New Record!
#1
10-24-2012, 12:13 AM
New Record!
I might go down in history for the person with the worst luck with their first car.
Quite possibly the worst luck with my first car.
Bought my '03 Jag from my mother, she then bought a '07 Lexus ES350 from my grandfather, and he bought a '09 Mercedes E350 AMG Sport on December 3rd 2011
Paid $8,000 for it flat out with hard earned $$ I've been saving in my bank account since I was 7 years old.
On April 21st I had slept over my girlfriend's house. Woke up the next morning at 5am to go to work and see a note on my car window. It said "Please call my name is robert I was involved in an accident with your vehicle"
I was still waking up so naturally at first, I was said to my self "what accident?" I peered down and saw all of this...
I was mad as hell for about 10 seconds then thought to myself, “could have been worse damage and this person could have not left the note at all, plus I get a new fender (had already been dented from when my mother owned the car).
Later that day after work I called Mr. Robert. In short, Robert said that he lives right across the street from where he hit me, he noticed that there were telephone cables from the nearby pole that were dangling in the street for several days now. On the night of the accident it was raining out, he came around the turn didn't see the cables and they were lodged into his wheel locking it up and he skidded into my car.
He called the police which also called the fire department to the scene. Apparently they were trying to find me and knocked on nearby houses to find the owner of my car, but I was 6 houses down the block. They ran my plates and saw that the car was registered several towns over so the cop told Robert to leave a note with his telephone number and explain what happened when I called.
Hey, accidents happen, anyway Robert said his insurance company would call me later that evening.
To my surprise, no call.
April 22nd: Called robert, left a message
April 24th: Called again, left a message
April 26th: (day after my birthday) Called, left a message then called the police department and they left a message
May 2st: Went directly to the 2nd prescient, turns out wrong jurisdiction, drove to the 4th prescient. Spoke to a Lieutenant, told him what happened and he told me to go to the fire department because “they had the report” Went to the F.D. It was closed.
May 5rd: Go to the F.D. And it's been closed down. Googled the telephone number for the F.D. And they moved their location which is actually a few block from my girlfriend's house. At the F.D. And I'm speaking to someone telling them what happened, he tells me that to get the report it costs $10, and they only accept checks....
May 11th: At the F.D. With the check and I speak to the General? He had four stars on his uniform, I'm not sure what he was. But he was the first REAL help I received. He tells me that the fire report isn't going to help me, that all it says is what they did, which was cut cables from vehicle and secured to pole. He continued to say that the only way to get help from the police is to hassle them.
May 17th: I went to the 4th prescient and I'm speaking to the Lieutenant who sent me to the F.D. I showed him the report and he began to look up cases that were brought up that day. He found it and this is where it gets frustrating... He told me that there was an “information exchange” I said, “I wasn't at the scene of the accident because my car was parked and I was inside my girlfriend's house. So how was there an information exchange if I didn't get any information?” He told me that all of my information is on the report, but none of the other person's information is. I was livid... He told me that each case is assigned to an officer, to my luck, he was on vacation and wouldn't be back for another four days... The Lieutenant wrote his name, case#, and his badge# down, I went home.
May 23th: 4th prescient- He was running late, wouldn't be in for another hour. I told the Lieutenant to send him to my girlfriend's house because I was fed up of driving around. 90Min later, he shows up.
I show him the note that was written. He says that he remembers that day and that his partner wrote took the case. His partner wouldn't be in until Monday.
May 28th: 4th prescient lobby- Speaking to the officer John who took the case. John said, that he remembers that day, some small talk, then he has the nerve to tell me that he did not take the other guys information down BECAUSE, and I kid you not, John said, “he seemed like a 'stand up guy' calling the police to the scene and leaving his information on your window, he also pointed to which house he lived in.” I was pissed out of my mind, but remained calm and said, “So Robert seemed like a stand up guy because he did what you mentioned. I continued to say, do you think that maybe Robert called the fire department because there were cables from a telephone pole tangled in his wheel and that he didn't want to possible get electrocuted because it was raining out? And he left a note with his name, telephone number, and pointed to where he lived right? Do you think that maybe after the cables were cut and his car was free to go he left a bullshit name and telephone and pointed to the first house he saw so he could get out of there without any of his information being taken down, which is YOUR job right?
