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I've got similar, but nowhere near as serious problems.
I suppose it started when I refused to report the bent hood I received one day after my classes at the local JC (maybe it hated being within 1 mile of the JC).
Two weeks later, my brother drove through my rear door. I replaced it with a similarly colored stock painted door - even swapped all the doors' clear and tinted glass. My car has aftermarket paint due to a boo-boo from 01.
Speaking of which, I hate Maaco, but moving on.
The trouble continued when a week later, my front corner light fell apart at 90 on the freeway. That was the first time I hit 90 in over 6 months.
Throughout all this, my smog test and OBD told me that my EGR system had failed and I started my neverending EGR temp. Sensor quest.
Additionally, my passenger running lights blew more and more fuses as time went by, my overdrive solenoid wire had come loose and rubbed clear through to ground on the driveshaft, temporarily robbing me of my 4th gear.
Let, see... I took the car to have its valves adjusted at $130, and they told me a bunch of things I needed to do (I've done most, need to have the diff. fluid changed). It turns out, the whole problem was my TPS, but I didn't discover this until a year later. The problem with my car bucking and choking turned out to be a very blown intake boot from the intercooler to the intake hose, I was happy to fix this as I'd been previously told the Catalytic converter would need to be replaced as it was probably plugged.
Then there was that day a police officer noticed my tags were expired (car was still in my parents name), pulled me over, looked at my hair and said "excuse my ma'am did you know your tags.... oh.. uh, excuse me sir..." :|
Ah, last fall it was both shocks, top strut bearings, all the associated hoopdee parts, and then once those were all installed, the popping noise was determined to be my ball joints (a mere $37 apiece, while the shocks were 120 apiece and the total for the shocks came to over $600. Springs are not something I wanted to learn on my own.)
This winter went okay... I tried and tried to find and solve my tail-light issue, I even crosswired my rear fog light (discontinued on both sides starting in 91) to the other side to be legally okay and then those mysteriously stopped working. The car's going to the shop and the lights WILL be fixed before November.
This spring, I realized I needed to repair the leak in the radiator since it was only $65 for Rod/resolder. I did, then I decided to replace the water pump, that went okay, only took me most of one night, only to discover I had mis-seated the heater hose and the radiator wouldn't even hold water. Another night and I was done with that.
Every paycheck, I promised myself I would buy the wheel bearings and rotors that are causing a hideous front-end shudder on my car, but another few issues came up.
The voltage regulator died on me and the alternator stopped charging (I drove for over 5 hours on a battery getting 0 charge) and I left my buddy on the road overnight. $65 later I was fine.
Exactly 7 days later, the main fuel pump, which had been a hornet's nest under my car croaked, leaving me stranded again.
$450, new in-tank and under-car pumps, shipping, cursing, etc. later I was rolling again.
Since then, things have been okay... knock on wood.
The wheel bearings (SKF OEM) are in the mail (I started a second job to buy all the stupid parts! actually because I'd had several job offers fall through and this other was a sure thing, I took the job), as are new rotors and stainless steel front brake lines and new fluid and caliper guide pins.
Right now... right now.... [whisper] everthing is working okay [/whisper] but don't tell Virgil I said so.
He might find something else to break.
It's comforting to know I'm not the only one whose car hates him. I'm sorry it's so friggin expensive, but it's good to know.
-William
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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond
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