I siezed the car and now we have a bigger issue. Part II

[Greg12]

Well I managed with her help to track down the exact house the car was at. (This is in reference to my other post bout getting the car back from her uncle) I showed up with a toe truck and siezed the car and took it to a mechanic.

1,100 dollar repair bill to pass maryland state inspections.

New CV boot
New power steering belt
new headlight
new windshield wipper
new alternator because her uncle's neglegence let is die
new battery
4 new tires because the damn eclipse has tires as big as race cars. My 84 crown vic has smaller tires
Front end alighment

Are all of these required for MD inspection? Is there anything I can pass on?

She cannot afford 1,100 on a car with 120,000 miles, but i know that she cannot not have a car, she cannot loose her job or not be able to pay her cell bill. Her parents aren't gonna help.

I live in Baltimore MD, the car is in Severn MD. If anyone has any ideas, she really needs help with this.

Edit: We can't move the car cause the temp tags expired augest 31st.

[BJ_M]

neglegence will not kill an alternator - anyway a rebuilt is not expensive ..

i see only $750US worth of repairs listed there .. that is with decent tires , but not overboard ...

[thecoalman]

new alternator because her uncle's neglegence let is die
new battery

Probably nothing wrong with either, unless that's an old battery there's probably nothing wrong with it either. But It's possible it might have just been there time. FYI I had a truck sit for a a year and it started up fine after a year. I have one truck that sits 6 months out of the year very year and I never have trouble with it.

Not sure if you need them for inspection (the rest I would think you would) but they can all easily be replaced with a few tools. The trick to the belt and alternator is the tensioning spring, throw a wrench on the nut on the side and you can relieve the pressure on the belt for easy removal and installation of the new belt and alternator. Most of that stuff is easy to fix except the CV boot.

You could probably skimp on the alignment but if your getting new tires that will probably save you money in the long run.

[zzyzzx]

If you really do need a new alternator (questionable since I don't see how Maryland inspection would cover that) then go to Crazy Ray's in Jessup (on Rt 1 just below MD175) and get one yourself. It's a huge U-pull-it place and the price list shows an alternator at $20 + tax + admission = $22.00 You can't beat that locally! The tires and alignment you have to take it to a shop to do but the rest you can do yourself. If you need the name of a shop that does good work I can get you the info, but my vague recollection is that th place that put the engine (Jasper rebuilt) in my car is called Country Club Automotive and it's located somewhere near MD10 in the area east of the Glen Burnie Wal Mart (only been there once). You want to talk to Gary...he's a friend of a friend...

Nothing wrong with spending over $1000 on a car with over 100,000 miles on it even if you are only going to keep it for a year. Still [u]much[u/] cheaper than a new car. 3 years ago I spent $4000 for the engine for my Escort (which is now almost 10 years old and has ~ 111,000 miles on it) and I expect to buy a transmission for it eventually and just keep on driving it.

Sound to me like your friend has more money problems than anything else. Probably needs more help in the money management aspects of her life. $1000 spent on a car really isn't that much in the grand scheme of things. Maybe spending that much on an Mitsubishi might be questionable though since their quality sucks.

[zzyzzx]

new headlight
new windshield wipper

You mean headlight bulbs or headlights themselves? The bulbs are easily obtainable at the junk yard also.

Ecaxtly what is a windshield wipper? Are you referring to the blades or the motor?

[zzyzzx]

Getting back to your other question as to if they are required for inspection:

Headlight alignment and working light bulbs.
Brake pads above a certain thickness
Tire tread abouve a certain thickness.
No leaking fluids!

I don't see how any of these could have anything to with an alternator. As for my qualifications I have a friend who is a lawyer and once he bought a used car that was a POS and I was fixing it up for him and once commented that I didn't see how it could have possibly passed inspection. After hearing that he said that he would buy the legal books on that kind of stuff and that and asked me to find the appropriate pages in the book referencing that (in this case it was leaking power steering stuff, I think). So I took this very thick legal book and found the page and showed it to him. He thanked me then promptly returned the car and got all his money back. I would not have wanted to be the person who sold him the car. (hehe).

[rallynavvie]

Which year and model Eclipse is it? I used to own one so I know a little about them, also used to race in one.

[LSchafroth]

neglegence will not kill an alternator - anyway a rebuilt is not expensive ..

i see only $750US worth of repairs listed there .. that is with decent tires , but not overboard ...

You can even get tires at a great price. Go to http://www.tirerack.com

I was going to spend $130 each for michelin's for my truck. Got Khumo tires with the exact same rating as teh Michilen's for $52 each.

LS

[BJ_M]

i got Khumo kw11's on my suv for the winter -- great tires ... i got Hankook Winter ice bear 300's on my car ..

not expensive - but both are some (if not the best) performance ..

i buy tires online and get them mounted at cosco -- best equipment and cheap and nitrogen filled ..

[thecoalman]

It's a huge U-pull-it place and the price list shows an alternator at $20 + tax + admission = $22.00

So that's $50, personally I'd spend the extra $25-$50 to get a rebuilt one. At least you know it's not going to flake out on you or not work at all. Now if you were going there and buying a whole bunch of parts or large ticket items it would be worth it.

[zzyzzx]

It's a huge U-pull-it place and the price list shows an alternator at $20 + tax + admission = $22.00

So that's $50, personally I'd spend the extra $25-$50 to get a rebuilt one. At least you know it's not going to flake out on you or not work at all. Now if you were going there and buying a whole bunch of parts or large ticket items it would be worth it.

I'd rather get a used OEM one than a crap rebuilt aftermarket one. The auto parts rebuilders do a crappy job and I've swapped out over a dozen rebuilt alternators, but the first junkyard original one that already had 90,000 miles on it lasted the life of the car.

