Ugh! I need to rant about cars and they're problems!!

[Surfinpiratee]

Rewind 3 years or so ago. My Dad gave me his Ford Taurus since I was starting my first job so I needed my own car. It was a 2001, not in bad shape. I don't really recall my parents having issues with the car. But I swear, as soon as I got it, I seriously had to take it to get something repaired every like, 3-6 months.

It needed to get a new battery, starter, something fixed with the emissions, new brakes, windshield wiper fluid pipe was broken, air wouldn't work, heat wouldn't work, something with the power steering! Omg everything!

So then a little over a year ago, it hit 100,000 miles and it started to make some horrendous noise when it would idle. So my parents went car shopping and found me a 2004 Dodge Intrepid. My mom has a 98 intrepid? And she has had almost no problems with it. She's had it since 99 or 2000, and currently it might have like, 90,000 miles?

Anyway, so I have this intrepid and all was going well. I got it end of August last year. It currently has 100,300 miles? When I bought it, it was at 80,000 (I used to have to drive far for work). Anyway, seemed fine, went to Wisconsin Dells a couple times (3 hours away) then problem #1! Earlier this year the power steering pump decided to not work. $300 dollars later yay! car finally runs fine again.

About a week ago, here's where the real rant comes in, my car wouldn't start. The engine kept turning over. So I took it into Pepboys (which I love!). they told me it needs a new battery and it would cost me little over $100. So now my car has a new battery. My car seemed fine until this morning. Got in my car. What a surprise! Engines turning over again. Won't start.

SO NOW I HAVE A BATTERY I DIDN'T EVEN NEED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! UGH!

Oh and the best part? It can't get looked at until Friday because the ONLY technician is off tomorrow. SERIOUSLY?!

Three things:
1. I better get some sort of a good discount off of whatever is wrong with it. I'm trying to save up for a Disney trip here!!!! And i'm currently working on buying/renting a new place. I don't have money to waste!!!!
2. I'M SO SICK OF MY CARS HAVING PROBLEMS!! Is there some sort of trick?! My boyfriend had a 97 Camry and I swear he had very very very little problems with it. and it had over 300,000 miles!!!
3. Is there a car/year anyone recommends?!? I know there's cars that are better than others. Now, i probably can't get a car 2010 and above, but anything below I could look into??

Please help! And thanks for reading those who did

 

[dsneprincess]

I don't have any recommendations, but I know where you are coming from. We could buy the exact same thing as someone else and they will have no problems & I will have problems that will even surprise the manufacturer! Currently it is a 4week old broken virtually indestructible otter box. I am used to it; hope your luck improves! Oh yeah & don't get me started about the broken radio in my new car and the issues I have had with the dealer.

 

[Jex]

Toyota vs older American cars, that's the diffrence.

 

[Jex]

Oh, it sounds like an alternator.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Toyota vs older American cars, that's the diffrence.

Haha, So I better buy a Toyota and all my problems will be solved
My boyfriend just got rid of his Camry for a Vibe...not sure what year 04-07 Something in there.

 

[Jex]

Not all your problems, they just seem to be more reliable. American cars have stepped up though, just the ones from previous years had some reliability issues.

 

[cvjw]

Toyota vs older American cars, that's the diffrence.

Agree.

We have always owned "Foreign" cars (which are now mostly made in America), and have had very few problems. We purchased one Ford Explorer a few years back, and had nothing but problems. We decided to go back to the old standby - Toyota, Honda, Nissan or Subaru.

If you need a reliable used car that isn't too expensive, look into a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.

 

[bumbershoot]

DH, who used to work in a Saturn dealer's service department and knows a ton about cars, says...

Flooded. They probably have an issue with a temp sensor or idle air control. The car comp. thinks the engine is cold and giving it too much fuel which causes the engine to flood and not start. It the starter turns over that means the battery is ok. Reason the new battery seemed to fix it because they let the car rest which drain the fuel from the cylinders and allowed the car to fire. Also probably a different abient temp when they went to restart it after they replace battery, but probably had nothing to do with the battery

He says to replace "either the idle air control sensor, temp sensor or O2 sensor."


