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PAT38915

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Right now, im sick of general motors..this is my 2nd cadillac, and i

loved both the other was 1980 cadillac, eldarodo..i had no problems

with it

now i have a 2000 deville, and i really dont know if they will ever get

it back together again..but im trying to be patient..i dont think ill ever own another

cadillac, this one has tripped my trigger..sorry

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Pat,

I feel bad that you are having such problems - we can all sense your frustration.

However, you may want to follow-up on your previous post (instead of starting anew one) - so others can figure out what might be going on. This site can offer a lot of support, but it helps to follow some conventions.

Even with all the the praise and hype, I think a Caddy is really not that much different than most other brands of complex, American luxury cars. I can assure you that you might have had this same trouble with a 2000 Lincoln, just check on a site like this for Lincoln (not to pick on Ford).

Guru summed it up once by noting Caddies were "high content" and as such, there are simply a lot more things that can happen. However, even knowing what little we do - this problem does not seem like an issue with complex causes.

I have to say that when you said the dealer removed the tranny to fix a coolant light - that it just does not make any sense. You are very correct in being very upset - if that is the story that they told you.

In particular, if you believe you are being taken advantage of by the dealer because you are a woman and not technically-orientated - then contact an attorney by all means! If nothing more than to get their attention.

OK then?

If you have a problem explaining technical details - then maybe you can have someone "scan" the paperwork that the dealer gave you, listing the work done (do not scan your name, etc or the dealership).

Have your friend attach the scanned-file to a follow-up post (look at the bottom of the reply page) so that others can figure out what was diagnosed and what was done.

Pat - again, hang in there and please let the good folks on this site try to help you. :(

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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cadillac assistance has just called me and said the dealer has reported a cracked engine block on my 2000 cadillac deville with 35,000 milles on it..

they had no idea what caused this problem..yesterday they said it could be a casting flaw, now today they are not sure..the company has offered to pay 50% of the cost to replace the engine..i refused this amount as i feel a car with this low milage should be covered..what do i do next

i followed your advice and told them i would go to the attorney general or hire a lawyer, they said if you do, we cant continue to help you, as it will become a legal matter if you hire a lawyer..someone please tell me what should i do next..

right now im waiting on the regional rep..to come home, from vacation, so he can take a look at the car..i feel this is very unfair to have to wait this length of time..what would you do..thanks.

i dont think this is a new thread, im new to this board and i really dont know how to use it, so please bear with me..

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Listen, you need to chill out first. I don't care how upset you are you are not helping your case. Cadillac owes you nothing, you don't have a warranty, face the facts. With the following rant, why should they help you?

wowo seems like cadillac should help me out on this..also the lady from the cadillac co called this am and said, it was a molding flaw, and i do believe that was done at the company.. i never want another cadillac as long as i live, in fact i dont even want this one anymore..i feel its a lemon from the word go..thanks for your help..pat

As Guru said the car has 35,000 miles on it, a casting flaw would have shown up by now.

See above, you say, the lady, WHO IS "THE LADY" and what weight does she carry, is she a Class A Cadillac Mechanic?, Service Manager?, Service Writer?, Sales Manager?" If she is an employee and she said that there is a casting flaw whe did she say that! Who is she that she can opine on a casting flaw? Was it her conjecture or guess? Did she inspect the car and consult with the tech? Did she say it WAS or it MAY BE a casting flaw?

GM has an equally as good a position in this as you do with your argument and they are being very kind to you offering you 50% of the cost. You should take the money and run.. Loose the "I am sick of General Motors" attitude! Its not helping your problem. What the HELL do you expect them to do, pick up 100% of the cost? You don't even have a warranty and you are not the first owner. They don't know the history of the car, they don't know if the block was cracked because an improper concentration antifreeze was utilized. AND they are sharing the burden with you 50/50! I would say that is QUITE generous and quite HONORABLE of GM! In court you will lose, they will prove there is NO casting flaw! You will lose, not only legal costs but they will fight it vehemently as they will defend their product.

If there is a casting flaw they owe you nothing you dont have a warranty! Let this be a lesson to us all when we buy a USED car with low mileage!

Pick yourself up and move forward and be THANKFUL they are doing anything at all! And stop blaming GM.

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Let's see..If I understand this correctly you are not the original owner, and the car is five years old with 35,000 miles on it with no express warranty. They're offering to pay 50% of the cost for a new motor...I assume that's the total cost, parts and labor? If so, I would estimate the value of the car on the used market (with 35,000 miles and a good motor), and if the 50% expense to you is far less than the market value then that's not a bad deal....

'93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast.