[badger_fruit]

woah, i hope you did some damage to the guy who had your car. glad u got it back but sounds like you may want to consider it being "stolen" and claiming on the insurance ....

[Greg12]

It's not that she has money problems, it's that she doesn't have money. She doesn't make that much at her job and her parents make her pay for insurance. 200 a month, her mom doesn't drive and her dad has a CDL so she has to get MAF. Her parents wont pay a penny in the repairs because they dont want her driving.

It is just such a shame that, that man let her car die and all he said was "sorry"

[shoozleboy]

Her parents wont pay a penny in the repairs because they dont want her driving.

might explain why the unlce played a part in the car disappearing in the first place.......

[thecoalman]

It is just such a shame that, that man let her car die and all he said was "sorry"

If a car is just sitting there for 6,7 even 12 months it's not going to do anything to it..... At best you might have replace the battery if it was old to begin with, that is really the only thing that can go bad. There's other things such as dry rot that can affect stuff but that would take years. It's a tough break that he kept it that long but live and learn.

[zzyzzx]

I don't get the part about her paying car insurance and not driving. Please explain.

[Greg12]

she kept on paying insurance because her uncle kept on lying to her that it would be done in a week or two.

I talked to the place and now they say that it needs a new axil and some stuff needs to be machined

[gastorgrab]

I talked to the place and now they say that it needs a new axil and some stuff needs to be machined

If the CV boot was bad for a prolonged time then dirt will get in the joint and grind it up.

Not surprising!

[ZAPPER]

I don't mean to be an *******, but like I said before "buy a book". Chilton's, Motor's, Haynes', or any of a few others. The work is not that difficult to understand. (Look at the high school dropouts that do most of it) And no offence to any of the few honest mechanics who take pride in doing good work at fair prices.

You may not be mechanically inclined, but that shouldn't stop you from learning how to do the simple repairs. Granted, you may not have any tools to work with, but even a cheap tool set will pay for it self in the long run. (although I do recomend buying the best tools that you can afford, preferably ones with a liftime guarantee) Tools are tools they will find many uses above and beyond auto repairs and other than a few tools that are very specific to one job you won't go wrong owning them.

A good book will teach you how to trouble shoot and test components. At least that way you will know if it needs to be repaired, either by yourself or a pro. The only things off of your list that I would consider farming out is the CV joints (because it doesn't sound like you or your missus will have safe equipment like a good jack and jack stands) And mounting the tires and alingment. (tires and alingment can be done by hand, but without a tire machine to break down and put the tires back on you will need to be a six armed gorilla, and alingments are often free with good tires at most tire shops.

Autos are expensive, and have almost become a nessasary evil. You can't get to work without one and you can't afford one if you don't work. The insurance sounds high, but I am guessing that her youth has something to do with that. If it is points against her for drinking and driving, maybe she shouldn't be driving. Keeping on paying for insurance is IMHO a good idea don't let it get cancelled and in time the rates will come down.

Maybe find some freinds or family that will help do the work if she buys the parts. Cook them a meal or exchange services with them. I was young and broke once (now I am old and broke). People that try to help themselves will get more help from others than those who won't try to help themselves. If there is no other way for her to get the car fixed except to take it to a shop, then she needs to pick up the pace and earn some more money. Baby sitting, rakeing leaves, shoveling snow, delivering pizza (sorry just a little kick while she is down) you get the idea. I am also assuming that you can't just give her the cash either. And I kind of reccomend against it. She will feel better about it if she overcomes this little hurdle herself and it will help her grow to bigger and better things. If you do give her money, don't hold her accountable for it. Call it a gift and accept the loss or feel good about it. Expecting money back will only lead to trouble. Or shop around and find and buy the parts for her if you can't trust her with money. Anyhow good luck and keep us posted

[Greg12]

Her insurance is high because she had to get her own policy. Her mom doesnt drive and her dad has a CDL and his insurance wouldn't insure her with her non-cdl and obviously, she coulnd't afford to get one. She has a clean driving record.


One of her friends has decided to give her a ford Fiesta 1991.

[otpw1]

Um, You must mean a Festiva? The Fiesta wasn't made in '91.
Edit: I went anal and checked. Last year the Fiesta was imported was 1980. The Fiesta was German. The Festiva was imported across the other pond. FWIW.

[ZAPPER]

One of her friends has decided to give her a ford Fiesta 1991

Nice freinds (JK) Maybe it is time to sell one to save the other. When you are young it is easy to get into the junk car rut. Not like anything that I own ain't junk. Maybe it is time to start a savings account for a good car. $25 a week or so will get that down payment ready in a year or so. good luck

[thecoalman]

One of her friends has decided to give her a ford Fiesta 1991.

Giving or unloading it? Isn't that the one with a 3 cylider in it?

[BJ_M]

Fiesta German version was a GREAT car -- not so the other one ..

[ViRaL1]

Oh I see, the german was superior to the rest.

[BJ_M]

Oh I see, the german was superior to the rest.

just the korean model then (back then) -- they were not remotely the same car ...

like comparing a 86 mustang II to a cobra (a real one)

[Ripper2860]

Carpei Auto !!!!!

[ZAPPER]

Carpei Auto !!!!!

I may have to steal that for my brother the repoman!

[Ripper2860]

Carpei Auto !!!!!

I may have to steal that for my brother the repoman!

Knock yourself out !!! Or shall I say -- Carpei Quote !!!

[ZAPPER]

Carpei Auto !!!!!

I may have to steal that for my brother the repoman!

Knock yourself out !!! Or shall I say -- Carpei Quote !!!

Nah it's more fun to sneak up and take it while you sleep!