His Lieutenant steps in and says, “YEAH YOU DUMB ***!” “FOR THE PAST MONTH THIS POOR KID HAS BEEN RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO GET THIS GUYS INFORMAITON!” “15 YEARS ON THE FORCE AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WRITING DOWN HIS LICENSE PLATE NUMBER?”
It was nice to see that he was on my side.
So John calls the same number I called and manages to get a hold of him. After 15 minutes he gives me the phone and I get all of Robert's information.
You believe that crap?
Mid June I finally get the check from the insurance company because it was a smaller company and the guy who runs it was on vacation.
So I have my check and all I plan on getting my car repaired right? Wrong.
June 21st: I'm out at Robert Moses Beach in Long Island NY with my girlfriend, younger sister and two of my friends. Ready to leave the beach I turned the car on, and I thought I heard a tapping noise, I got out of the car circled it and didn't hear or see anything. On the way back we hit horrible traffic. Turned off the AC and opened the windows to save gas. Then I heard this noise.
The wind at the beach was blowing so hard I must have not heard it. I got off at the next exit, Hauppauge Long Island, and went to a gas station. Immediately posted what was going on here on this forum. I also called my girlfriend's uncle who is a mechanic.
Man, while we were waiting on responses my friend Christian was being the biggest pain in the ***. He kept saying, nah man its fine lets just go, he really wanted to get out of there and with the stress of the car and him nagging the pants out of me I was ready to snap. But thankfully my girlfriend was there for me and helped me though the situation and kept me calm and level headed. (love you baby)
Anyway, I was told it could be a belt that was shredded and it was simply tapping against house that I should try to keep the revs low to prevent it from tearing further so that I could get home.
From Hauppauge to the Throgs Neck bridge there was major traffic. It was the one time I said, “Thank God there is traffic” 30 miles and four hours later we made it home.
June 22nd: I brought the car to my mechanic who has looked after the car for the past 9 years, he knew the car well, he said it was a spun engine barring. Turns out that it would cost more to take apart the engine to get to the barring than a new engine.
June 28th: I had slept on the idea of fixing my car. With the driver side damaged and the engine busted I considered selling the car as is and possibly getting 4k-6k out of the car in its current condition.
So I slept on it and tossed the idea around wether to sell it or fix it
July 10th: I decided that I would go ahead with fixing my car. My mechanic found an engine with 46k miles on it for $1800 and he said the labor would be about another 2k plus anything else that might need to be changed (belts, cables, pumps, etc.)
July 18th: I stopped back at the mechanic to check on the car, he said the engine was looking good and that the car runs great.
As far as getting the body fixed, he has a friend who has done the previous body work the car when my mother owned it so I know he does excellent work.
So I drew a picture of the car and pointed out where all these little imperfections were such as dings, dents, scrapes, etc. I was getting the fender done might as well get the rest of it done so that I know that each and every mark on the car was because of me.
July 29rd: The body shop picks up the car.
August 4 th: I get a call at my house from the body shop, I was at work all day Friday so I would call him the next day and it turns out the body shop is closed on the weekend.
August 7th: I get a call at work and its the body shop, he said that to do all the little parts individually would cost $2400 but a full body work would be $2100. So I was thinking to myself, “man... that plus the cost of the fender...” So I asked how much it would be total with the fender, he said that it was included in the final price. So that lit up my mind because I already had the $1700 check from the insurance company which meant $400 for the full body work. So I told him to go for it for $2100.
August 15th: The car comes back and it looks beautiful, I saw the car when my parents first bought it back in 2003 but I was too young to really appreciate the cool Cat. Anyway, he had to keep it for another few days to balance out the tires because the wheel shakes at 60+ mph.
August 20th: He tells me that there was a tapping noise when ever the gears changed. When he was doing the engine swap he noticed some of my fly wheel's teeth were chipped and it must have been due to something he mentioned that was wobbly. He tightened it back up and tried again, but the noise was still present.
