what do you think of this?

[-Alero-]

So after every dealership in maryland rejecting to diagnose this on going problem of my car. With the rough idle the random missfires while driving.....all the dealers saying there is nothing wrong, over and over....

we took it to a shop that does MD inspections, since my tags from TN expired i had to get it inspected.....welp my exhaust intake, pcm, coils, wires, crank pulley, all classified as illegal and had to be removed or i would be unable to have a registered vehicle for MD.

welp long story short 2100$ later i got brank new 1.5 inch crush bent nappa autoparts exhuast piping, random huge muffler, and some random ass cat, as well as replacing driver rear strut, steering rack, ignition module, and driver front wheel hub, as well as every single aftermaket part removed and returned to me.....pretty bad ass huh?

welp i thought my driver front wheel hub was going out so i took it back, and they said my transmission was making the loud whining grinding noise, so my extended warrenty adjuster came out and a week later came to the conclusion it would be best to replace the transmission. instead of removing diagnosing and replacing whatever wrong with remanufactured garbage parts (which could potentially cost more than just getting a new one). thing is they only want to cover 750$ of a transmission swap/repair...

I also still have an engine problem pertaining to the rough idle, which would probably cost hundreds of dollars to tear down diagnose and or replace whatever is needed, because i believe i have some sort of compression loss, from when it was last re assembled by a TN dealer (whom still says nothing is wrong with it so they dont want to work on it).

I'm sick of remanufactured parts and used parts failing... and i dont want to replace old failing parts with older parts that will fail...its so agrivating having a car worth nearly 2,000$ and then being qouted 1,900 for a used transmission, and 3,300 for a used engine.

me and my father have spoken with a GM regional representative and they were of no help and stuck next to what the dealer had said, and showed little to no interest at all in retaining customers.


so all this finally brings me to 1 question...... what do you guys suggest i do from here? i really need the suggestions...

should i sell it and try to get something just to get me by and hold me off?
cut all losses and scrap it?
invests thousands more than what its worth just to keep it running?
keep driving it till it breaks?

I seriously have no idea what to do with it.....the car is such a headache right now and i can honestly say i will never buy from GM ever again in my entire life.... i just cant believe how good this car once was and then it just completly 180's...

[Redog]

You took it to ONE shop and they told you all that stuff was illegal? Then quoted you $3300 for a new/used engine? Also all your aftermarket stuff is gone and $2100 to "fix" everything?

They seen you comming a mile away.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

-OR-
see if you can swap in a new drivetrain....perhaps from a Monte/Impala???

[undecided02]

Dude you got scammed hardcore.

[heineck]

no joke, they raped u

[00WhiteAlero]

Wow they scammed you how are aftermarket parts illegal? they wouldnt sell them if they were

[mrmike]

Wow I wouldn't give a new shop ANY business without knowing them or their reputation. The thought of giving some random shop thousands of dollars to REMOVE my aftermarket parts...well I would knock them down and make them eat their own tools at the mention of it! "Dur - your transmission is broke gimme $3000!" followed by the sound of a man choking to death on a tray of impact sockets.

[-Alero-]

my dad took it, my dad uses them to work on his truck and work on his corvette.

you guys dont live in the state of maryland, so you guys dont realize how much higher labor and parts are through the roof......this is the state that will charge you 500$ for a headlight on a 95 silverado.....this is the state that will fail your car if you have a steering wheel cover, this is the state that installs catalytic converters for a grand.....

you guys fail to realize how many places i have gone to.... no one can contemplate how little respect a oldsmobile will get.

yes any modifcation to any vehicle is illegal no matter what state your in. try putting a cam and heads in your car then taking your no longer made vehicle to the dealer and ask them why it wont hold an idle. dont think for one effing second you will be treated like a wet puppy in the rain.

and as far as 2100$ on parts went, who hear knows of a place that will replace, a exhaust system from the downpipe back, a strut, ignition module,a wheel hub, front end alignment, a steering rack and pinion assembly.......the car went through hours and hours of labor.....but to be honest i didnt pay for all of it....like i said...i have an extended warrenty.

back in TN converters were 50$ and there was no enforced window tint law, and every vehicle on the TN road was a emissions test virgin.

but i dont live in TN, i live in a highly strict state of emissions with the goal of price gouging.

ive looked for used engines and find engines from 800-1500, and brand new ones for 2,400, trannies in the same ballpark.

but who can put those in? not me i dont have the tools i dont have the garage, i dont have the time.....im no more than a driveway joe. i cant just say "oh hay i want a F40, and a fully built LA1, and snap my fingers"

more suggestion please no more posts on price rates

[AbHeLlRaZoR]

clearly you got to move away from that state.

[-Alero-]

clearly i dont have a choice at the time to just live any where i want.

[Redog]

Where exactly do you live in Maryland? Baltomore burbs like White Marsh?

I'll admit around there, it's expensive, but not that expensive.

I've seen cars from Maryland at the track, tinted windows, heavy engine mods and exhasut systems that will make your ears bleed. All with currect plates, street driven, etc etc etc

Can a cat cost $1000? Yes. My wife's '05 Altima's cat is a $1,000 part. My Aunt and Uncle's Forester's cat was an $800 part. For an Alero, it's a $300 to $500 part, you got effed on the mark-up, end of story.

Igntion wires being illegal? That's the biggest croc of shit I've ever heard.

When a part is listed as "50 state legal" I'm sorry to tell you, but Maryland is one of the 50 states. There are parts that are only "49 state legal" the state that's left out is California, not Maryland.