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I agree with most of the above. It's really not appropriate to "blame" General Motors at this point because you have no idea what really caused the cracked block, if indeed that's what it is. You bought a used vehicle. There's a risk in that. Many of us bought ours used, too, and many of us have a few hundred thousand miles on our cars. We apparently got lucky and didn't have a car where someone might have ran straight water and froze the block up. It's really impossible to tell what caused the problem at this point. What is the concentration of the antifreeze mixture? Has anyone measured that? What does the block look like where the problem is? Is there a visible crack in it? Is there a hole? Have you seen it first hand?

The car does have low miles, but that doesn't indicate AT ALL how it was maintained before you got it. Who was the original owner? Was it originally a rental car? Was it livery service? Who knows where that car's been. The fact that it has low miles simply means that it hasn't been driven much. Assuming that it was maintained well, it shouldn't have a major problem like this, you're right. But you just can't make that assumption, especially given NO history of the car.

I agree, I'd take GM up on its offer to pay half for the engine. That's a wonderfully generous offer, and a great gesture of customer service. Here you are with a problem that they can't verify the cause of, and they're offering you half the money. Remember, miles don't count here because you have no IDEA how the thing was maintained. 35,000 or 135,000...the maintenance history is unknown. Given this, I think Cadillac is showing a great desire to keep you as a customer. I've heard plenty of stories of other brands (Japanese, German, American, etc) denying any coverage at all for cars out of warranty, and legally, that's all GM has to do. They have no liability here. They're working out of good faith to satisfy you as a customer of a USED vehicle (you didn't even buy it new from GM!). I think it's an incredible offer and given the circumstances, I'd take them up on it.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I must agree with all of you guys here. Low mileage like 30,000 does not mean that the engine is good per se. Who knows if the previous owner had ever changed the oil, or went for a regular maintanance required by GM. I bet that enyone can "blow" the engine in 15,000 miles. You just have to drive it without checking the oil, or just replace the coolant with the water, and it is done, and I am talking about any engine brand not just GM.

1960 Sedan De Ville (sold)

1970 Coupe De Ville (sold)

1987 Mazda RX-7 (sold)

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This car was maintained well, at the cadillac dealer..and as for what cadillac owes me isnt there a moral issue as well as a techinal issue..and yes ill keep complaining, i can get the papers where the previous owner had his work done..so dont put it off on him, and the car has most definately not gotten hot, or run low of oil..the oil is checked often, so its not a fault of mine...dont try to keep putting the monkey on my back...general motors is responsible for producing a car that wont run over 35,000 miles

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Pat please keep all conversations on this board I do not want Private Messages from you, here is your Private Message to me:

"Scotty, i dont know what weigh the lady can pull..i only know that she takes comsumer reports..as for me lightening up...you should to..im frusturated enough without your snobby remarks, because i dont know what weigh the lady carries..what weigh do you carry"

We can no longer help you here, you have heard many others above echo the same opinion I have and they have not caused you to see the light. Does it suck, yep it sure does, I feel for you. Should you be pissed off, I suppose but GM is making good on 50% of the solution. Nothing else can be done, GM has reacted to the fact that this car has 35,000 miles on it PERIOD.... That you are a prior owner may not have maintained it correctly or that there might be a casting flaw is a moot point, you don't have a warranty and DRIVETRAIN problems are ONLY covered under WARRANTY. And as far as me not carrying any weight, I am an OBJECTIVE by-stander, that a bunch of others happen to AGREE with....

I think there are other sites you can go to where you can find people to tell you what you want to hear...

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im so sorry i sent you a private message...im not familiar with this board.. ...i had no intention of saying anything to you , that i cared for anyone else reading..was a big mistake on my part...if i had any intention to start pming or emailing, i sure would not have chosen you...

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and the car has most definately not gotten hot, or run low of oil..the oil is checked often, so its not a fault of mine...dont try to keep putting the monkey on my back...general motors is responsible for producing a car that wont run over 35,000 miles

"Most definitely" huh? So I suppose you were there for the first 35,000 miles of this car's life? Oh wait, that's right, you bought it used.

General Motors is responsible for making a profit. How they get there is up to them. Obviously, if every car they made died at 35,000 miles, they wouldn't be in business. General Motors applies a warranty to the car to help the owner out with problems that do arise. It's a machine designed and built by humans. Like us, machines aren't perfect. I don't care how well you think the car was maintained, or how many papers you have "proving" it, you just don't know what's happened in the past. You said yourself you didn't purchase the extended warranty, but for some reason you want GM to warrant this car? By not purchasing the warranty, you entered into a known risk. "Hey, if something happens to this car, I realize that I'm responsible." I agree that it'd be nice for Cadillac to throw you a bone here...oh but wait -- they are! They're willing to pay HALF for the repair! After you knowingly and willingly declined extended coverage, they're still going to help you out. You asked if there was a moral issue here. If that's not moral integrity, I don't know what is.

