Monday, October 25, 2010

Is 18 months a long time?

We bought the mini van 18 months ago. It’s a 2006 & currently has about 48,000 miles or so on it. This week I have to take it in for the first real repairs it has needed. The brake rotors need milled or something. They stutter when you hit the brakes, the brakes still work just fine but you can feel the stuttering in an alarming “Good God the brakes are going to fail sooner rather than later” sort of way. Though I am told if it takes me 9 months to get the job done mostly I’ll just need new rotors & the brakes themselves will continue to work.

But nevertheless it is alarming.

I was told that about 3 months ago & for various reasons have been putting it off. The dealership, who told me I needed the milling, quoted me a price that seemed really high to DH who once had rotors milled back in the 20th century. So he’s been sporadically calling around looking for lower prices.

It appears the costs of brake repairs have in fact gone up in the past 2 decades.

Should we be willing to disassemble the brakes ourselves and drop off the rotors it would only be about $60 to get them milled. Dropping the car off adds $60-90.

We’d eventually decided on a place near his office & he just had to pick a day to do it. While he was dithering about this, last week, the engine light started staying on.

Could the place fixing the brakes also check out the engine light?

Maybe. And they’ll need to keep the car overnight because of the milling. They send that work out.

So I called the dealership. I don’t like going to the dealership for repairs. I always feel I am paying more there. But I usually feel I am being taken advantage of in auto repair shops. They use words I’ve never heard before & they always sound so grave about things and when you ask about putting that repair off they always say “Well, you could….” in a tone that implies your fiery death is imminent if you put this repair off.

Maybe it really is, but having lost more than one belt while traveling at interstate speeds I know it really isn’t a matter of life & death if I wait a month to replace it. It’s just wildly inconvenient and adds towing to the overall cost of repairs. 

The engine light though, made me consider the dealership. I mean, it’s a Dodge Grand Caravan, one of the most popular mini vans in the country. Odds are any garage can diagnose & repair whatever that light is indicating. But still… I am familiar with that light in an ominous sort of way from other vehicles. An engine light with no other sign, no other sounds, no perceivable issues could be any damn thing & probably expensive and the less time spend sorting it out, the less the labor charges.

And the dealership asked me all sorts of questions about that light & what else was going on in a way that led me to believe they have a very narrow field of exploration. I was told it probably would only take a couple hours. I know Ganders (our usual local repair place) would keep it overnight at least.

Here is my problem. I’ve had two new cars in my life, one in 1992 that I kept until 2001 when I got the second & kept it until 2008. Before that I went through a slew of used cars between 1983-1992. My sense of what to expect repair wise from vehicles is a little mixed up.In my experience you need to repair something major on a car every 10-12 months or you go literally years and years before needing a major repair.

So, is this something I have caused through neglect? Am I a bad braker somehow, tapping them or pressing too hard? Or is this normal? Is this engine thing whatever it may be a normal occurrence after 48,000 miles or did I forget to replace some fluid or other? I know for certain that I am responsible for my first transmission failure simply because I got into a habit of shifting from R to D without coming to a full stop all the time & it wore the gears or whatever down. But I stopped that & am very aware of that now (and it had nothing to do with the other 2 transmission failures, one was simply a badly reassembled refurb job I got to save money. The other turned out to be something interior I couldn’t have caused). But maybe I am doing something else? Engine lights do have a tendency to come on on my cars, but they always seem to mean different things.

Any thoughts?

I suppose I’ll have to ask the mechanics, but usually I don’t understand their answers.

19 comments:

Beverly said...

Stacey, My son is a certified mechanic and if the engine light comes on the first thing he has us do is take it to Auto Zone. They have a computer they connect that comes up with a code telling what the problem likely is andf it is a free service. At least at that point you can go to the repair shop armed with some information. Good luck!

Sara Strand said...

It's probably normal. I mean, crap happens. Chinese kids don't always put stuff together right. :) What I would do- is you can take it to ANY auto repair shop and have them plug it into the computer. If your engine light is on, the computer thingie will tell you what is wrong with it. Now, my brother works at a Tires Plus so I get great service and I know from experience that guys there are usually pretty good. I would avoid the dealer unless you have a warranty and it's warranty worthy work. If not, shop around. But honestly? If you have a light on and your brakes are wonky? Just fix it. Bite the bullet and spend the money. Because what if these things lead to a bigger problem that costs MORE money because you didn't just get it fixed in the first place? How pissed would you be at yourself? It sucks, but it might just be normal wear and tear. Our friends have the same van and they have had NOTHING but problems. I have a Ford Freestar and yeah- I only make oil changes. And I replace a window every year because I have punk kid neighbors. But other than that, we've been lucky. (knock on wood)

Melissa said...

