ThosL

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.

I checked around today to see if any of the auto parts stores but Auto Zone did free vehicle computer or check engine light diagnostic. It is a one to two minute test, so it is hard to understand why they wouldn't. Napa no, Advance Auto no, only AZ did it. Free battery tests are more common, maybe because they are more likely to make money on the test?

Thanks for the video, it isn't that difficult a job, but there are some curve balls here; having all the tools including an extra long extender for the ratchet wrench; a magnet extender to retrieve metal objects, like screws; removal of the throttle body cover for access; potential issues with pulling the plug out; putting all the connectors back on the throttle body. Not an easy job for non-mechanics but doable.

Most people get turned off by the high prices of dealerships, especially their labor rates. Last time I went to one, they did not have the part and couldn't order it on my 99 Outback.

OK, thanks for the information. I am noticing no performance issues so maybe the Auto Zone guy got the code wrong?

I was able to clear up the 3 misfire codes I was getting with my '99 Subaru Outback by changing spark plug wires. I got a code for knock sensor. Does this affect performance? Thanks.

The '96 transplanted engine into the '99 Outback requires different spark plug wires than any of the '99 versions. I'm sure that the Autolite's he had in stock will work just fine and I have no interest in expensive "ideal" wires especially since this may not have needed changing anyway, but was the recommended course of action. So if I had thrown $70 away instead of $37 it would have been doubly stupid. I will see if this clears up the misfire code.

My vehicle has too many miles and years to install a high quality set of parts. I ordered a set of $30 wires that Advance auto will get in today. Many other parts stores and mechanics are very critical of Auto Zone's Duralast parts, some are better than others. I'm thinking the dysfunction caliper was clamping up and leading to bad mileage among other things. Misfire codes are a warning of less than ideal ignition.

I've been using the NGK platinum plugs, no problems there. I doubt tranny fluid levels would affect mpg much.. Check engine light is on non stop due to map sensor issue. The wires being a cause of misfire rings true but no obvious performance issue there. Fuel injectors a possible issue, not sure what the diagnostic is on those.

Plugs and pcv valve are recent; wires are a couple years old. I'll check air filter. many oil change places neglect those. I haven't changed fuel filter in quite a while.

So "Freddy" the guy that Auto Zone recommended for some mechanical work plugged in his diagnosis tool into my Subaru computer, a 99 Outback with a 2.2 transplant engine. It runs like a top but the mpg has been dropping from nearly 400 a tank to around 300. Misfire codes on cylinder 2,3,4; 1 seems to be OK. He says it could be wires or coil. Any thoughts on where to go at this point, since electrical parts are usually not returnable? Plugs are OK, with no abnormal wear.

Some mechanics say to not do a transmission flush/filter change as it may make things worse.