getting screwed Need quick answer please!!!

[95FordEscortLX]

Ok here is my situation, I bought a car with 88,000 miles on it, I looked at the car fax history report and it was flawless, the car was only driven about 6,000 miles a year, never wrecked, inspected and registered every year, never gave the original owner any problems... So I buy it, less that 1,000 miles later my transmission stops working, so I ask around at different shops they tell me I need a new transmission and it will cost $2,000. Being untrusting of the scum bag mechanics i have my mom get a guy we can trust from the church to look at the car. He sends me to mechanic he knows personally and tells me the problem was that when they cleaned off the engine and changed out the transmission fluid that some of the old fluid got caught up in the filter or seal and caused the problem, so I pay the guy and it's a $150 fix and the car works fine.... for a couple days, then the transmission starts messing up again. So I take it back and the guy says " Looks like we broke a seal last time we working on it and the pieces are all clogged up in your gear box, for only a couple hundred bucks well have it fixed in a day or 2 tops." So we leave it in the shop again, 3 days later we call to check on the progress and the guy tells us, "Second gear is completely gone, you need a new transmission, it would cost $2,000 but I'll do it for $1,500" my mother tells him to go ahead and begin work, he say's " It will be done in 2 days". So 3 days later we call this guy and ask if it is ready and here is my problem"

He tells my mother "I put in a new transmission and that 2nd gear is still gone, but don't worry, we had a deal and I told you I would fix it for $1,500 and I'm going stick by that" so my mom thinks that she is getting a really good deal and that we are really lucky that he is being so nice.

Well I don't buy it! The way I see it, if he put in a new transmission and the car still has the same problem, then the transmission wasn't the problem in the first place! And that is fine except we are still being charged for the cost of a transmission installation, and I understand he already bought the part and spent valuable time in labor installing it, but should we really have to pay for be he didn't diagnose the problem correctly? Is that the way things normally work? I think my mom is getting screwed and she refuses to acknowledge it and doesn't help that she thinks that guy is really attractive...

Basically my question is this, am I getting screwed here becuase what was supposed to be a 1-2 day thing is now taking over a week and causing me to miss college classes and work because I have no god damn car and we are paying for new transmission and the installation when the problem obviously lies elsewhere!!!!

Please, he still hasn't fixed the car and I can't seem to make my mother acknowledge the issue here any input is very appreciated so I need everybody to tell what your opinion of the subject is so I can show my mother.

[phantom_smack]

To me it sounds like the used transmission he got has the same problem as yours did butyou really dont have enough information for me to guess exactly.You couldnt get a reman trans for 1500 with labor installed I dont believe. See if you can get more info about what is going on like where is he getting the trans.Go by the shop and look at the old one etc.

[paulie74]

What I would like to know is, manual or automatic ? I could give you a good idea wether you are being scammed or not, just by this.

If second gear is "gone" the problem lays with the tranny. Automatics can have a few problems that cause a loss of gears. Manuals have way less.

I would also recommend you stop using the term "scumbag mechanics".
Some of us are honest and actually fix problems. Plus aren't we the ones everybody wants car advice from........

[jcwit]

I would also recommend you stop using the term "scumbag mechanics".
Some of us are honest and actually fix problems. Plus aren't we the ones everybody wants car advice from

Very good point! Nothing like badmouthing the guys you're asking help from.

[theoldwizard]

I highly doubt it was a "new" transmission. "NEW" by definition means never been installed in any other vehicle before. Highly unlikely.

Rebuilt again means what it says. Completely disassembled all worn/broken parts replaced.

Both new and rebuilt come with warranties.

"Fixed" Some parts replaced, but not completely disassembled and inspected. Warranty, maybe.

Used. Well, they think it worked in the last car. Warranty, maybe.



Hopefully you have learned a lesson. Ask questions, a lot of them, up front. Price and warranty are the 2 most important questions. And GET IT IN WRITING !

[jcwit]

Reread the first post. How could the 2nd gear be bad in a "NEW" tranny? Sounds a little shady to me. Time to find a real mechanic.

[95FordEscortLX]

I would also recommend you stop using the term "scumbag mechanics".

Guys please don't take the scumbag mechanics comment personally (unless you work in Euless and I've done business with you) I guarantee if it was your mother was getting dicked around like my mine is you would have a lot worse to say, I don't mean it in a prejudice manner, like I think all mechanics are scumbags before I even meet them, that is no more intelligent than racism or other forms of ignorance that plague our society, I was referring to specific people who have, well... FUCKED me in the recent past.

Never the less, I apologize to anybody I may have offended.

Now down to business

Clear a couple things up, The transmission is not brand new it is my old one rebuilt, and the car is an automatic.

Ok I got the car back, guy says "It's Fixed" right... Well he ended up saying that an electronic solenoid was the problem, so I'm thinking, Hey! a solenoid doesn't cost 1500 freaking dollars!!!! And the car still didn't work after the tranny was rebuilt, but it was Kinda(I'll explain why kinda here in a minute) fixed after the solenoid, so I think if he replaced the solenoid without rebuilding the tranny it would be in the same condition, am I right here?

Also... The CAR ISN'T EVEN FIXED!!!!!!!!! Granted I have 2nd gear now, but I had 2nd gear when I dropped the car off! I just couldn't shift any higher! Now I can but the car still shifts erratically and I don't think it is making it to overdrive because it's running at 3000 RPM's at 50! So I have to take it back AGAIN on Monday, and miss more school and more work! because I already gave this asshole most of the money becuase he told me the they test drove the car and it's driving great, WTF! After being in the car for 2 minutes I could tell it was still messed up!

It drives terrible! So my mom says "Well they aren't fix anything on the engine that's not their job we told them to fix the transmission" and then I reminded her, HEY we didn't tell them to fix the transmission we brought the car back because the car still didn't work after the last time they screwed with it and THEY diagnosed it as a tranny problem, even though after fixing the tranny there was no improvement at all, and after the solenoid it drives better, but still terrible... So I need your valuable opinions on the matter, the car still shifts erraticly, the RPM's are high on the freeway, and the speedometer is jumping all over the place like it's having a seizure! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I have a life to get back to!!!!! I need my car to actually work, I DON'T WANNA PAY FOR UNNESSICARY PARTS AND LABOR BECUASE THEY MESSED UP! Any input is welcomed!

Thanks Guys

[jcwit]

Well if you express yourself to the mechanics in the way you do here I can see why you have trouble. I'm surprised they even accept you're car to work on, I'd throw you out the door. I understand you being upset but your use of the english language leaves much to be desired.
Just my 2 cents.

[BroncoJoe19]

I didn't bother reading your first post.
If your speedo is jumping around, and you have a mechanical speedo (one that uses a cable) it is possible that the cable is frayed, and or sticking.
Otherwise it could be a bad ground, or most likely a faulty VSS, or the connection to it.