posted by
someone claiming to be sad
on
Tue Aug 24 07:55 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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I took my car into the shop (swedish imports) in austin because my coolant light light came on very seldomly and usually while going up hills. I figured if my car was infact overheating, the light would STAY ON...right? The next day the guys calls me and tells me that the engine is ruined and can't be put back together because the thermostat got stuck and the engine overheated. . And he wants $700 or the car for taking it apart. How could I find out if he's bluffing?, or does this make sense? So i've called around and looks like a used or rebuilt engine will cost me around 2500 including labor. Since i'm about due for new rotors / pads, and potentially my transmission, I'm pretty much planning on ditching the car. What could I expect to get for my car from a junkyard, or more preferrably someone who wants to put a v-8 in or something crazy like that? Let me know if anybody here is interested in buying this thing. thanks.
~kevin
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ok..he calls u next day..and says $700 for taking it apart...hmmm lets think about that...
lets say $70 per hour for labour...thats 10 hours labour...just what the hell did he take apart????? unless you specifically authorised work, or he specifically warned you of the cost of this i would tell him to go do something anatomically impossible and to give you your car RIGHT now before you lawyer up ...
by comparison...i hada $1000 bill on my 850 when i bought it...fo this the following was done/supplied:-
1. front to back check of the car.
2. new front disks, strip down and rebuild of all the brakes.
3. full engine service
4. repalce cam belts and ancilary belts.
done by a volvo independant specialist..
i did the thermostat myself...took all of about 10 minutes...
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ok..he calls u next day..and says $700 for taking it apart...hmmm lets think about that...
lets say $70 per hour for labour...thats 10 hours labour...just what the hell did he take apart????? unless you specifically authorised work, or he specifically warned you of the cost of this i would tell him to go do something anatomically impossible and to give you your car RIGHT now before you lawyer up ...
by comparison...i hada $1000 bill on my 850 when i bought it...fo this the following was done/supplied:-
1. front to back check of the car.
2. new front disks, strip down and rebuild of all the brakes.
3. full engine service
4. repalce cam belts and ancilary belts.
done by a volvo independant specialist..
i did the thermostat myself...took all of about 10 minutes...
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ok..he calls u next day..and says $700 for taking it apart...hmmm lets think about that...
lets say $70 per hour for labour...thats 10 hours labour...just what the hell did he take apart????? unless you specifically authorised work, or he specifically warned you of the cost of this i would tell him to go do something anatomically impossible and to give you your car RIGHT now before you lawyer up ...
by comparison...i hada $1000 bill on my 850 when i bought it...fo this the following was done/supplied:-
1. front to back check of the car.
2. new front disks, strip down and rebuild of all the brakes.
3. full engine service
4. repalce cam belts and ancilary belts.
done by a volvo independant specialist..
i did the thermostat myself...took all of about 10 minutes...
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ok..he calls u next day..and says $700 for taking it apart...hmmm lets think about that...
lets say $70 per hour for labour...thats 10 hours labour...just what the hell did he take apart????? unless you specifically authorised work, or he specifically warned you of the cost of this i would tell him to go do something anatomically impossible and to give you your car RIGHT now before you lawyer up ...
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The shop disassembled your car to find a broken thermostat, and then charged you $700???? "The engine overheated" is a crock. Sounds like the coolant level was a little low which would cause the light to come on when going or down hills. If it overheated to the point of destruction, you would not have been able to drive it there in the first place.
Call a lawyer, now!
--
95 854T, 88 780, 88 245
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Ok, maybe I'm missing something here. The mechanic said your engine is ruined, but you drove it to the mechanic? How can your engine be ruined if the only thing that seemed to be amiss was the coolant light coming on intermittently? Sounds like low coolant to me.
You've got a temperature gauge, right? Did you ever notice the temp gauge running high? If the engine was overheating, that would definitely be an indicator.
I'd document everything, call a good attorney, and take this guy for everything he's got.
kevin
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Any mechanic that would rack up a $700 bill without your permission and say you can pay it off by giving him the car is an unscupulous bastard. Check Tx law, there may be a dollar amount above which approval is required before continuing. If so you can use that to negotiate possesion of your car.
I'd pay $50 for a tow (I'm assuming the engine is torn apart)to another shop and $70 for a second opinion before I'd write off a $5000 car.
If the engine is shot then yeah, I'd junk it at a yard or post it on a volvo classifed website "as is".
Good Luck
Scott
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I missed the part where he already did $700 worth of work and is keeping your car hostage. You can go the court with a $700 promissary note and the judge will issue an order to release the car to you. Then you can call the sheriff and he'll come with you get your car. then sue the bastard!
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go to Sears. get a compression gauge for $30 and check the compression all all cylinders. If you read low on some cylinders and high on others, you have a problem. overheat will blow a head gasket before it "melts" your engine (ask me how I know) typically the #3 cylinder in the center would be the one with the worse compression becuase it overheats more behing in the middle. If the engine runs and the different compressions between cylinders is no greater than 30, you're in good shape. If the compression is below 100 somewhere, you might have a blown head gasket. that is costly in labor to replace. I would then go for a use engine.
What's your milage?
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My thermostat stuck a year ago, but I caught it in time it seems. Coolant was boiling out the burp tank and the temp gauge pegged. But after replacing the thermostat it took only about 2 quarts of coolant. A year later the engine runs fine. So maybe you cooked your engine and maybe not--does it run OK? Did you run it for very long in the overheated mode? Just some questions to ask before turning it over to the repair vulturs. Also, replacing rotors and pads is neither difficult nor expensive. If your engine is actually OK, why junk the car??
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posted by
someone claiming to be nkinsocal
on
Tue Aug 24 08:51 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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I feel for you bro!
If the engine overheated to the point where something melted, wouldn't it have blown a hose or something first? Or maybe steam coming from the hood, loss of power or "smoking exhaust". Most thermostats get stuck in the open position so a malfunctioning water pump, faulty sensor or broken belt I would tend to believe.
Call me paranoid, but I'm leeeery bout the repair guys.
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posted by
someone claiming to be sad
on
Fri Sep 3 20:17 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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hey guys. thanks for all the help. i went to the shop yestarday and checked it out. yea, 70 bucks an hour for 10 hours to take apart pretty much the whole engine. apparently the engine got "cooked". actually most of the cylinders looked pretty good except for the farthest one on the left (passenger side). That little gap in between the cylinders that's supposed to be there was pretty much melted together. the shop said it was about the worst they've ever seen, but i'm sure that was an exageration. the car actually drove fine on the way over. really, the only symptoms i noticed in the days prior was the engine seeming hot, but then again, i live in texas and everything is boiling. i disregarded it because my temp gauge was acting normal, and no other lights, (well except the check engine / service lights) i've pretty much decided i'm going to salvage the car. transmission was not too great, turbo was about dead ( a lot of oil leakage) break pads / rotors about done for. i'm thinkin about trying to selling parts from it on ebay (the good parts obviously). does anybody do that here? it's definitley sad to see it go, i really liked that car. anyway, thanks for listening and helping out.
~kevin
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