August 22nd: His transmission guy looks at the car and it turns out the tapping noise was due to the torque converter and the transmission pump...Guess what? Another $2,000 job...
September 4th: Supposed to get the car back today, I guess I'll find out in the morning...
--Got the car back, missed her, she needs a good wash and de-greasing...-.- mechanics and their oil prints on my leather.
So what has my cat costed me in the 7 months i've owned it?
Initial cost: $8,000
Used engine: $1700
Labor: $4135
Transmission: $2000
Total $15,835
20 years old, owe my mother $4,000 and im rolling in around in a Jag, life is good.
Hope you enjoyed the reading
~Boss
Quite possibly the worst luck with my first car.
Bought my '03 Jag from my mother, she then bought a '07 Lexus ES350 from my grandfather, and he bought a '09 Mercedes E350 AMG Sport on December 3rd 2011
Paid $8,000 for it flat out with hard earned $$ I've been saving in my bank account since I was 7 years old.
On April 21st I had slept over my girlfriend's house. Woke up the next morning at 5am to go to work and see a note on my car window. It said "Please call my name is robert I was involved in an accident with your vehicle"
I was still waking up so naturally at first, I was said to my self "what accident?" I peered down and saw all of this...
I was mad as hell for about 10 seconds then thought to myself, “could have been worse damage and this person could have not left the note at all, plus I get a new fender (had already been dented from when my mother owned the car).
Later that day after work I called Mr. Robert. In short, Robert said that he lives right across the street from where he hit me, he noticed that there were telephone cables from the nearby pole that were dangling in the street for several days now. On the night of the accident it was raining out, he came around the turn didn't see the cables and they were lodged into his wheel locking it up and he skidded into my car.
He called the police which also called the fire department to the scene. Apparently they were trying to find me and knocked on nearby houses to find the owner of my car, but I was 6 houses down the block. They ran my plates and saw that the car was registered several towns over so the cop told Robert to leave a note with his telephone number and explain what happened when I called.
Hey, accidents happen, anyway Robert said his insurance company would call me later that evening.
To my surprise, no call.
April 22nd: Called robert, left a message
April 24th: Called again, left a message
April 26th: (day after my birthday) Called, left a message then called the police department and they left a message
May 2st: Went directly to the 2nd prescient, turns out wrong jurisdiction, drove to the 4th prescient. Spoke to a Lieutenant, told him what happened and he told me to go to the fire department because “they had the report” Went to the F.D. It was closed.
May 5rd: Go to the F.D. And it's been closed down. Googled the telephone number for the F.D. And they moved their location which is actually a few block from my girlfriend's house. At the F.D. And I'm speaking to someone telling them what happened, he tells me that to get the report it costs $10, and they only accept checks....
May 11th: At the F.D. With the check and I speak to the General? He had four stars on his uniform, I'm not sure what he was. But he was the first REAL help I received. He tells me that the fire report isn't going to help me, that all it says is what they did, which was cut cables from vehicle and secured to pole. He continued to say that the only way to get help from the police is to hassle them.
May 17th: I went to the 4th prescient and I'm speaking to the Lieutenant who sent me to the F.D. I showed him the report and he began to look up cases that were brought up that day. He found it and this is where it gets frustrating... He told me that there was an “information exchange” I said, “I wasn't at the scene of the accident because my car was parked and I was inside my girlfriend's house. So how was there an information exchange if I didn't get any information?” He told me that all of my information is on the report, but none of the other person's information is. I was livid... He told me that each case is assigned to an officer, to my luck, he was on vacation and wouldn't be back for another four days... The Lieutenant wrote his name, case#, and his badge# down, I went home.
May 23th: 4th prescient- He was running late, wouldn't be in for another hour. I told the Lieutenant to send him to my girlfriend's house because I was fed up of driving around. 90Min later, he shows up.
I show him the note that was written. He says that he remembers that day and that his partner wrote took the case. His partner wouldn't be in until Monday.