What year and milage on your car? IIRC your car is a 2001. Where exactly do you get $1900 for the valve of your car? I know your car isn't a POS

I've said it before, I'll say it again. You are obvouisly not happy with your car, trade it or sell it and buy something else. Get a BMW and trade it after 3.5 years. It still need maintanance, but you don't have to pay for it

[-Alero-]

k, the cars at the track arent driven daily, as in go to work and back and sit in traffic, those are more or less weekend cars.

i got a warning for a 400$ with my TN tags on my 5% tint, in MD, pulled over again with a warning passing through virginia.

yes aftermarket wires are conisdered illegal....anything that is not OEM is illegal. doesnt matter if the muffler says 50 state lega, the foglights say 50 state legal, or if the MAF sensor says 50 state legal. the place that inspects your car makes the decision to pass it, not to mention if pulled over a cop can say your muffler is too loud, its not stock and write you up a nice sheet of paper odering you to revert to OEM. so im sorry to tell you that by saying something is 50 state legal doesnt mean its EPA approved.

i live in frederick,adamstown, leesburg area.... heres my car value... check out the fair tab - 2,075 (i didnt say 1900)

and no i cant afford a BMW nor do i want a BMW


http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?YearId=2002&Mileage=93000&Vehic leClass=UsedCar&ManufacturerId=36&ModelId=355&Pric eType=Trade-In&VehicleId=4607&SelectionHistory=4607|31416|9261 8|0|0|178795|true|178928|true|178966|true&Conditio n=Good&QuizConditions=#survey

[cherrington17]

sorry, but i would have asked them to see it, in writing, that all those mods were illegal. you didn't have anything that would deem your car not "street legal"

they boned you hardcore, and whomever it was that dismantled your car, probably took the parts home for himself... asshats... plain and simple.

cali/ny have some of the strictest regulations on parts you can add... and nothing you listed was part of it. (maybe cali for emissions, but even then, aftermarket exhaust parts keep EPA regulations, unless you straight pipe it)


my HIDs are illegal, i just got inspected... they didn't say a word about it.

[surreal_awakening]

I could have saved you $2100, let you keep all those parts on your car, and gotten you Maryland inspection for waaaaaaaay less than that. Sorry to say you got raped. In any case, I have a spare 3400 from a 2000 GAGT and a tranny as well, oh, and since the gear ratio in the tranny is different, I have the ECU from the GAGT also. If you're interested, hit me up. Which place did you take it, btw? Not that I'm in the Frederick area much, but bad publicity like that might make a shop think twice. LOTS of places do Maryland inspection. That one sounds like a huge load of crap.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Theres no damned way in God's green earth would I dump $2100 into repairs of a car thats only worth $2000...

let alone paying another $5000 for an engine and transmission.

Obviously the choice is clear.

Buy another car and sell yours to someone else. Dont scrap it. Let someone else deal with the headache.

[-Alero-]

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

Theres no damned way in God's green earth would I dump $2100 into repairs of a car thats only worth $2000...

let alone paying another $5000 for an engine and transmission.

Obviously the choice is clear.

Buy another car and sell yours to someone else. Dont scrap it. Let someone else deal with the headache.

input im looking for^^

[Ryan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by -Alero-

input im looking for^^

Common sense?

I know this is an Alero board but lets face it. Alero is bottom of the Oldsmobile bucket. The resale on them is pathetic... If you get them new or under 70K miles you can have some fun times and a decent buy for some time. But once they get close to 150K all hell brakes loose. Problems after problems.

Plus, at this point the car isnt worth squat anyhow.

My car as it sits is worth about $2500... So the value has dropped to the point where it will ride out slowly.

Thats a 2000 V6 with 145K on it too...

Im just guessing yours is similar or close to.

You just got to way the "what if" value vs what the repairs cost. Being able to do it yourself save a MINT.

[Redog]

Wow that's pretty interseting, my car with more miles and 2 years older is worth double yours, just look (BTW I didn't put in that the car has Navigation)

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...940%7C0%7C0%7C

You used "trade value" if your car is damaged in an accident, the insurance companies use "Suggested Retail" becasue that is what it will cost to REPLACE the car.

If your car still has TN plates, a cop CANNOT PULL YOU OVER FOR TINTED WINDOWS IN ANOTHER STATE. Tinted windows is a state inspection thing. If my car had NJ plates, the tint would be illegal (no tint at all on the driver's and pass side windows) but I have PA plates. So I can drive thru the most backwards ass townships in NJ and they cannot do a thing about my tints. This is true in VA, MD and all the other states in the country.

So cars at the track are not daily driven or even driven to the track. Really? So how does my car get to the track? Fly? Walk? Osmosis? The Force? The Schwarts? (sorry I've been watching Spaceballs a lot)

so im sorry to tell you that by saying something is 50 state legal doesnt mean its EPA approved.

And I glad to tell you that you are wrong.

However, I am sorry to tell you that you limited education on automobiles has just cost you a shit load of money. I don't like to see anybody get ripped off. (Which you did, big time)

I suggested a BMW due to the zero cost of ownership. (Maintanance) That's as close as you are going to get to a car that's not going to have any problems, ever.

they boned you hardcore, and whomever it was that dismantled your car, probably took the parts home for himself... asshats... plain and simple.

I was thinking the same thing, until he said that he got the parts back.

You got ripped off, plain and simple. But if claiming that car parts are really expensive where you live helps you sleep at night, then OK.

You come on here with this story asking people what you should do, then get pissed when everybody tells you the hard truth.

Sell the car, you have no idea what you are doing.

[undecided02]

dude who cares where u live, Ebay has every part u need for practically nothing. abuse the internet, its why its here.

[Redog]

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

But once they get close to 150K all hell brakes loose. Problems after problems.

Just like every car with that many miles

I'm done with this thread. Just like all the others, it's effing pathetic