We're not talking oil changes here. Oil changes don't mean a thing when the problem is a cracked block. And you didn't answer my original question. Has the coolant concentration been checked? Have you personally inspected the breach in the block? Back to what I said earlier, if every car had this problem, they wouldn't be in business. In fact, in the YEARS that this board has been in existance, I don't think I've EVER heard of someone having a cracked block. And like our resident Northstar expert said, something like that would have presented a problem right away, not four years down the road. In other words, we think you need to get at least one more opinion before you start making assumptions, or before you pay money for a repair. Perhaps your problem really isn't a cracked block?

Combined with the weird circumstances you mentioned earlier (transmission removal to fix a coolant light), this story still is not adding up.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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im so sorry i sent you a private message...im not familiar with this board.. ...i had no intention of saying anything to you , that i cared for anyone else reading..was a big mistake on my part...if i had any intention to start pming or emailing, i sure would not have chosen you...

Very perceptive of you not to choose me! I am a GM lover and defensive of their reputation.

Given the venom and hate statements in your posts, I think people that know me a long time would agree that I have been quite reserved and that I directed you the best that could and that I tried to help you see the light.

Does it suck, yep. Is it fair, nope. Did GM act in Good Faith, yep. I wish you luck.. So when you bought the car and it had 35,000 miles on it, did you assume that if anything went wrong that GM would cover it?

I am impressed that they are covering 50%! You took a risk and did not get a warranty to save money, and you lost, period. Does it suck, yep it sucks, we feel your pain.. But to get the attorney general involved, scream lemon immediately and to blame GM for not producing a car that won't go 35,000 miles, well thats over the top, on a board of Cadillac afficianatos. I think this board in total reacted professionally and informatively to your problem. If you are trying to gather support here for your case with the attorney general, you are barking up the wrong tree...

These types of terrible things happen in life, what happens if you were in the WTC on 9/11, or took a vacation and got hit by a tsunami, or you went to Florida on vacation and got evacuated because of a hurricane. Life sucks pick up the pieces and move on, do you want to hear my problems, I have a legal pad full of them.. We tried to help you Sir.

Exerpts from your posts:

im sick of general motors never want another cadillac as long as i live, in fact i dont even want this one anymore..i feel its a lemon from the word go.

followed your advice and told them i would go to the attorney general or hire a lawyer, they said if you do, we cant continue to help you, as it will become a legal matter if you hire a lawyer.

general motors is responsible for producing a car that wont run over 35,000 miles

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Pat,

I will add my 2 cents worth that you need to take a deep breath and calm down. I know that it is frustrating to have this happen on a low milage car, but these things do happen.

You say that you are waiting on the area rep to look at the car? I would not do anything until the rep has looked at the car and given an opinion on the cause.

If I were you, I would compose myself and if need be, apologize to anyone that you said things to that you now regret.

They have made an offer to repair the car for 50 % of the cost. I would get them to supply you with a fixxed cost up front, so you won't be surprised when the car is finished.

As for the area rep, they have a lot of discresionary power. If they feel that the problem was caused by something that should have been caught at the factory, then they may very well give more than the 50% after they examine the situation.

Remember, they are human, and if you rant and rave and cause a seen, then they may use that discresionary power to say that they recind the 50% offer.

The ball is in their court. Be respectful and courteous. Speak to them as you would want to be spoken to if the situation was reversed.

I think that, under the circumstances, the 50% offer was more that Cadillac is required to do. The fact that they have made the offer shows that they are trying to help. If you scream at them they may just tell you "tough luck".

Good Luck,

Britt

Britt
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Sorry guys, I disagree. I think GM owes the lady a new engine, warranty or no warranty, if infact it is a bad casting. If it was cracked because of poor maintanence, that's another story but the casting should last a hell of a lot longer than 30K. We are not talking normal wear and tear here. If it turns out that it is not a bad casting, then take the 50% and count your blessings. I do agree with Navion. The district rep has a lot of discression and you need him/her on your side and you can catch a lot more bees with honey than viniger. An attorney may help but will probably cost as much as the 50% you will pay. Save that as last resort if at all.

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Thank you so much Ranger, i knew sooner or later someone would have the same opinion as i have..seems ill just have to wait and see what happens..ive gotten some help on this forum, some insults also, but thanks for replying...

