well its been a while since i've been active on the greatest forum ever. so im just gonna fill u guys in on whats happened lately. over a period of about a month, i've learned that my car is going to need many repairs. with no job, no money, and a car payment, thats not gonna be easy
about a month ago, i went to the shop my car was serviced at before i bought it. these repairs were performed by Triangle Imports and paid for by the private dealer i bought my car from. anyway, the reciept said that one of the things they did is replaced my PS pump, which had been making quite a bit of noise for a while. i figured they put in a faulty pump and they would have to replace it under warranty. this is where the bad news starts and its all downhill from here. they brought me into the shop and showed me 2 problems. the first: my PS pump was making noise b/c it was low on fluid...but why was it low on fluid??--it's leaking from my steering rack! thats ~$2300. the second problem: my rear main seal needs to be replaced. my brother had this done on his Jeep Grand Cherokee and it set him back about $450. i wanted a second opinion on these so i brought my car to a highly trusted shop i have used many times. they confirmed both problems. so in just one day my total for repairs that i need is ~$2700.
i have known about the second issue since day 1 of owning my car. when i first bought my car, i noticed a creaking noise coming from the front suspension. this only happened *sometimes* when turning the wheel atleast 1 revolution at speeds below 5 mph, such as pulling in a parking spot. this was identified early by a lexus tech as upper conrol arms. since January of this year, it has gotten progressively worse and creaks *every time* i park, turn into a driveway, or even making a 90 degree turn onto a road. obviously, this needs to be taken care of pretty soon. i dont know exactly how much this will cost but i estimate somewhere around $700. now my total is around $3400.
lastly, i had a brand new set of Yokahamas that were stored away until my Turanzas wore out. i swear my set Turanzas must be magnetic b/c i have picked up way too many nails for it to just be luck. one of my friends gave me $70 for helping him a little so i decided to mount my Yokahamas and trash my "holy" Turanzas. during my lengthy stay at Merchants Tire, more bad news. the Turnaza that was on the left front was "feathered", meaning i need an alignment. after borrowing $70 more to pay for the alignment, i was told by the mechanic that did my alignment to come outside and look at something. he pulls into the parking lot and goes 1-2 mph and taps the brake very quickly. as he does this, he tells me look at the front wheels, which seem to be shifting back and forth as he plays with the brake pedal. once my cars back up on the lift, he points out that a bushing is worn out, located where the lower control arm meets the frame. since the bushing itself cannot be replaced, the whole lower control arm must be replaced - that job is another $750. and now my total is up to ~$4200.
all in all, this month i spent about $150 to find out i need to magically come up with over $4000.
there are many other things that need to be fixed but these are the major problems. i still need a drivers door handle to replace my cracking one, spark plug wires, something to fix the ever widening tearing leather on my drivers seat, front pads and rotors, and a tranny flush/refill. i cant wait till sh*t starts breaking and i have no choice but to fix it.....but with what money??
anyway, please comment if you like and suggestions are appreciated too.