May 28th: 4th prescient lobby- Speaking to the officer John who took the case. John said, that he remembers that day, some small talk, then he has the nerve to tell me that he did not take the other guys information down BECAUSE, and I kid you not, John said, “he seemed like a 'stand up guy' calling the police to the scene and leaving his information on your window, he also pointed to which house he lived in.” I was pissed out of my mind, but remained calm and said, “So Robert seemed like a stand up guy because he did what you mentioned. I continued to say, do you think that maybe Robert called the fire department because there were cables from a telephone pole tangled in his wheel and that he didn't want to possible get electrocuted because it was raining out? And he left a note with his name, telephone number, and pointed to where he lived right? Do you think that maybe after the cables were cut and his car was free to go he left a bullshit name and telephone and pointed to the first house he saw so he could get out of there without any of his information being taken down, which is YOUR job right?
His Lieutenant steps in and says, “YEAH YOU DUMB ***!” “FOR THE PAST MONTH THIS POOR KID HAS BEEN RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO GET THIS GUYS INFORMAITON!” “15 YEARS ON THE FORCE AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WRITING DOWN HIS LICENSE PLATE NUMBER?”
It was nice to see that he was on my side.
So John calls the same number I called and manages to get a hold of him. After 15 minutes he gives me the phone and I get all of Robert's information.
You believe that crap?
Mid June I finally get the check from the insurance company because it was a smaller company and the guy who runs it was on vacation.
So I have my check and all I plan on getting my car repaired right? Wrong.
June 21st: I'm out at Robert Moses Beach in Long Island NY with my girlfriend, younger sister and two of my friends. Ready to leave the beach I turned the car on, and I thought I heard a tapping noise, I got out of the car circled it and didn't hear or see anything. On the way back we hit horrible traffic. Turned off the AC and opened the windows to save gas. Then I heard this noise.
Man, while we were waiting on responses my friend Christian was being the biggest pain in the ***. He kept saying, nah man its fine lets just go, he really wanted to get out of there and with the stress of the car and him nagging the pants out of me I was ready to snap. But thankfully my girlfriend was there for me and helped me though the situation and kept me calm and level headed. (love you baby)
Anyway, I was told it could be a belt that was shredded and it was simply tapping against house that I should try to keep the revs low to prevent it from tearing further so that I could get home.
From Hauppauge to the Throgs Neck bridge there was major traffic. It was the one time I said, “Thank God there is traffic” 30 miles and four hours later we made it home.
June 22nd: I brought the car to my mechanic who has looked after the car for the past 9 years, he knew the car well, he said it was a spun engine barring. Turns out that it would cost more to take apart the engine to get to the barring than a new engine.
June 28th: I had slept on the idea of fixing my car. With the driver side damaged and the engine busted I considered selling the car as is and possibly getting 4k-6k out of the car in its current condition.
So I slept on it and tossed the idea around wether to sell it or fix it
July 10th: I decided that I would go ahead with fixing my car. My mechanic found an engine with 46k miles on it for $1800 and he said the labor would be about another 2k plus anything else that might need to be changed (belts, cables, pumps, etc.)
July 18th: I stopped back at the mechanic to check on the car, he said the engine was looking good and that the car runs great.
As far as getting the body fixed, he has a friend who has done the previous body work the car when my mother owned it so I know he does excellent work.
So I drew a picture of the car and pointed out where all these little imperfections were such as dings, dents, scrapes, etc. I was getting the fender done might as well get the rest of it done so that I know that each and every mark on the car was because of me.
July 29rd: The body shop picks up the car.
August 4 th: I get a call at my house from the body shop, I was at work all day Friday so I would call him the next day and it turns out the body shop is closed on the weekend.
August 7th: I get a call at work and its the body shop, he said that to do all the little parts individually would cost $2400 but a full body work would be $2100. So I was thinking to myself, “man... that plus the cost of the fender...” So I asked how much it would be total with the fender, he said that it was included in the final price. So that lit up my mind because I already had the $1700 check from the insurance company which meant $400 for the full body work. So I told him to go for it for $2100.
August 15th: The car comes back and it looks beautiful, I saw the car when my parents first bought it back in 2003 but I was too young to really appreciate the cool Cat. Anyway, he had to keep it for another few days to balance out the tires because the wheel shakes at 60+ mph.