As soon as I read "minivan" and "brakes", my first question was "is this a Dodge Caravan?" And, since it is, this might not be the response you want to hear, but ...anyway. I drove a 2002 Dodge Caravan for 7 years, and I had to get the brakes repaired almost every 15-20,000 miles. Considering I was commuting 140 miles round trip a day at that time (yeah, I know) it became ridiculous. I think I repaired the brakes a total of 4 times, and when the 5th time rolled around, it was time to put me out of my misery.

One of the mechanics I had said that this is normal for a Caravan. I'm not an expert, and maybe he was just saying that, but it seemed to be true.

As for the engine light, that could be something minor ... but I agree with the others. Get it checked out and maybe it will avoid a bigger repair bill down the road. (No pun intended.)

Good luck!

Carrie said...

Agree with Bev - find out the code on your own - that way you know what needs to REALLY be fixed. My DH fixes ours thank goodness - but a lot of times he goes in there thinking going to fix A & B, then finds out Y & Z need to be fixed too. It's like one long ugly money pit of a chain reaction. lol Good luck!

SciFi Dad said...

Without knowing how old the brakes were when you bought the van (I'm guessing that it wasn't a brand new 2006 that you bought in 2009), I'd say that 18 months is for brakes is likely just wear and tear of regular driving. If you're a more cautious driver (i.e. you ride the brakes a little more than average) then you're going to go through them more quickly.

As for the engine light, either find a place with a free diagnostic (as suggested) or check the manual for reset times (so you know how long to wait for it to go away) and double check your gas cap. An improperly closed cap will get that light, as will a host of other stupid minor things.

Cheri said...

As a prior Dodge minivan owner, I found replacing the brakes to be a regular "thing" - they just seem to wear out faster than on any other vehicle I've ever owned (mine was bought new and driven until it was junk). And the engine light could come on as a reminder that you need normal routine maintenance (like an oil change or 50,000 mile check-up). Even if the dealer costs a little more, I find that they are better at diagnosing their vehicles and replace with genuine parts. Hope that helps!

E Hammann said...

Hi... no worries. So you know, this IS normal. And it is normal wear and tear on a vehicle. I have a 2007 Rondo, and a 2009 Rondo, and both have had to have the rotors Milled. We actually replaced the ones in the 07, and that is NOT cheap. It isn't cheap to have them milled either, but it will save you a bigger cost if you take care of it sooner rather than later. It could cost you not only your rotors, but brakes as well. You generally know it is the rotors by the sound made when you are braking as well as the way it feels. It almost feels as though the brake is shaking beneath your foot.

I understand what you mean about having to get something done to your car every so many thousand miles, but I have learned from having many used vehicles that if it is used, you never know if the previous owner did what they should have regarding maintenance unless you get that information. I also like to take my cars to the dealership, only because they specialize in my particular car make and model. At our dealership, if a mistake is made, on their part, they will take care of it, on them. That doesn't happen all just any old car shop. In my experience, even though the dealerships ARE more expensive, they are also willing to do anything to make it right.

Sorry this is so long.... and I don't mean to tell you what to do... just giving my opinion! Hugs and good luck!!

Comfy Mom said...

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to see if I can swing by ours before Thursday.

Comfy Mom said...

I'm assuming at 48,000 it's normal wear & tear but since I know I caused the transmission failure back in 1999, I have a hard time not blaming myself.

Comfy Mom said...

yeah, the engine light seems to lead to so many things. They fix X and realize it was masking a problem with Y and $1500 & 3 days later you get your car back.

Comfy Mom said...

The gas cap! I'm going to have to check that now. The boys have been playing around the car, I wouldn't put it past them....

Comfy Mom said...

I feel pretty much the same way about the dealership in this instance. They do all our routine maintenance for free as part of the deal when we bought the car so I feel like they ought to see it because if it is something routine setting it off I don't have to pay for it, apart from the diagnostic labor time.

Comfy Mom said...

Thanks. I am leaning that way myself, they have the parts so I get the car back that day as opposed to whenever the part arrives at the local shop & that is worth some $ to me. Not a lot of $ but some. :)

humel said...

I wish I had the first clue what it might be, I'm glad to see lots of useful answers are here already! Unfortunately I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to cars, and The Doctor's worse... But I'm wishing you lots of luck! xx

700R4 Transmission said...

This is so interested! Where can I find more like this?

Andrea @ The Creative Junkie said...

omg, I'm so not the person to ask. I have no clue what causes anything. All I know is that I must have some sort of weird energy because I can make all the stupid warning lights in my car start blinking simply by sitting in the driver's seat.

Helena said...

Ugh. Car problems are the worst.

Mama Mary said...

Oh man, I am no help whatsoever with car problems. None. Good luck though. I'm sure none of it is your fault. :)

FallDown Girl said...

Hi! I stopped over here because your "drive by cat flinging" cracked me up. But I have nothing to contribute to this conversation because car talk, like political talk, goes right over my head. Wheeee!!! But I'm adding you to my reader. I'll be baaack. ~~Marie