(grr, o2 sensors.... I had a '95 Jetta that was one o2 sensor away from being an official lemon under WA law...it chose to wait until after the 2nd year was fully done to mess up again, which kept me from the timing required to have it be a lemon...I hate o2 sensors...)

 

[powellrj]

Not to be mean. but most of the things you are replacing you would replace on any car that age if they hadn't already been replaced. As for the battery not working, it may be something as simple as a bad battery connection or even a bad battery which has happened to us before.

If the battery had never been replaced, you would have to buy a new one soon anyway, so I would take that one off and take it in to an auto parts store like Advance or O'Rileys and have them hook it up and make sure the battery is good, they should do it for free. Also clean off the connector to make sure its getting a good connection. If those 2 things don't work then take it back to where you had it worked on the first time and see what they tell you.

 

[DawnM]

I have said before and I will say it again, the only car we had major issues with was a FORD (Fix Or Repair Daily).

 

[luvmy3]

Rewind 3 years or so ago. My Dad gave me his Ford Taurus since I was starting my first job so I needed my own car. It was a 2001, not in bad shape. I don't really recall my parents having issues with the car. But I swear, as soon as I got it, I seriously had to take it to get something repaired every like, 3-6 months.

It needed to get a new battery, starter, something fixed with the emissions, new brakes, windshield wiper fluid pipe was broken, air wouldn't work, heat wouldn't work, something with the power steering! Omg everything!

So then a little over a year ago, it hit 100,000 miles and it started to make some horrendous noise when it would idle. So my parents went car shopping and found me a 2004 Dodge Intrepid. My mom has a 98 intrepid? And she has had almost no problems with it. She's had it since 99 or 2000, and currently it might have like, 90,000 miles?

Anyway, so I have this intrepid and all was going well. I got it end of August last year. It currently has 100,300 miles? When I bought it, it was at 80,000 (I used to have to drive far for work). Anyway, seemed fine, went to Wisconsin Dells a couple times (3 hours away) then problem #1! Earlier this year the power steering pump decided to not work. $300 dollars later yay! car finally runs fine again.

About a week ago, here's where the real rant comes in, my car wouldn't start. The engine kept turning over. So I took it into Pepboys (which I love!). they told me it needs a new battery and it would cost me little over $100. So now my car has a new battery. My car seemed fine until this morning. Got in my car. What a surprise! Engines turning over again. Won't start.

SO NOW I HAVE A BATTERY I DIDN'T EVEN NEED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! UGH!

Oh and the best part? It can't get looked at until Friday because the ONLY technician is off tomorrow. SERIOUSLY?!

Three things:
1. I better get some sort of a good discount off of whatever is wrong with it. I'm trying to save up for a Disney trip here!!!! And i'm currently working on buying/renting a new place. I don't have money to waste!!!!
2. I'M SO SICK OF MY CARS HAVING PROBLEMS!! Is there some sort of trick?! My boyfriend had a 97 Camry and I swear he had very very very little problems with it. and it had over 300,000 miles!!!
3. Is there a car/year anyone recommends?!? I know there's cars that are better than others. Now, i probably can't get a car 2010 and above, but anything below I could look into??

Please help! And thanks for reading those who did

To be blunt OP, older cars are going to have problems. Unless previous owners replaced the battery and brakes right before you got the car, those are routine maintenance. Sounds like your Intrepid may need a new alternator, which again would be expected on an older car. Pumps, belts, they wear out. Some things just end up needing to be replaced, its pretty rare that any car ends its life with all its original parts.

