A certified used lemon?

[PrincessSuzanne]

Everyone (well, most people) have something they specialize in or know a lot about. For me it is I.T. and fitness. For other it is cars, appliances, the law, or anything else. I'm sure the are things you know about that many of us don't.

O2 censors are vulnerable to problems because of where they are on the car (attached to the exhaust system underneath). Sometimes road debris can cause an issue, sometimes problems with heat shielding can cause an issue. Luckily they are generally inexpensive to fix because they are easily accessible and not that expansive of a part.

Wish our mechanic knew that it cost $700 to get one of his fixed, granted there was another sensor or something else that was bad as well, but our Saturn has (4) O2 sensors at at least $100 a piece.

Suzanne

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I go with my gut and past experiences when buying a vehicle, I wouldn't even know what kinds gide to pick up anyway. Never had a good experience with a Ford. I have had a Pontiac (not great), a Buick which I loved and drove until it died and had almost 200,000 miles on it; a Taurus, it was good, but DH totaled it; he now has the Saturn I bought with 97,000 miles on it and I have the Dodge Caravan my mom bought in 2008 and never had a minutes trouble out of it.

Unfortunately you're not the only one who shops like that, but don't get me wrong, businesses love brand loyalty, so you are a businesses best customer.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Unfortunately you're not the only one who shops like that, but don't get me wrong, businesses love brand loyalty, so you are a businesses best customer.

No, actually I would buy whatever is in the budget at the time, however there are brands I don't think I would want anyway. When I do go buy (and yes, I said I) it is usually out of desperation and I have no choice but to go purchase.

Now with Saturn gone, I hope our 2 vehicles last a long time.

Suzanne

 

[bumbershoot]

OP, "O2 sensor" means "oxygen sensor". Measures the oxygen in the...ha ha ha, don't know...something. Probably gas.

My '95 Jetta was a borderline lemon and went through enough of them that ONE more inside of its first 2 years would have deemed it a lemon. Dratted thing waited until a month or so after the 2 years to need another one.

Wish our mechanic knew that it cost $700 to get one of his fixed, granted there was another sensor or something else that was bad as well, but our Saturn has (4) O2 sensors at at least $100 a piece.

Suzanne

DH used to work at a Saturn dealership, and wants to know what sort of Saturn you have...he's not aware of any Saturns with 4 o2 sensors; he says that any car should have one per exhaust, and Saturns have just one exhaust. But he does agree with the $100 to replace one. DH seems concerned about your mechanic....

 

[bumbershoot]

Or maybe you meant it was replaced 4 times? That would make more sense. Whew, OK. Man I thought your mechanic was REALLY scammy!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

DH used to work at a Saturn dealership, and wants to know what sort of Saturn you have...he's not aware of any Saturns with 4 o2 sensors; he says that any car should have one per exhaust, and Saturns have just one exhaust. But he does agree with the $100 to replace one. DH seems concerned about your mechanic....

A car will actually have at least two, a pre-cat and a post cat O2 sensor, depending on the engine and configuration it can have more, regardless of the exhaust outlets. My volvo has 4, two pre-cat and two post cat.

 

[bumbershoot]

Told DH he'd been called out, LOL. He says via IM:

"That all depends on the manufacturer.
Most US cars have I pre cat.
International cars have 2 per regulations for them.
But that could have changed" since the time he worked at the dealership (he was the one that dealt with the customers bringing their cars in to be worked on, then told the mechanics what was going on, charged the customers, could make the deals with them, etc...but since I've known him he's been in different fields altogether, all computer-related).

Bet he'll be on the phone to his brother, who works as a mechanic at a multi-brand dealership tonight!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

OP, "O2 sensor" means "oxygen sensor". Measures the oxygen in the...ha ha ha, don't know...something. Probably gas.

My '95 Jetta was a borderline lemon and went through enough of them that ONE more inside of its first 2 years would have deemed it a lemon. Dratted thing waited until a month or so after the 2 years to need another one.



DH used to work at a Saturn dealership, and wants to know what sort of Saturn you have...he's not aware of any Saturns with 4 o2 sensors; he says that any car should have one per exhaust, and Saturns have just one exhaust. But he does agree with the $100 to replace one. DH seems concerned about your mechanic....

Or maybe you meant it was replaced 4 times? That would make more sense. Whew, OK. Man I thought your mechanic was REALLY scammy!

It is a 2000 Saturn LS, Dh says it is like the L300. Dh was a heavy duty mechanic in the Army and went to school for a short time to be a mechanic (which didn't work out well), so I trust him with what he tells me. No, we haven't had it replaced 4 times. He said something about 2 in the front and 2 in the back. If memory serves me correctly, he said our Saturn was built in Germany. But when DH talks cars, which is 75$ of the time, I tune him out or I would be crazy.

Nothing wrong with our mechanic, they have a great reputation and do honest work and have been for many, many years and they stand behind all their work with a guarantee. I don't mess with scammy?? people.

 

[bumbershoot]

Interesting! Hubby will be most intrigued.

Anyone can get scammed by a mechanic, or have one try to do it. And, since you didn't list the hubby's credentials, and I've had mechanics try to pull the wool over my eyes (I always had to call a dad or stepdad before I had a convenient husband, as mechanics have NEVER listened to just me), I didn't think it would be that far off to think that a mechanic had charged you WAY too much. DH has saved his friends and coworkers a ton of money in total, by giving them the words to say, questions to ask, and in a few cases, actually getting on the phone with the mechanics when they would call to give a vastly inflated total to Dh's female coworkers (and a couple male coworkers). It's just a judgment on you, just in case you thought it was, that I wondered that about your mechanic. Judgment on mechanics based on my experience, yes...