August 20th: He tells me that there was a tapping noise when ever the gears changed. When he was doing the engine swap he noticed some of my fly wheel's teeth were chipped and it must have been due to something he mentioned that was wobbly. He tightened it back up and tried again, but the noise was still present.
August 22nd: His transmission guy looks at the car and it turns out the tapping noise was due to the torque converter and the transmission pump...Guess what? Another $2,000 job...
September 4th: Supposed to get the car back today, I guess I'll find out in the morning...
--Got the car back, missed her, she needs a good wash and de-greasing...-.- mechanics and their oil prints on my leather.
So what has my cat costed me in the 7 months i've owned it?
Initial cost: $8,000
Used engine: $1700
Labor: $4135
Transmission: $2000
Total $15,835
20 years old, owe my mother $4,000 and im rolling in around in a Jag, life is good.
Hope you enjoyed the reading
~Boss
Last edited by Boss_Fury; 10-24-2012 at 01:22 AM.
#3
10-24-2012, 04:20 AM
#4
10-24-2012, 04:25 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: That Rectangular Hole in the Consciousness of America
Posts: 502
Received 132 Likes
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We all feel for ya.
Any chance of suing dear 'ol Mom under your state Lemon Law?
In any event, you now simply MUST put in the chrome mesh upper and lower grille-work, it's an almost mandatory update.
(And don't forget the Transfer Case flush, too!)
One comforting to us forum members is knowing you will probably now drive that Jag like old people have intercourse: Nice and Slow, and very Carefully!
Any chance of suing dear 'ol Mom under your state Lemon Law?
In any event, you now simply MUST put in the chrome mesh upper and lower grille-work, it's an almost mandatory update.
(And don't forget the Transfer Case flush, too!)
One comforting to us forum members is knowing you will probably now drive that Jag like old people have intercourse: Nice and Slow, and very Carefully!
#5
10-24-2012, 05:57 AM
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: PHX some of the time
Posts: 116,752
Received 6,253 Likes
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#6
10-24-2012, 08:21 AM
>Quite a story, but it's all good now.
Agreed, enjoyed the story, but really wonder about the engine and transmission. Spinning the bearing is a very unusual thing to happen to one of these motors so that is very strange. How many miles were on it and how long since the oil was changed or the level was checked?
The advise on T-Case fluid change is very good one. Did your mechanic "happen" to do it while the engine was out, or when the transmission was being repaired? If not, too bad since it would have been very easy at that time.
Suggest checking the other posts on this list that explain how to do it with the engine/transmission in place and then asking you mechanic to do it.
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
Agreed, enjoyed the story, but really wonder about the engine and transmission. Spinning the bearing is a very unusual thing to happen to one of these motors so that is very strange. How many miles were on it and how long since the oil was changed or the level was checked?
The advise on T-Case fluid change is very good one. Did your mechanic "happen" to do it while the engine was out, or when the transmission was being repaired? If not, too bad since it would have been very easy at that time.
Suggest checking the other posts on this list that explain how to do it with the engine/transmission in place and then asking you mechanic to do it.
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
#7
10-24-2012, 09:39 AM
Trending Topics
#9
10-24-2012, 05:41 PM
Haha, quite the possibility in suing my mother under the Lemon Law. But I wouldn't... she's scary.
I really want to get the mina grill and lower mesh, looks fantastic.
First i'm going to start with some tints I think, bring out the classy look of the car, then install HIDS, full led inside and out, Mina exhaust.
But as of right now I'm working on paying my mother back and my pilot's licenses.
Thanks for your input, sympathy, and suggestions.
My mother will be thrilled. XD
~Boss.
Edit: The amount miles on the old engine was about 62k.
I noticed on my way back from the beach that my oil light would flicker on and off when i would apply the breaks. No idea why.
I really want to get the mina grill and lower mesh, looks fantastic.
First i'm going to start with some tints I think, bring out the classy look of the car, then install HIDS, full led inside and out, Mina exhaust.
But as of right now I'm working on paying my mother back and my pilot's licenses.
Thanks for your input, sympathy, and suggestions.
