We bought the car in 2008 as my first car. It wasn't the best car on the market, but it was cheap and rated safe. Around 2009 with about 111,000 miles on it, the engine light came on. We took the car in three different times to have it checked, but they told us it was a faulty sensor and wasn't worth replacing as they would have to replace many other things along with it, and the labor charge was through the rough.
And so I drove to 116,000 miles with no apparent problems, until one day the heater/fan unit stopped working. Right in the dead of winter, getting the heater fixed was a necessity. So we took the car back to the shop where they told us that I needed a new blower and resistor. For about a week the air worked, however, soon the heater stopped again, and the air conditioning was soon to follow. I took the car in and they offered to replace the resistor for free, however, they were concerned because the resistor which they recently put in, was soaked. Their is no way for it to have gotten soaked as it sits above the engine block in the dash.
A week later the blower stopped working again, this time it worked on high, but didn't pick up heat. We speculated that it may be a heater core, and so they went to work again. However, before doing anything, they checked all of the fluid levels. When they checked the coolant level, they found it empty of coolant, instead they found pure engine oil at the bottom. On top of that we asked them to disassemble the engine to look for the source, they find massive sludge in the engine block. They offered to replace the engine for $4500 when we only bought the car for $3600. We considered the offer, until we talked to a mechanic in the garage who looked at the transmission fluid and said that it also was on it's way to death.
The verdict: terrible car, don't buy it, if you have it, sell it quick!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
We bought the car in 2008 as my first car. It wasn't the best car on the market, but it was cheap and rated safe. Around 2009 with about 111,000 miles on it, the engine light came on. We took the car in three different times to have it checked, but they told us it was a faulty sensor and wasn't worth replacing as they would have to replace many other things along with it, and the labor charge was through the rough.
And so I drove to 116,000 miles with no apparent problems, until one day the heater/fan unit stopped working. Right in the dead of winter, getting the heater fixed was a necessity. So we took the car back to the shop where they told us that I needed a new blower and resistor. For about a week the air worked, however, soon the heater stopped again, and the air conditioning was soon to follow. I took the car in and they offered to replace the resistor for free, however, they were concerned because the resistor which they recently put in, was soaked. Their is no way for it to have gotten soaked as it sits above the engine block in the dash.
A week later the blower stopped working again, this time it worked on high, but didn't pick up heat. We speculated that it may be a heater core, and so they went to work again. However, before doing anything, they checked all of the fluid levels. When they checked the coolant level, they found it empty of coolant, instead they found pure engine oil at the bottom. On top of that we asked them to disassemble the engine to look for the source, they find massive sludge in the engine block. They offered to replace the engine for $4500 when we only bought the car for $3600. We considered the offer, until we talked to a mechanic in the garage who looked at the transmission fluid and said that it also was on it's way to death.
The verdict: terrible car, don't buy it, if you have it, sell it quick!
- Max B., Champaign, IL, US