I must say Good Bye to this Awesome Fourm…

[MacMaverick]

As of this Holiday Season, I have had to say good bye to my loved Saturn ION 2. Murphy's Law finally caught up with me and gave me a repair bill that was too much for me to handle and I had to mechanically total my joy.
I will let you know that I am going to donate the vehicle to the local Habitat for Humanity so that someone else will get something from this.

For anyone curious, I was going along back home from work and my vehicle just lost power and died after going uphill and making about 75% of the climb. I had to get a tow to my normal repair shop. Once there, I find that there is a "For Sale" sign.
The next day I get an Uber there for when they open and find that there is only three people working at the location as the owner is now "partially retired". Meaning that my beloved shop is now in the process of shutting down.
Once in the shop, I was able to get the vehicle running again after what I thought would be a basic tune-up. But since the car was still not running as it was before all this, I take it to a decent place that is closer to my home.
Getting information back from them, I am presented with a 12 page estimate that included: bent radiator replacement, mounting bushing replacements, oxygen sensor replacements, shocks & strut replacements, new tires since the alignment was gone, and the nail in the coffin: the catalytic converter was done.

In all, I would have had to spend $3K to get this 2006 back to functional. My emotions were all over the place. I had to concede to the fact that I had to find a newer vehicle to keep me mobile. Not just for work, but for the fact that a family member has a medical condition that requires me to be available at any time. (Parkinson's)

Almost done here, dear reader. I have been sad that I had to let go a car that I love and excited that I can start a new chapter with a better car for my situation.

I must say THANK YOU to everyone on this forum for all the advice and greatness that I have gained from being here. I therefore must bow out and remove myself to start anew with my new Hyundai and start the new year with a positivity that needs to grow.

Finally, my deepest respect and gratitude to everyone here. I wish you all the best in the new year and the future for us all. Salud!

P.S. I won't delete my account just yet, I am sure that I will visit to check up on things from time to time.

[s12_200zx]

Originally Posted by MacMaverick

As of this Holiday Season, I have had to say good bye to my loved Saturn ION 2. Murphy's Law finally caught up with me and gave me a repair bill that was too much for me to handle and I had to mechanically total my joy.
I will let you know that I am going to donate the vehicle to the local Habitat for Humanity so that someone else will get something from this.

For anyone curious, I was going along back home from work and my vehicle just lost power and died after going uphill and making about 75% of the climb. I had to get a tow to my normal repair shop. Once there, I find that there is a "For Sale" sign.
The next day I get an Uber there for when they open and find that there is only three people working at the location as the owner is now "partially retired". Meaning that my beloved shop is now in the process of shutting down.
Once in the shop, I was able to get the vehicle running again after what I thought would be a basic tune-up. But since the car was still not running as it was before all this, I take it to a decent place that is closer to my home.
Getting information back from them, I am presented with a 12 page estimate that included: bent radiator replacement, mounting bushing replacements, oxygen sensor replacements, shocks & strut replacements, new tires since the alignment was gone, and the nail in the coffin: the catalytic converter was done.

In all, I would have had to spend $3K to get this 2006 back to functional. My emotions were all over the place. I had to concede to the fact that I had to find a newer vehicle to keep me mobile. Not just for work, but for the fact that a family member has a medical condition that requires me to be available at any time. (Parkinson's)

Almost done here, dear reader. I have been sad that I had to let go a car that I love and excited that I can start a new chapter with a better car for my situation.

I must say THANK YOU to everyone on this forum for all the advice and greatness that I have gained from being here. I therefore must bow out and remove myself to start anew with my new Hyundai and start the new year with a positivity that needs to grow.

Finally, my deepest respect and gratitude to everyone here. I wish you all the best in the new year and the future for us all. Salud!

P.S. I won't delete my account just yet, I am sure that I will visit to check up on things from time to time.

Who knows, maybe you will come back. I lost my 2005 blue ION over 10 years ago , then 1 month ago I found a wrecked fixer up that was an easy $300.00 repair. Now I am back with the replacement ION .

[bathyscope]

Originally Posted by MacMaverick

Once there, I find that there is a "For Sale" sign.

That sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. It seems to me that a lot of small businesses have closed recently, including some that I depended on.

[ultravioletnk]

Originally Posted by MacMaverick

For anyone curious, I was going along back home from work and my vehicle just lost power and died after going uphill and making about 75% of the climb. I had to get a tow to my normal repair shop. Once there, I find that there is a "For Sale" sign.
The next day I get an Uber there for when they open and find that there is only three people working at the location as the owner is now "partially retired". Meaning that my beloved shop is now in the process of shutting down.

we're definitely living in a new "malaise era", especially when it comes to independent businesses like repair shops. it's a real shame.

Originally Posted by MacMaverick

I am presented with a 12 page estimate that included: bent radiator replacement, mounting bushing replacements, oxygen sensor replacements, shocks & strut replacements, new tires since the alignment was gone, and the nail in the coffin: the catalytic converter was done.

unfortunately, that does sound like the kind of scalping some shops will pull on uninformed customers, especially under new management or when desperate... they don't even care about your actual problem, they just want to run up as big of a bill as they can and hope you pay it. i'd think twice about retiring the car, it surely has plenty of life left especially if you're willing to do your own work.

edit: oh, and, uh, i see your car is a quad coupe... if you're donating it, would you consider selling it for cheap? i'm a diehard s-series enthusiast but i have wanted one of those quad coupes for a long time. they never did make an s-series with the dual suicide doors in the back and i just like the idea. if you'd consider it, let me know! you're welcome to send a pm