HELP WITH MY 2004 GT

[deronald]

HI, I bought a used 2004 M3 GT from a dealer last monday. My first car and its manual. I have been practicing a lot this week and drove around 200km. I noticed there is some weird "vibration noise" coming near the engine these 2 days. I was so scared I got a lemon and have to pay a lot from now on to keep fixing the car. Yesterday I opened up the hood and recorded this noise (I parked my car, not driving). So can any bros plz help me with this. I uploaded a mp4 file to rapidshare. The link is here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/347220694/20100206_120044.m4a

Thanks a lot for reading this~

[stevenma188]

Can't download from rapidshare, server is full.

EDIT: Still can't download it. Maybe try to upload to youtube?

[deronald]

ooo damn.......is there any other ways I can upload???? or add my msn

deronald@hotmail.com

Thx bro

[MAZDA Kitten]

Upload it to youtube so we can all watch/hear it...

[deronald]

The format is .m4a, i tried to do it on youtube, but the upload bar stops at 99%. Do i need to change to another format???

[stevenma188]

There, I put it on MegaUpload. I always have better luck with that vs rapidshare.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2Y4SFWJ0

[Triznox]

Sorry to say it, but I consider my 2004 GT a lemon.
Engine mount is one of the common problems. If you are having idle issues check the EGR valve. Check your rear wheel wells, door bottoms, and rim centers for rust. Report back if your lemon fears seem true.
It's a long shot, but if you see this stuff and just bought it, try to take it back. Maybe they will be willing to let you pick something else or at least fix something.

[stevenma188]

1) Engine Mount: Not that big of a deal. Think of it as an excuse to get a aftermarket one. They are only $150ish new, and used ones will be cheaper.
2) EGR: Maybe get that checked. It's hard to tell from the clip if the noise is from a bearing/the belt. I heard a Protege5 with a stuck EGR valve and it does not sound like that. It sounded like 1 cylinder was misfiring or something
3) Rust: Happnes on older cars, and although some say the Mazda3 are more prone than most to rust, my 05 seems to be holding up ok *knock wood*.

But since you just bought the car, maybe it is a good idea to take it back to where you bought it from and at least try to get them to fix it for free.

[horto]

bad belt / pulleys / bearings ?

[deronald]

big thx to stevenma188,Triznox and horto.

OK Its a really long story, I will start from today morning. I went to a mechanic/body shop to have a checkup( my buddy's friend, they didn't charge me a cent). They told me seems like the air compressor (or AC compressor) is dying, may be that's the reason having those noises because it's struggling. It will get worse and eventually I have to replace it. Another problem they found out is my power steering pump is also making noise when steering. They told me replacing these two things will cost me about 1000bucks. They asked me to talk to the dealer and see if they can fix it.

So I went to the dealer which is already near 11am (i know this is weird, but i bought my Mazda 3 at North York Chevrolet dealer) . I waited and finally able to talk to the sales guy at 12pm. First, he said I didn't purchase an extended warranty so they wont cover the cost of replacement. Then he talked to his manager and offered me a free "inspection" tomorrow morning at 9am (before he said he is gonna charge me for the checkup damn!!!), then see if he can arrange a better deal on the replacements. I accepted the offer but I don't think I will fix anything there ( I would rather go to a mazda dealer to get it done).

Then I went to a Mazda dealer which is 5 mins away from that Chevrolet dealer. I met a sales there and told him about my situation, trying to get a quote for fixing up my car. I told him the entire story and then he said this is ridiculous, there is no way a used car from dealer needed to be repaired after 1 week. He said this is probably they didn't tell me the problems and according to OMVIC, I can take the car back because they didn't disclose the entire condition of the car to me. So I gave a call to OMVIC after but they said they can't really force the dealer to do anything, they only can help me to "communicate" with the dealer to work out a solution. They mentioned I shouldnt pay for it as I just bought it for 1 week. So ya...tomorrow I will give it a try and see whats gonna happen. I will post and let u guys know.

To Triznox,
Damn, I feel sorry for u. Somehow I feel the same way as u. But i just couldnt believe i got a lemon from a dealer.

[deronald]

U know what, I think I can write a book for my first car experience. I will write another post on my experience of getting into an auto insurance scam.

[m_bisson]

aye... the best advice i can give you is to take your next car to a mechanic to have it inspected BEFORE you buy it. they won't spot ALL of the problems, but if there is something major they can tell you.

[deronald]

I took my mechanic there to test drive and inspect the car. The condition was ok at that time. But i dont know why after a few days those problems coming up. The car doesnt have major problems (engine, transmission, clutch, brakes are fine). Now the only 2 things went wrong according to my mechanic are the ac compressor and power steering pump. I dont know what to do now. I just took the car to the dealer for a free checkup they offered and I had to take subway home sigh.

[cinder88]

Dont most car dealers offer 30 day warranties ? ranging from 2-5000kms.....

Even the crappiest little street side dealers in Ottawa, offer this.

1 week - that is really crummy - Good luck in getting this fixed under warranty - as it should be covered.

[deronald]

ya they offer 30 days warranty, but only to items related to safety. So they said the compressor is not covered in it.

[deronald]

just got a call from the dealer and they confirmed its the ac compressor. They said getting a new one will probably cost 800 bucks plus labor and taxes.
They offer me a deal on a used one of $500. They will pay 50% of it and the labor and stuff. So I only need to pay 250. And it comes with a 5 yr warranty. Seems this is the only way out.....sigh......