Horror Story
Posted: July 19th, 2006, 9:30 pm
Heres the story...so I get a 93 1.8L model from a mechanic friend of the families just up the street on July 10th. I pay 2.4gs ALL IN for it expecting I'll be able to just drive it off the lot same day.
First off I find some body damage to it (few scratches and a bit of rust on the hatchback) and the bumper is cracked. Kind of pissed but its just cosmetic and can be mended easily.
WELLLL, it needed a saftey and emissions test before he could hand it over. So I go back the next day to find out the saftey failed becuase of the breaks (bit of rust) and becuase its been sitting in his garage for a few months. So he does some break work and new tie rod, cleans the engine out and runs it to make sure its okay, and things checked out.
Next day he takes it down to the e-test center and the damn thing FAILS with a vengence...not sure of the numbers but aparently the results wern't pretty. So he takes it back and tells me the next day that it needs a new Cat (everything thus far has been done free of charge)
He replaces the cat and then I dont hear from him until this week, when I find out he did some checking around the emissions system and found the EGR Valve was clogged and had to be replaced. So he orders the part without even asking me and is now whispering about charging me for the CAT and the EGR because hes pissed that hes put so much work into it. PLUS he hasen't deposited the cheque yet so he thinks its still his car.
But heres the kick...he posts this thing on Auto Trader WITHOUT looking at the car to make sure its okay (I find this out later) Furthermore I find out a stock EGR valve is Wholesale $500 from Mazda.
So The questions is....what do I do, he wants to refund my money because its cost him more to fix it up then its worth.
FLIP SIDE, this thing has break work done, new tranny (few other things that I cant remember off the top of my head), full tune up and now a new CAT and soon to be EGR. The guy hasen't told me the price yet but I might have to put in 500 more into the cost EVEN THOUGH I aggreed ALL IN in the beginning.
Doesnt matter though becuase he's responsible for making sure this thing is safe and e-tested before he launches it off to his customer no?
And to top that, I'm already paying insurance on this thing when I havent even held the keys in my hand...so I've already lost cash.
I ASK THE MX3 crew what do I do and where do I go???
First off I find some body damage to it (few scratches and a bit of rust on the hatchback) and the bumper is cracked. Kind of pissed but its just cosmetic and can be mended easily.
WELLLL, it needed a saftey and emissions test before he could hand it over. So I go back the next day to find out the saftey failed becuase of the breaks (bit of rust) and becuase its been sitting in his garage for a few months. So he does some break work and new tie rod, cleans the engine out and runs it to make sure its okay, and things checked out.
Next day he takes it down to the e-test center and the damn thing FAILS with a vengence...not sure of the numbers but aparently the results wern't pretty. So he takes it back and tells me the next day that it needs a new Cat (everything thus far has been done free of charge)
He replaces the cat and then I dont hear from him until this week, when I find out he did some checking around the emissions system and found the EGR Valve was clogged and had to be replaced. So he orders the part without even asking me and is now whispering about charging me for the CAT and the EGR because hes pissed that hes put so much work into it. PLUS he hasen't deposited the cheque yet so he thinks its still his car.
But heres the kick...he posts this thing on Auto Trader WITHOUT looking at the car to make sure its okay (I find this out later) Furthermore I find out a stock EGR valve is Wholesale $500 from Mazda.
So The questions is....what do I do, he wants to refund my money because its cost him more to fix it up then its worth.
FLIP SIDE, this thing has break work done, new tranny (few other things that I cant remember off the top of my head), full tune up and now a new CAT and soon to be EGR. The guy hasen't told me the price yet but I might have to put in 500 more into the cost EVEN THOUGH I aggreed ALL IN in the beginning.
Doesnt matter though becuase he's responsible for making sure this thing is safe and e-tested before he launches it off to his customer no?
And to top that, I'm already paying insurance on this thing when I havent even held the keys in my hand...so I've already lost cash.
I ASK THE MX3 crew what do I do and where do I go???