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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Terwox" data-source="post: 1725359" data-attributes="member: 1044">Ok.  I was just flipping around in my angst looking at other people's angst, as that's what I do, until I realized that I could ask for advice here, although it isn't terribly normal.  Note that my real question isn't about mechanics itself -- it's about what I should do, and if I can tell if I'm being ripped off or not.Anyway, here's my problem in brief:  I bought a used piece of trash 92 geo metro.  Spent 750, the bluebook was lower but I was desperate.  Lessee, spent 750 on the brakes and the exhaust, 55 bucks or so on a new battery/battery holder, hours cleaning the thing out (it was owned by a farmer and was full of filth and poo,) that sort of thing.Bought it to drive from Illinois to Louisiana, where I'm going to grad school, blahblah.  Anyway it's ok here for a few days, and then it won't start.  I mess with it, it starts weak a few times, dies later that day.  Call AAA, get a jump that doesn't work, so I freak out, call a few places, and take it to a mechanic that has a starter in stock and is willing to do it for a nominally decent price.  (50 labor 120 part etc, beat the 380 part 85 labor from the dealership.)Anyway, it's a week later, and this morning I turned the key and it was dead.  Much frustration ensues, then five seconds later it starts.  This is what it was doing before it died the previous time, which makes me think that the mechanic I took it to (oh, names are fine, Blackwell's,) didn't really do anything.  A friend reminds me that I didn't get the old starter from them, (a mistake I attribute to my current status of being young and foolish,) so I don't know.So I have a 30 day labor warranty and a lifetime warranty, so I take it to Blackwell's, tell them about it, and he says to bring it in soon and to hurry in the next few days, even though I have a 30 day warranty.  Little warning bells became bigger warning bells at that point (a scam will want you to Act Now While this Offer Lasts! after all.) so I left.There's another mechanic in town that the campus police recommended (I know virtually no one down here,) that I called before about getting the starter fixed, and he seemed genuine and legit, while the guy at Blackwell's wasn't shady, but he was cheery... well, it's hard to convey the intuition you get about people, isn't it?  oh well.Regardless.  The guy at Blackwell's said "something might be making your starter go bad, I'll have to check it out for a day, bring it in soon and leave it here" -- so I'd get my labor insurance for free, of course.  I'm thinking I should leave it there and see what he says about it -- as long as it's free -- and run away if he wants me to pay a lot for it.  (I had him check the car out before he replaced the starter previously, so I just don't know.)I just don't see why I should have to pay extra for his mistakes.The bothersome stuff is that my family at home is very good with automobiles, and this could all be virtually free if I was back in Illinois, but that's just not worth worrying about I suppose.Anyway, Quinn's Texaco is the mechanic I got a good feeling about...oh, another thing.  Blackwell's, although I tried to disguise my desperation, did know that I didn't have a phone number here... giveaway that I was easy to mess with.Anyway, if you know about cars, is there something that could be causing my car not to start?  (It isn't the battery, by the way, I got it jumped and there was nothing, and my headlights came on.)And should I take it to Blackwell's, or Quinn's (Quinn's would have to order parts because they're just a garage...) well, I guess while writing this out I sort of know what my plan is anyway.  Take it to Blackwell's, see what they say about it for free, if they try to charge me a lot I'll run like hell and take it to Quinn's and pay whatever.  But is there something that can make my starter go bad?  Could I just have a bad starter and a bad alternator (sp?)?Alas.  Thanks for reading this, although I think I worked most of it out just writing it down... hah.</blockquote>

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