And I'm suddenly so glad that my Jetta did not have four sensors! I thought that 70 bucks, or whatever it was, to fix the last sensor (I had a 2 year "everything's covered" warranty for it so didn't have to pay for the others) was bad enough! Let alone having to replace multiple sensors all at once!

 

[bumbershoot]

Sorry OP to have temporarily hijacked your thread.

Hubby replied:

"The L300 and the LS are the Opel engine models of Saturn and they did have extra O2s." So your Saturn is an int'l version. Sounds fancy and nice!

As a Libra I just love it when everyone's right. (int'l cars having many o2 sensors and most domestic not having that many)

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Interesting! Hubby will be most intrigued.

Anyone can get scammed by a mechanic, or have one try to do it. And, since you didn't list the hubby's credentials, and I've had mechanics try to pull the wool over my eyes (I always had to call a dad or stepdad before I had a convenient husband, as mechanics have NEVER listened to just me), I didn't think it would be that far off to think that a mechanic had charged you WAY too much. DH has saved his friends and coworkers a ton of money in total, by giving them the words to say, questions to ask, and in a few cases, actually getting on the phone with the mechanics when they would call to give a vastly inflated total to Dh's female coworkers (and a couple male coworkers). It's just a judgment on you, just in case you thought it was, that I wondered that about your mechanic. Judgment on mechanics based on my experience, yes...

And I'm suddenly so glad that my Jetta did not have four sensors! I thought that 70 bucks, or whatever it was, to fix the last sensor (I had a 2 year "everything's covered" warranty for it so didn't have to pay for the others) was bad enough! Let alone having to replace multiple sensors all at once!

The only reason we use this shop is because of their great reputation. All the little old widow ladies at church have used them for many years, so I trust them. They only replaced 1 of the O2 sensors and something else (not sure what it was), I was surprised how little the charge for labor was, though, because some places charge out the rear.

I don't let anyone intimidate me, woman or not, I won't let it happen. I am even the one who went and found this car, negotiated the deal, and bought it (got it for $3000 less than they were going to ask and less than the book value), and left DH at home. My grandma didn't raise no fool or wimpy woman. If I don't agree with what they tell me, I walk away. I went with mom to buy her dream vehicle and the dealer wouldn't give us the deal we wanted so we walked away, she went to another dealer and bought what is now my minivan and really enjoyed it.

I didn't have a father/step father (grandfather passed when I was 5) in my life to rely on, so the women had to be strong and stand on their own 2 feet.

Sorry OP to have temporarily hijacked your thread.

Hubby replied:

"The L300 and the LS are the Opel engine models of Saturn and they did have extra O2s." So your Saturn is an int'l version. Sounds fancy and nice!

As a Libra I just love it when everyone's right. (int'l cars having many o2 sensors and most domestic not having that many)

Not fancy to me, gets the job done and has been a great vehicle, this is the first major problem it has had. The only other work has been regular maintenance. DH loves it and thinks it's great. But I think my Dodge Grand Caravan with stow N go and power sliding doors is wonderful

Suzanne

Suzanne

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

::knocking on wood right now::
the fixed the car when he walked in, he waited maybe an hour or so. So, as of now we are good to go...let's hope that everything is ok. I drove it to Target and didn't have a problem.
Thanks everyone for your knowledge and advice!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Told DH he'd been called out, LOL. He says via IM:

"That all depends on the manufacturer.
Most US cars have I pre cat.
International cars have 2 per regulations for them.
But that could have changed" since the time he worked at the dealership (he was the one that dealt with the customers bringing their cars in to be worked on, then told the mechanics what was going on, charged the customers, could make the deals with them, etc...but since I've known him he's been in different fields altogether, all computer-related).

I cannot think of a car that has only 1 O2, the reason for two is one tests the system before the catyltic converter and 1 tests it after.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

::knocking on wood right now::
the fixed the car when he walked in, he waited maybe an hour or so. So, as of now we are good to go...let's hope that everything is ok. I drove it to Target and didn't have a problem.
Thanks everyone for your knowledge and advice!

I am so glad they fixed the problem. We have a 2006 Ford Fusion and we love it. We always traded every 12-18 months until i got my Fusion and i have to say it is the best car i have ever had. When we do end up trading again and I hope it is many years down the road i will have another Fusion.
Ford Fusion is Motor Trends 2010 car of the year. So that has to say something.

i work at a Ford dealership and the Fusion is the biggest seller.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I am so glad they fixed the problem. We have a 2006 Ford Fusion and we love it. We always traded every 12-18 months until i got my Fusion and i have to say it is the best car i have ever had. When we do end up trading again and I hope it is many years down the road i will have another Fusion.
Ford Fusion is Motor Trends 2010 car of the year. So that has to say something.

i work at a Ford dealership and the Fusion is the biggest seller.

glad you got it fixed...one of my best friends has had a fusion for a few years now and hasn't had any problems with it...His whole family are serious ford people...that's all they drive and they've never really had any major problems with all sorts of various models over the years.

I on the other hand, used to drive a Dodge Neon and that car was the biggest POS, money pit you've ever seen. So much so, that I would never consider another Dodge vehicle ever.