ThosL

This is not really a mechanical question but is relevant to trusting the place you have work done on your car. In this case a "Splash" outfit in Norwalk, CT I paid to have my oil changed. I had bought a rare coin the day before, a high relief 1921 Peace dollar that was uncirculated that was missing a couple hours later when I checked the small group of coins in the tray, including some dingy looking Barber silver coins. So I filed a report with the town's police department, I waited an hour for the cop to be ready to take a report. To his credit, he said he was going up to the place before they closed tonight. What was suspicious, was a woman who handled the oil change cars as they get driven in, came up to me as soon as I went back reporting the missing coin, saying they did not do a vacuum of the car. I spoke to the manager, a nice Hispanic guy and then did the police report. When others get their oil changed do they keep all valuables in the trunk or in back?

So I had the local Hispanic amigos look at this issue today; the main guy is coming back from Columbia on Monday but he said he would do the job. So it was the leak between the cat converter and the pipe going back. Once he got the parts separated, the Napa donut gasket became obviously too big but he said he would try to sandwich it in with the split flange. It was relatively easy, price $60. We still have one of the Y pipe gaskets that is leaking he had no more time today for that.

She'll know in a couple days probably.

They did not charge her anything; one of the guys said he spent an hour on the car; actually they gave her a ride home this morning when she dropped the car off and drove the car to her apartment at end of day after they worked on it! So whatever they did in terms of work is unclear. But very impressive service.

The mechanic said he was going to switch two fuel injectors. The car when starting has a flashing check engine light about 10 minutes after starting sometimes, with some power loss. But it goes away in extended distances. Tune up was done not long ago. She doesn't drive the car much. She used Techtron, no change.

96 Station wagon; 2.2 engine.

My sister went down to Auto Zone to get a mechanic recommendation; so they sent her to East Ave. Automotive in Norwalk, CT. They charged her $40 for the diagnosis, due to the fact she has been having check engine notifications when she starts up the car sometimes, with temporary power loss issues. Usually after a few minutes, the vehicle runs OK. But she is completely dumb when it comes to cars, so is totally dependent on the advice of "experts". So the place she went to today said due to the PO301 misfire code they need to remove and replace the fuel injector; estimate is $259. Is this reasonable or does she need to get a second opinion?

Seasonally, mpg improves, like now. But still thinking I may not be getting optimal mpg with the knock sensor code, etc..

http://ericpetersautos.com/2015/05/09/know-your-tire/ Personally I probably wear out tires too quickly to worry about dry rot or other defects. Some good thoughts in this article. As usual high speeds make potential problems significantly worse.

I don't have the answers to those technical questions, but my mpg is back up to 25 or better.

I paid $900 for a used unit from F and S in Waterbury and around $500 for installation by J and J in New Milford. It has been running fine since, some slippage buy Lucas helped a lot.

