flamejet
07-17-2003, 09:26 AM
hello everyone, im new to the boards, but i'll be stoppin by often :cool:
the story:
ok, i personally do not own a grand am, my girlfriend does, and this whole problem has actually brought her to tears. im tryin to find out everything i can to help her out, since this is her first 'new' car, so she has a dying passion to keep it alive as long as possible.
she got her 95 LE from a new car dealership that also had used cars, and this was one of em. he said the car had never been in an accident, never had major engine problems, was good as new, only had about 55k miles. the warrantee from the dealership was 1 yr, or up to 100k miles (so 45k miles). well, that warrantee went up about a year ago.
2 months after the warrantee ended, a loud rattling noise was comin from her timing chain case, so we drove it to her uncles house, about 40 mile trip. along the way, her timing chain came loose, the retainer spring was gone, and so it was basically a chainsaw thru her engine....shattered a piston, cracked the block, cam was gone. after a new engine, out in and paid for by her uncle, her car was back on the road.
not even 2 months later, the exact same thing, only we recognized the sounds, so we parked it before it could tear itself apart again. towed it to the local pontiac dealership, and they said it was the chain again, but there was no warrantee...after 1300 in labor and parts, and a week in the shop, it was back on the road, but this time with a 3k mile/ 30 day warrantee.
last week, the exact same thing happened. familair sounds, poor driving, etc. so we took it to the dealership again, because it was still under the warrantee, had only been 2 weeks. they said it wasnt the timing chain, but the valves...they couldnt say exactly without taking it apart, which would be $700....so her uncle paid for it, and it was the chain loose, AND i think it was an unseated valve or loose valve spring or something, where the engine would need replaced AGAIN...
it will cost $4000 for a new engine, besides labor to have the car running again. she still owes $4300 to the bank for her car loan to get the car, and its $208/month, besides $115 for insurance. the book value of the car (if running) is only 3800...she cant sell it because of the loan, and she must have tags and insurance on the car, even if its not moving, because of the loan. tags are coming up in next month. so far, she owes her uncle about $6000, but she has a very nice (and somewhat wealthy) family, so hes not really sweating it. so heres my question -
would it be worth fixing and driving, and this possibly happening again, or just let it sit and ride out the payments? i dunno if this is a common problem for this engine, i heard somewhere they only made it for 3 yrs (but thats unreliable source).
any advice would be appreciated
the story:
ok, i personally do not own a grand am, my girlfriend does, and this whole problem has actually brought her to tears. im tryin to find out everything i can to help her out, since this is her first 'new' car, so she has a dying passion to keep it alive as long as possible.
she got her 95 LE from a new car dealership that also had used cars, and this was one of em. he said the car had never been in an accident, never had major engine problems, was good as new, only had about 55k miles. the warrantee from the dealership was 1 yr, or up to 100k miles (so 45k miles). well, that warrantee went up about a year ago.
2 months after the warrantee ended, a loud rattling noise was comin from her timing chain case, so we drove it to her uncles house, about 40 mile trip. along the way, her timing chain came loose, the retainer spring was gone, and so it was basically a chainsaw thru her engine....shattered a piston, cracked the block, cam was gone. after a new engine, out in and paid for by her uncle, her car was back on the road.
not even 2 months later, the exact same thing, only we recognized the sounds, so we parked it before it could tear itself apart again. towed it to the local pontiac dealership, and they said it was the chain again, but there was no warrantee...after 1300 in labor and parts, and a week in the shop, it was back on the road, but this time with a 3k mile/ 30 day warrantee.
last week, the exact same thing happened. familair sounds, poor driving, etc. so we took it to the dealership again, because it was still under the warrantee, had only been 2 weeks. they said it wasnt the timing chain, but the valves...they couldnt say exactly without taking it apart, which would be $700....so her uncle paid for it, and it was the chain loose, AND i think it was an unseated valve or loose valve spring or something, where the engine would need replaced AGAIN...
it will cost $4000 for a new engine, besides labor to have the car running again. she still owes $4300 to the bank for her car loan to get the car, and its $208/month, besides $115 for insurance. the book value of the car (if running) is only 3800...she cant sell it because of the loan, and she must have tags and insurance on the car, even if its not moving, because of the loan. tags are coming up in next month. so far, she owes her uncle about $6000, but she has a very nice (and somewhat wealthy) family, so hes not really sweating it. so heres my question -
would it be worth fixing and driving, and this possibly happening again, or just let it sit and ride out the payments? i dunno if this is a common problem for this engine, i heard somewhere they only made it for 3 yrs (but thats unreliable source).
any advice would be appreciated