New and frustrated with my Cavalier
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New and frustrated with my Cavalier - 8/24/2006 9:54:57 PM
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SashaJo
Posts: 1
Joined: 8/24/2006
Status: offline
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Hi all. I wish I was here to rave about my love for my car, but that isn't the case. I'm not here to bash the vehicle - but I am exceedingly frustrated.
I have an '03 Cavalier 2 door coupe. 5 speed. 46.5K miles. I bought it new. Regular maintenance. No harsh driving conditions - other than evading the local drivers who apparently bought cars without turn signals, rear view mirrors or brakes. (mild attempt at humor) In essence, the car has been well cared for.
Two weeks ago I left for work and thought that the AC seemed tepid at best. End of the day I got into the car and was highly disappointed to find that the AC was shot. The fan worked just fine. Apparently it didn't care that it was 90 degrees outside and I was baking.
I drove to the dealer where all of the work on it has been done. That includes the standard maintenance. They could get me in 2 days out. So, on my appointed day I arrived, they took the keys and then took me to work. A few hours later they called to tell me that there was not a drop of Freon to be found. I authorized them to charge the system and add dye. After running it for 30-40 minutes they saw no indication of a leak nor did the sniffer locate/detect any leaks. For this I paid them $173. The next day it was still cooling like a champ. From Saturday until Wednesday the car sat in the driveway.
Wednesday afternoon was the next time I went to use the Cavalier. Yup, you guessed it. The AC air was toasty warm. I drove straight to the dealer and asked them to fix it right this time. They took me to my office and said they'd call in a while.
Yup, you guessed it again. No Freon. The little man at the dealer called to tell me that the evaporator core was shot. Sigh....
Costs....here's the fun part. The evaporator core: $231. The coolant: $21. The Seal kit: $31. The labor: $922.99. The labor would be 3x the cost of the parts. I asked for an hourly rate and was told that GM provides a cost schedule and rates are not provided at an hourly.
Another problem is brewing with the car, too. The speedometer occasionally sticks. I'll shut the car off and it my have stuck at 45 mph. The next time I drive I have to treat 45 mph as 0 mph if I want to determine my actual speed. I have a picture of the speedometer where the needle is pointing straight down. It got there by winding clockwise - it did not just fall and point straight down. I have had it to the shop for this and, magically, it had unstuck itself by the time the mechanic got to it. He drove it and couldn't get the needle to stick again.
So - I'm open to suggestions. Should the evaporator core die on such a young car? Is almost $1300 a reasonable cost? Thanks all!!
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RE: New and frustrated with my Cavalier - 