I’ve had it happen more than once: A consumer came in to see me after being ripped off. Not just by buying a defective car but also by paying an attorney for an initial consultation. In my field (Lemon Law) and several others, the only attorneys who charge money for initial consultations are the ones who don’t know what they are doing. One client came in to my office the first time with a pile of paperwork six inches thick. When she had asked what to bring to her initial consultation, I told her “Bring everything.” I go through so many documents on a daily basis that I can sort through them faster than the clients can. Repair orders, leases, receipts, purchase agreements and so on. I see them when I close my eyes. As I sifted through her papers I noticed a lawyer’s letterhead. It was a retainer agreement. Had she already retained an attorney to handle this case? No, she had hired the attorney for an initial consultation. She paid the attorney $1,000 to review her paperwork. I was stunned. The attorney had reviewed her papers and then told her she had no case. But he kept the $1,000. I did not recognize the attorney’s name so I looked him up. Based on his license number with the state bar I could tell he had been out of law school for only a couple of years. According to his website, he handled all manner of legal cases but made no mention of lemon law. Why had she gone to him? He was a friend of a friend. From my review of her paperwork it was painfully obvious she had a great case. I asked her what the other attorney had told her about why her case wasn’t worth pursuing. She told me that he had just said he spent a few hours looking through the papers and there was “nothing there.” He had advised her to sell her car and move on. This is not the only time I have heard of this but it was the most egregious. The lemon law in Michigan – and most other states – allows for a successful litigant to recover their attorney fees and court costs from the Defendant. So every attorney I know in this field – and I know many – will consult with a potential client for free. And, this is true in many other fields of law as well, including the ones which are routinely done on a contingency basis. Auto negligence, personal injury and so on. And yet, there are some attorneys out there who still get potential clients to pay just for the honor of sitting in an office and getting bad advice. I have even recently gotten comments from attorneys in response to my pieces here who tell me that they always charge for initial consultations. Some of them do what the attorney in the first paragraph did – practice outside their area of knowledge and make money by telling clients they have no case or to go speak to someone else. Um. Thanks? With the internet, this should no longer happen. All a potential client has to do is look at several websites for attorneys to discover that many do not charge for initial consultations. When you see an attorney who does not state that openly on their website, keep looking. If EVERY attorney you find charges for an initial consultation, then you must be in a legal field where that is the norm. And there are some fields of law where there is no easy way to recover your attorney’s fees and attorneys in those fields might not offer too much free legal advice. Criminal law, divorce, business contract law and so on. But many attorneys will still consult with you for a bit to see if you have a case and to give you some idea of what they can do for you and what it will cost. Strangely, I have people offer me money from time to time as the first thing they say to me: “Whatever you charge for an initial consultation, I’ll pay it.” I guess it’s a mindset. But I always tell them it’s not necessary. But to charge you money to tell you that you have no case? Money out the window for my client above. I eventually got her car bought back by the manufacturer and I got my attorney fees and court costs paid. The $1,000 she gave the prior attorney? Gone for good. And no, you can’t sue the attorney to get the money back. Not surprisingly, the laws don’t work that way. http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/how-not-to-get-ripped-off-by-the-first-attorney-you-mee-1689942744/+whitsongordon#

It came with a wire and plug in. Unfortunately the old wire plug in was hard to remove so the wire got pulled out of the connector, I put it back in as best I could with the new unit.

Thanks for the info.; hopefully by the end of the week this will be solved plus my tax snafu.

I have noticed the fuel economy drops significantly in my 2.2 Outback at high 60s and 70 mph, I guess the stress drops fuel economy, as I got 350 miles in my last tank.

I was getting knock sensor code still after the change; Auto Zone said they will guarantee the part.

I got a little over 400 miles on my last 15 gallon tank, which works out to 26-27 mpg. '99 Outback with a '96 2.2 engine, 288k miles. How are others doing for mileage in their cars?

My suspension is a little bumpy, but at this point I don't want to spend the money unless it is a real need. Advance quoted me around $300 for a set.

OK, thanks. I may give it a try. Unfortunately the OE jack is pretty chintzy, so it got damaged when the car fell over when jacked up. I do have a jack in storage though.

I would go to one of those if there was one around here that was reasonable, but I don't know any and I'm a pretty good researcher. A garage about an hour away charges only $70 an hour and you can bring your own parts.

I don't have jack up capability or sawzall so this is likely beyond me. The Auto Zone mechanic is busy and wants $120 to do the job if I bring the parts, so I'll look around.

I have an unpleasant exhaust noise coming out from between the cat. converter and the pipe behind it. I spent some time getting parts for the repair at Napa, etc.. There is a donut style tapered gasket there and the bolts, etc. holding in a sandwiched assembly that connects the two pipes. How tough is this job? I don't know if the bolts will come out readily and the pipes will go back together easily. How tough a job is this?

Thanks for the feedback. Spark plug wires replacement and knock sensor and now the check engine light is finally out for the first time in over a year. Also fixing the brake caliper means that possible drag there is gone. Also with my replacement of the radiator a week and a half ago, by myself at the area Auto Zone lot(!) now I don't have bubbles in the radiator which were probably a result of the cracked radiator which none of the mechanics who looked at it suggested. I should be getting top mpg now, but I haven't checked the compression, but lots more power now.

Thanks for the feedback; I guess I'll have to hold the job until I talk to the guy I know with the Subaru junkyard.

My driver's seat springs have collapsed, support is negligible. So I'm thinking of switching the seats, passenger to driver's side. Is this an easy job? How often is this done? I see two bolts holding in the seats.