If you are looking to purchase a newer car, figure out what ones you like. Then check all the service reports, that will give you an idea about what problems the make/model has in general. OF course you will find some people who never had problems with XYZ, and others who have had tons.
Asking here will get you a wide range of responses. We will never buy another Ford again, too many issues and too much money put into ours. My dh's Honda has been an excellent car. I just bought a Toyota.

 

[mlynn]

My advice is to find a trust worthy mechanic in your area. I don't trust Pep Boys at all. To many BAD experiences with them.

 

[luvmy3]

I have said before and I will say it again, the only car we had major issues with was a FORD (Fix Or Repair Daily).

Found On Road Dead

 

[DawnM]

That one is true too.

Our FORD died, engine completely seized. It would have been $4,000 to get repaired with a REBUILT engine!

It wasn't even worth that. We gave it away.

Found On Road Dead

 

[luvmy3]

That one is true too.

Our FORD died, engine completely seized. It would have been $4,000 to get repaired with a REBUILT engine!

It wasn't even worth that. We gave it away.

Our transmission blew at just over $50,000 miles. We did replace it and drove it for another 40,000 but there was a whole host of other issues during that time. It was nice to not have a car payment, but the cost to maintain it was getting to be just as much a payment would be.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Not to be mean. but most of the things you are replacing you would replace on any car that age if they hadn't already been replaced. As for the battery not working, it may be something as simple as a bad battery connection or even a bad battery which has happened to us before.

If the battery had never been replaced, you would have to buy a new one soon anyway, so I would take that one off and take it in to an auto parts store like Advance or O'Rileys and have them hook it up and make sure the battery is good, they should do it for free. Also clean off the connector to make sure its getting a good connection. If those 2 things don't work then take it back to where you had it worked on the first time and see what they tell you.

True. There are just some things that need replacing or repairs when a car gets to that age. I have a 12 year old Subaru and since it hit 10 years there are always things that need to be replace but its all totally expected for a car that old. Its a totally reliable car though and the repairs are cheaper than a car payment would be.

 

[momof3ds]

Ditto to the poster who said they don't trust pep boys. Look for a local, non chain (or a local chain) mechanic. Check online reviews, ask friends.

We got a battery replaced at a chain store once. Turns out they had used the wrong battery. It worked for the summer but once winter hit, it stopped and died. Tow truck guy id'd the battery as the wrong type.

Could be the alternator, as someone suggested.

 

[tvguy]

Toyota vs older American cars, that's the diffrence.

Well, as my friend who has been a mechanic at the same Toyota dealership for 40 years put it when asked about Toyota quality....."If Toyotas were that good, I wouldn't have a job".

He added, in his experience "it is apparent that Mr. Toyota had a little too much Saki when he designed some things".

HOWEVER, the big Toyota difference (other than the recent runaway acceleration issues) is when they find a problem, they fix it for free, almost for the life of the car. Toyota had the exact same issue with blown head gaskets on it's V-6's that Ford had. Ford extended the warranty to 6 years and 60,000 miles. Toyota extended it to the life of the car/truck. And if other issues are found during that repair, generally they throw that in for free too. Case in point, my friend had a Toyota pickup come in with blown head gaskets......it had over 400,000 miles on it. It clearly needed an overhaul too, Toyota did that too, at no cost to the customer. My friends dealership has done over $1 million in those repairs.

Oh, and what does he drive? Toyotas. But he only buys used Toyotas with over 200,000 miles and salvage titles. He has never spent more than $800 for a car!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Our car repairs became non existent when we stopped buying vehicles made by the Big 3. Now we drive foreign(even though they're made in the US) and have not have a non maintenance repair bill in over 6 years.

Brakes and a battery replacement are normal wear and tear.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Our car repairs became non existent when we stopped buying vehicles made by the Big 3. Now we drive foreign(even though they're made in the US) and have not have a non maintenance repair bill in over 6 years.

Brakes and a battery replacement are normal wear and tear.

Not to sound dumb... what are the big 3? Dodge, Ford, and Chevy..?