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- Feb 28, 2011
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I am soo tired...
My car has now been at a repair shop for 3 weeks with electrical problems. It's a Sebring 2002LX with 27,000 miles on it. The error code indicated that I need a new engine computer and a new cam position sensor. My car is literally falling apart, I keep saying that I double its value when I fill the tank, and I am only half joking. But since I may leave the island in May, I decided to have it repaired rather than buy another car.
Chrysler wants to sell me an engine computer for $850 which is ridiculous. So I called the local Chrysler person to ask for the part number and ordered a refurbished computer with a warranty for $200 from ebay, and a cam sensor for $30 from another ebay dealer. When the computer didn't arrive in spite of the express shipping I paid for, I called and it turned out that the part number was wrong. O.k., annoying but that can happen, I lost a week but I just called the Chrysler guy who gave me another part number based on the VIN number of my car and the company shipped the replacement computer really fast. My local car people plugged it in - and the engine light is still on. The computer complains about an error on a valve - which my car does not have. I called the Chrysler guy who said that could happen because they changed the model in that year and I had a wrong part number. Not his mistake, of course, he only told me what is in his list.... He gave me another part number, I ordered a computer for the third time, it came, was put in - and the car doesn't even start. So, the either the Chrysler guy gave me a wrong part number for the third time, or I got a defective replacement computer. While I was talking to my car guy, he mentioned that he also still needed the cam sensor. I told him I gave him one and he replied that that was a crank sensor, not a cam position sensor. But he built it in anyway. When I asked why, if there was nothing wrong with the old one, I was told because I gave it to him. I asked him whether he was really surprised that people don't trust car repair shops all that much, and he told me that things are not as easy anymore, it's a hard job, and that is why he is a heavy drinker. I couldn't think of much to say after that....
Totally frustrated, I picked up a bottle of bourbon and some chocolate on the way and went home where after 5 minutes my toilet clogged and flooded my bathroom.
Did I say I am really tired...
So, I will pick up a rental car again tomorrow. With the cost I paid for rentals, cabs, and express shipping for useless parts I might as well have bought a new computer from Chrysler. In the meantime, work is piling up in the shop where I can't get without a car, I am almost broke, and I think that all car people are either out to get me or they are idiots. Sorry if you are one of them. But if you happen to know a reliable Chrysler place where I can call and verify the part numbers to sort out this mess, please send me a PM. I will now start working on that bottle of Maker's Mark and some chocolate.
Stefan
My car has now been at a repair shop for 3 weeks with electrical problems. It's a Sebring 2002LX with 27,000 miles on it. The error code indicated that I need a new engine computer and a new cam position sensor. My car is literally falling apart, I keep saying that I double its value when I fill the tank, and I am only half joking. But since I may leave the island in May, I decided to have it repaired rather than buy another car.
Chrysler wants to sell me an engine computer for $850 which is ridiculous. So I called the local Chrysler person to ask for the part number and ordered a refurbished computer with a warranty for $200 from ebay, and a cam sensor for $30 from another ebay dealer. When the computer didn't arrive in spite of the express shipping I paid for, I called and it turned out that the part number was wrong. O.k., annoying but that can happen, I lost a week but I just called the Chrysler guy who gave me another part number based on the VIN number of my car and the company shipped the replacement computer really fast. My local car people plugged it in - and the engine light is still on. The computer complains about an error on a valve - which my car does not have. I called the Chrysler guy who said that could happen because they changed the model in that year and I had a wrong part number. Not his mistake, of course, he only told me what is in his list.... He gave me another part number, I ordered a computer for the third time, it came, was put in - and the car doesn't even start. So, the either the Chrysler guy gave me a wrong part number for the third time, or I got a defective replacement computer. While I was talking to my car guy, he mentioned that he also still needed the cam sensor. I told him I gave him one and he replied that that was a crank sensor, not a cam position sensor. But he built it in anyway. When I asked why, if there was nothing wrong with the old one, I was told because I gave it to him. I asked him whether he was really surprised that people don't trust car repair shops all that much, and he told me that things are not as easy anymore, it's a hard job, and that is why he is a heavy drinker. I couldn't think of much to say after that....
Totally frustrated, I picked up a bottle of bourbon and some chocolate on the way and went home where after 5 minutes my toilet clogged and flooded my bathroom.
Did I say I am really tired...
So, I will pick up a rental car again tomorrow. With the cost I paid for rentals, cabs, and express shipping for useless parts I might as well have bought a new computer from Chrysler. In the meantime, work is piling up in the shop where I can't get without a car, I am almost broke, and I think that all car people are either out to get me or they are idiots. Sorry if you are one of them. But if you happen to know a reliable Chrysler place where I can call and verify the part numbers to sort out this mess, please send me a PM. I will now start working on that bottle of Maker's Mark and some chocolate.
Stefan