There were three main things to address: the heater, the dashboard lighting and the windshield washer fluid reservoir. The total for all of this came to $1700 -- I am not lying. It also could have been whole lot worse.
I love this car and hope to have it for a long time. There were things I was putting up with -- like the inconsistent operation of the turning signals. To get them to work, sometimes I had to hit the emergency flasher (which I need to do in the Malibu sometimes too). Well, fixing the dash lights got to be pretty complex and involved fixing a host of things, which mean the turn signals now work fine.
Sourcing the parts for the heater took the guys months. While they charged us for only 10.5 hours of labor, they had to have spent tons more time sourcing used parts -- which were substantially cheaper than buying new. They got the key stuck in the door lock, which meant some additional work, but I am OK with that. There were lots of little things that they took care of too.
The cost of the repair came out within $100 bucks of our tax refund, which could not have been timed better! I am now looking to driving this beauty and will do my best to keep her safe. There are a few other age issues I'll need to keep on top of too. However, for the time being I am looking forward to being reunited with my awesome ride!
Do you have a garage to store it in the winter. The Malibu has a recall on the blinker flasher issue. You can have that fixed at a dealer for nothing. My Malibu did the same thing until I had it fixed under the recall. That was great you had the money to pay for it without going into debt.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know about the recall! Our garage is presently full of junk but I am holding out hope for next year. The main thing is to keep it off the roads and away from salt. I guess we can always send it for a repair of some sort next year too!
DeleteIt may not be termed "recall" but I was notified the repair was for me and free. I learned quickly to turn on the flashers on and off to get the turn signal to work. I hated to arm signal, especially in the rain or heat.
DeleteI keep my car outside and it suffers. Yours is too pretty not to be garaged right now for the finish.
I agree about needing to garage it. We are having the garage re-sided this summer and I hope that will help us to get it cleared out!
DeleteShe's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJ x
While she was away, I had forgotten how truly beautiful she is!
DeleteSuch a beauty! Classic vehicles can be a real money pit - we feel your pain! xxx
ReplyDeleteWhen I fixate on the cost, I then start to think about how much I'd have to pay to buy a car like this new. And with new comes all sorts of technology I am not interested in. I hope to be able to have some fun and stylish times -- with you as my inspiration!
Delete