My mother will be thrilled. XD
~Boss.
Edit: The amount miles on the old engine was about 62k.
I noticed on my way back from the beach that my oil light would flicker on and off when i would apply the breaks. No idea why.
Last edited by Boss_Fury; 10-24-2012 at 06:08 PM. Reason: miles on old engine.
#10
10-24-2012, 11:48 PM
Senior Member
You handled it like a Boss! That's a lot to go thru with a car you just bought, spending 8K cash no less. Good to see you came out on the other side. I'd say you have a mint Jag now.
How many miles did the original engine have before it spun the bearing? Regardless of the BS with Robert and the inept cop, the trouble with both the engine and the trans being detrimental, and at the same time is curious. Did someone else use the car when your mom had it, and beat the snot out of it?
In any case, nice pics, car looks great. Nothing better than a sweet looking Jag on the road.
How many miles did the original engine have before it spun the bearing? Regardless of the BS with Robert and the inept cop, the trouble with both the engine and the trans being detrimental, and at the same time is curious. Did someone else use the car when your mom had it, and beat the snot out of it?
In any case, nice pics, car looks great. Nothing better than a sweet looking Jag on the road.
#11
10-26-2012, 12:53 AM
You handled it like a Boss! That's a lot to go thru with a car you just bought, spending 8K cash no less. Good to see you came out on the other side. I'd say you have a mint Jag now.
How many miles did the original engine have before it spun the bearing? Regardless of the BS with Robert and the inept cop, the trouble with both the engine and the trans being detrimental, and at the same time is curious. Did someone else use the car when your mom had it, and beat the snot out of it?
In any case, nice pics, car looks great. Nothing better than a sweet looking Jag on the road.
How many miles did the original engine have before it spun the bearing? Regardless of the BS with Robert and the inept cop, the trouble with both the engine and the trans being detrimental, and at the same time is curious. Did someone else use the car when your mom had it, and beat the snot out of it?
In any case, nice pics, car looks great. Nothing better than a sweet looking Jag on the road.
Thanks for the support.
~Boss
#12
10-26-2012, 11:17 PM
Senior Member
I see, well, if your mother missed an oil change and had a few of those $24.99 oil changes where they use a low quality filter (Fram), if they replace the filter at all, and, your brothers were hammering the throttle and putting the transmission thru its paces, I guess a rather young X-type with 62K miles could fail catastrophically the way yours did.
My point is that the Duratec motor is a pretty solid piece of engineering and can go 200K plus miles if cared for properly. I don't know as much about the trans, but I'd guess it's also a quality component along with the transfer case. The thing is, you need to change the gear oils and the engine oil regularly (even tho the trans and TC are considered "Sealed for Life" by the Mfg). Use high quality oils when you do, (Mobile 1, Royal Purple) ...lastly, always spring for a good oil filter.
My point is that the Duratec motor is a pretty solid piece of engineering and can go 200K plus miles if cared for properly. I don't know as much about the trans, but I'd guess it's also a quality component along with the transfer case. The thing is, you need to change the gear oils and the engine oil regularly (even tho the trans and TC are considered "Sealed for Life" by the Mfg). Use high quality oils when you do, (Mobile 1, Royal Purple) ...lastly, always spring for a good oil filter.
#13
10-28-2012, 09:11 AM
I think mother should have given you a break on the price before all that stuff happened.
I've seen better prices than hers even at dealerships, let alone craigslist, ebay and cars.com.. :+)
If my mother tried asking more than $5k MAX i'd be reminding her that taking care of parents when they get older is voluntary!
But heck, i have a great mom...i'm sure she'd give me her car if i asked nice! :+)
You may have paid a lot in total, but it's good to see someone loves the car enough to bite the bullet.
I've seen better prices than hers even at dealerships, let alone craigslist, ebay and cars.com.. :+)
If my mother tried asking more than $5k MAX i'd be reminding her that taking care of parents when they get older is voluntary!
But heck, i have a great mom...i'm sure she'd give me her car if i asked nice! :+)
You may have paid a lot in total, but it's good to see someone loves the car enough to bite the bullet.
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