New owner of 2004 Aveo issues check engine light came on.

[paulsaveo]

cool guys tomorrow im taking it to that chevy dealer in the morning. I figure while they diagnose it i can check out a new aveo or a dream of a corvette.lol. but seriously my dad when he left the family he left some auto stuff and one was a dvd set called alldata i found, its a version 10.10 but it has my car. so i checked and now i am scared of what repair bill could be. i have a max of 900 budget.

Anytime you take your car somewhere whether it is for diagnostics or repair, make sure the service writer you deal with is aware you have a budget, the dealership I work at, if the service writer is aware of a certain budget, we usually try dilligently to work with the customer. As far as a scantool and programming for the aveos, it is like all gm vehicles, obd2 is a good diagnostic tool and code reader, but any programming will have to be done with a tec2 scan tool

[petrified.rabbit]

TO ADD:

Dont say "i need it fixed for $900" say "i need you to tell me whats wrong with it before you fix it, and guarantee it will be fixed right the first time" Ask how much the diagnosis will be, and then the repair will be your own judgement call (do it yourself, or have them do it for their price).

[viper34787]

well i took it to the chevrolet dealer i did not say i had a budget of that much because frankly they dont care they would of wanted me to finance the rest anyways. well the results are horrible, compression test on cylinders 1 and 3 are low. recomended course of action is replace cylinder head and gaskets as needed also replace timing belt. estimate at 1975. i paid 3100 cash for it so thats a total of 5,075 plus i aid sears 145 for oil change and transmission flush and the chevy dealer 117 diagnostic. so that would be 5292. thats outrageous for a car worth 4 at max. my head is spinning because i dont know what to do. i cant afford that price. i dont know if i should try and sell on ebay or localy to make back my money or if someone would do job cheaper.

[petrified.rabbit]

Where did you buy it? How long have you had it?

You could get it done cheaper.

[viper34787]

i bought it at world auto inc at 7170 East Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL 32807-6310
(407) 412-6944

I am in talks with other local mechanics who said it should be able be resurfaced. i looked at ebay.com and a remanufactured one goes for 250 plus 60 for shipping. my problem is labor cost. most mechanics want 75 to 100 a hour.

[viper34787]

oh and i called the dealer and they said it was something i did like not doing a oil job right and i told them sears used high quality oil for it. i did learn from chevy dealer what they did was before i came to see it they disconnected battery to make check engine light go away for awhile. thats why i never saw it then.

[petrified.rabbit]

then you should be calling the dealer for a new car/free repair. even if the car was sold as is, they concealed a known problem with the car. Call GM directly and file a complaint. NO reason if the sold you the car with the problem, that you should get swindled into fixing it.

ALSO, it wont need resurfaced, most likely just a few new valves and lapped. valves are $11 a piece, the head gasket kit is @ $100 without shopping for a good price, head bolts are another $100 if needed. $150 or so for the timing kit, So you looking at maybe $400 in parts. To pull the head, everything else is included (timing belt, etc) but the repair to the head is extra. It is "generally" 4-5 hrs to R&R a head unless they start stacking included operations, so even at $100 an hour, it would be about $500 repair time. So it could be done for $900 at full rate.

call a few smaller garages, not knowing the area i found this:
Specialty Engine Swaps,Transmissions,Differentials Etc.
$600 labor for a new engine, plus a $500-600 engine = $1200.

but i cant tell you what to do, i would do it myself and it would cost me $300. but also i would have a lawyer on the phone with the chevy dealer to let them eat the cost, or repair it themselves.

Also even at $2000, it is less of a loss to repair it than to buy a new car.

[viper34787]

where are you from? i wish you could do it for me. thanks for all the help. i really appreciate it. you all are alot of help.

[paulsaveo]

oh and i called the dealer and they said it was something i did like not doing a oil job right and i told them sears used high quality oil for it. i did learn from chevy dealer what they did was before i came to see it they disconnected battery to make check engine light go away for awhile. thats why i never saw it then.

chevy disconnected the battery or the place you bought it from disconnected the battery? If the place you bought it from disconnected the battery to clear the cel before you bought it, ask the service advisor that you dealt with at chevrolet if they can give you any printouts of the stored codes. If they can give you a printout, take it to the place you bought the car from, show them the printout and tell them they need to take care of it or you will contact the BBB (better business bureau)

[petrified.rabbit]

where are you from? i wish you could do it for me. thanks for all the help. i really appreciate it. you all are alot of help.

i am in pittsburgh, not an easy solution. Having been to all the junk yards in most of southern florida (that i could find) i can tell you there are cheap mechanics out there. Post up what you need done on craigslist, gets some bids, and then meet with them ask for credentials, etc. You will find some one. If it was summer, and i was free, i would do it for you on a trip to miami. But my schedule is much tighter than that as of late.