealers. Far as the car goes it's 11yo. If you don't want to spend money on repairs....buy a Honda.:hide:

Thanks great advice. This forum rocks. I am going to find a great vette club and gain some good advice there and contacts too so that I can find a good mechanic. It still hurts to pay 1200. Could always be worse, right?? Thanks so much.

Thank you to all the GREAT people who gave me advice today on this issue. YOU GUYS ROCK!

LOL. I know.....but I don't want a Honda!!! So the repairs will have to be paid for. Thanks!!!!

Sherry, first of all, Im very sorry for your loss.
One thing that alot of Women in Calif. are doing is asking for a Workmanship Warranty. Most reputable shops will guarantee workmanship for at least 1 year. Part failure of course would not be covered, but overtorquing parts or leaving parts too loose to try to get another diagnostic fee would be under warranty. Any damage done because of this unscrupulous activity would be the liability of the repair shop.
Another thing that you could bring up in the conversation with the mechanic is that you have your attorney taking care of bills etc.
Any time you mention "attorney" to a disreputible shop, they will stiffen up and either do you right or turn you away from any future repairs.
Last but not least, as is spoken here on the Forums, Find a very reputable repair shop in your area. I believe Angies List will only list A+ shops, so you might try that.
A Corvette is like a child, you cant toss her away for a few little problems but with a reputable Shop you can keep your baby for many years to come!

:iagree:

I'm not sure how many miles you have on your car and you don't give too many details about your car so it's hard to tell what you should do.

There are some high mileage vettes out there. The oil pan gasket is a ball buster job as the front cradle has to be dropped to get to the oil pan off. The gasket is pretty expensive too since it's a combination of metal and rubber. The gasket is actually popped riveted the the oil pan so that you can not slide it out and replace it easily.

Lots of members on here that help each other out. Time to find a few forum friends in your neighborhood. :cheers:

Sounds like you're leaning towards keeping the car. :thumbs:
You may not be able to fix your car yourself, but you sure can find out what's wrong with it. Next time you have an issue, post what codes come up. We should be able to tell you exactly what's wrong. The video won't help you with an oil leak though!

Peter

you also might fill out your profile so people can see where you are at, and maybe then you could get some local help.

Okay........Not saying that you weren't targeted because of being a female (that is one of the oldest scams in the book), but am looking to reinforce some of the advice as to finding a local, conscientious mechanic who stands behind his work and his reccomendations as to what is needed. He will not always be right, everyone makes a mistake once in a while, however, if he is trying to give you the best possible advice then he will be the first to say, "Wait a minute, that may not be right!"

In my younger days, I am a teacher now, I spun wrenches for a living and thoroughly enjoyed my work. I worked on every vehicle as if it were my own and always wanted to have it go out right...and stay out because it was right!!!!! However, no one is perfect.......

I did a differential gear (ratio) change, front and rear, on a four wheel drive pick-up one time and everything came out great. I did it in one day (all day) and delivered it to the customer. He loved it and came back to say so after the test-drive. I was very tired at the end of the day and went home to relax and watch TV that evening. Uh-Oh, while watching TV, it occurred to me that I couldn't remember specifically torqueing the bearing cap bolts in the rear differential!!!!!!

I went in the first thing the next morning and told my service manager about my doubts and worries as to the situation and asked if he would please call the customer and have him bring the truck in ASAP for me to check it. As it turned out, I was right!! The bolts were tight, but had not been torqued as I got about three quarters or more turns on each one when I applied my torque wrench and brought them up to spec. Whew!!! Major "come-from-together" averted!!!!

Not only was the customer not upset, he was impressed that his vehicle did not leave our thoughts as soon as it left the lift!!!! He ended being a very loyal and steady customer.

My point is that when you find a good and conscientious mechanic, you will find that he takes as much pride in his work as you do in your Corvette and that in a way......it kinda' belongs to him as well. Therefore, the last thing he will want to do is anything less than the best job he is capable of doing!!!!

Good luck with your search and I hope you can find someone who will love your car with you! :D :D

Sorry that this was so long.

DSTURBD

Hi Sherry,

Folks were all complaining about another member's avatar when I realized I didn't even have one. So off I went to find something that representrd my user name and the vette. That avatar started out as a computer background screen and I shrunk it and cropped it.

I must say that I got lucky when I moved here to Broward to find a shop that spends your money like it is their own. During my child rearing years, they did most my big work that I didn't have the time for.

The forum guys are right, a good club membership is worth its weight in gold. Good luck!

-Bruce

:iagree: This, my friends, is what this forum is all about. Patches is the poster child for what the Corvette Forum is all about. A great mechanic and great poster, but better yet, a great person!! Sure wished I lived closer to him and Mrs. Patches. Great, great people.