My 2003 Monte Carlo SS is awesome, but it's got a whole bunch of %^&* going on. I got an estimate today though and I feel like I'm getting ripped off. Was hoping someone(s) could give me a general idea of how much it should cost to fix these problems... so that I can continue shopping around knowing what I'm talking about. This is the first car I bought myself, I paid $6k for it in August '12 when it had 60k miles on it, (now it's got 68k) had it checked at a Goodyear first and they said it had NO problems... but 2 places recently told me it's leaking, and have noticed these other problems recently just from driving it and looking under the hood... Anyway here's what they said it was gonna cost including labor:

Shifter assembly constantly jamming, needs replace - $615
Busted headlight some jerk did - $376
Rear breaks replace - $276
Fuel filter - $71
Leaking coolant from upper/lower gasket... new intake manifold... also leaking oil - $971 for all that
CV joint right front axel seal leaking - $345 to replace axel and seal
Valve stem right front tire leaking (my check TP light is always on) - $32

Thoughts? Any shop recommendations for Atlanta, GA? Thanks.

 

Shifter assembly with a junkyard replacement, very easy to do yourself and cheap.

Headlights, that's just 2 white clips and you pull the headlight assembly out, then just unplug the bulbs. Should be a piece of cake for you, and you can find replacements all day long at junkyards or ebay.

Brakes are something any at home mechanic should be able to do. Couple sockets and you have new pads.

Fuel filter can be scary for a first time person, but they are right out in the open on these cars, when you have the wheel off doing the rear brakes, you'll have easy access to it.

If you have the UIM/LIM leak, that's a big project. The reason the cost is so high, is because it can take a shop around 5 hours to complete. You are paying for the time on this one, not the complexity.

Axles are again pretty easy to do in your driveway, $50 for a new axle also.

Valve stems aren't a DIY job since you have to take the tire off.

If you can't do some basic maintenance yourself, it's not smart to own a 10 year old car.

 

Run away from the shop that quoted you that.

 

While the UIM/LIM gaskets probably won't be a DIY job for most, that price is still high. Mine had gone for so long it had oil all over as well as it rotted out a radiator hose.

The hose was replaced, my LIM gaskets were replaced with aluminum and the engine was degreased for around 700 bucks. Almost a grand seems a bit high for the job. The rest of the prices are WAY off as well.

 

You have to realize that the cost of that job is the $$$ per hour of the shop. Your shop might be only $70 per hour, and his could be almost $95 (heck here in the Philly area it's $110 per hour).

Again the parts aren't expensive for the job, it's really all based off the book time that it takes.

 

Yeah like the others said most of the stuff is diy, these cars are very easy to work on, Good Luck with your repairs

 

Cool, thanks a lot for the replies. Yeah. I've never worked on a car before so that puts me in a bad spot. I joined this forum to learn about the used SS that I thought I got for the cheap-o. But lesson learned, apparently 10 year old cars are still a gamble even when they have OK mileage and "check out clean" at a mechanic. Anyway, def not gonna drop 2.5k on it if this stuff isn't rocket science. It was a Chevy dealership btw, I took it there because there was a wiring recall and I was unsure if it had ever gotten fixed so I had them look at the rest of the problems too. Y'all make the self repairs sound less intimidating than I thought so I looked into it. I know I can at least do the headlight, maybe the shifter assembly, maybe more if a friend can help me out. Trying to locate a junkyard... such a noob. Thanks for the luck wishes, I'll need it

 

Take each project one at a time, we can help you out!

 

as everyone stated everything but the valve stem could be a DIY but the gaskets are pretty involved and i wouldnt recommended doing them if you dont know a whole lot about cars. as far as everything else listed i feel you can do it yourself just take your time and pay attention to how it came apart and put it back together the same way is all. if you have and issues or questions me along with the other members will be happy to help you out and answer questions you may have

 

i just payed 5 bucks yesterday to have a new stem put on my tire that was leaking find a town fair tire