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Pat, I agree with you and your frustrations. I think the forum was a little hard on you as well. But lets get practical. To file suit against Caddy or the dealer will cost you more than the "50 percent" you were asked to pay. If your problem was a cronic one, it would be different, but your problem is not common. The forum should quit trying to "sell" you on the Cadillac. It is a good car, and one of the best engineered engines ever produced. But you have a bad experience, and these things just happen. If you insist on "staking your claim", go straight to General Motors, call them! But do not "go on the offensive", because if you do, people get defensive, and that is in all walks of life. You want GM to "go on offense for you", so choose your words carefully if you call. In defense to this forum, it is made up of many people with a vast array of knowledge, willing to share, without provocation. I would have posted 10 times what I have, but by the time I read the querys, the questions have already been answered several times. Most of these same folks have no affiliation with GM whatsoever, so their coments are short on biased opinions, and long on honest help. By all means e-mail me if you find the need to. I fully understand the protocal at GM and it's dealer network. But let me warn you, it is a double edged sword. You are NOT a customer of GM in most cases, but one of the DEALER who sold you your car. GM's customers are the dealers themselves. Under warrantee conditions, the dealer has to honor the factory claim and hope the factory will reimburse them for the costs they incurred. In many cases, the dealer "eats" costs, that is why they seem so negative at times. What you are to the dealer who sold you the car, the dealer is the same to the manufacturer. If you bought your car from a non GM network, you are damned lucky to get 50 percent off of anything! :(

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Thanks so much...yes this forum was very hard on me, but they had some good ideas also..im going to try to have a good weekend and wait until monday, when the area rep will make his decision..

would you think it would be improper if i hired a mechanic to go with me and see if i really need a new engine..some on here think i should just take anything offered to me, but im not going to do that, as i know general motors should stand behind thier cars, warranty or no warranty..you have written the most sensible reply to my complaint that i have had..at least you werent demanding answers that i dont know..like someone asked me if i had seen the engine, i know nothing about cars and i thought i made that perfectly clear when i first came on this board..when it comes to knowing an engine, block, transmission, i have seen pictures of them and that is all..so thanks again for your sensible post i appreciate it, and i maybe emailing you about this later...also i know nothing about the coolant status, when i take it to a dealer for things like this, i just assume they know what they are doing and i dont question them...ill sure pay more attention in the future..have a great weekend

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I agree with Ranger here too. I think we have been way too hard on her. I think she deserves a new engine. I would feel the same as her and I think she has a right to vent. The car is barely out of warranty, time wise, but mileage wise she is still in the ballpark. I could understand a waterpump or altenator but an engine that has been maintained by Cadillac from day one? She knows the former owner and history of this car. These are the deals we, the people who buy used Caddies look for to last a long time. Cadillac has a "special policy adjustment program beyond the warranty period". I think she should hold out for more. I know this situation would leave a very, very, bad taste in my mouth too. :angry:

I had a friend that bought a used 2000 model Deville with 30,000 miles at my coaxing about how good Cadillacs were, in 2002, I also encouraged him to get the warranty. Not one month after he bought the car, he had to have the front rotors replaced, the water cooled altenator went bust and the engine halves had to be re-sealed. All this was below 35,000 miles! He still has an issue with oil usage even after all the dealer tinkering and my coaxing him to do WOT on a regular basis. Needless to say, he is not a Cadillac fan, but he said he would keep it until the warranty ran out. I had to eat my words on Cadillac Quality more than once. :(

I would definatly hold out for a new engine. Good Luck Pat, I wish you all the best.

PAUL T.

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Ummm for all the whiners (not aimed at any 1 person) out there, I say you all should cut your losses...sell your Cadillac and buy a USED Lincoln/F.O.R.D or a Chrysler instead. But hey keep this number 1-800-NEED-TXI on you, coz u WILL need it almost daily. :lol:

A 90 Deville here with just over 187K miles on it with zero driveability problems. My only enemy is RUST but thats what you get for living up here in Canada. Of the big THREE EVERYONE shud invest only in GM engineering. (Just an opinion)

Well if I look around on the roads here in Toronto I still see a significant number of Caprice Classics, Cutlasses, 442s, Deltas etc from the 80s. Could someone tell me what cars FORD made in the 80's? To young here to remember and oldest FORDs I see are prob. a 93-94 Taurus.

I hardly think you can call a high-end GM a lemon!!

my CDN $0.02 :D

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I had a lincoln towncar, before i sold it and purchased the cadillac...

the performance for the lincoln was wonderful..never had any problems

what so ever..when i sold it it had 75k miles on it and it was a 1987..the only

reason i sold it, it was getting older and i thought i needed to upgrade and thats

when i bought the 2000 lincoln deville....ive never gotten the performance from the caddy that i had with the lincoln. and if i ever buy another car ill assure you it will be a lincoln..thanks

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I had a lincoln towncar, before i sold it and purchased the cadillac...

the performance for the lincoln was wonderful..never had any problems

what so ever..when i sold it it had 75k miles on it and it was a 1987..the only

reason i sold it, it was getting older and i thought i needed to upgrade and thats

when i bought the 2000 lincoln deville....ive never gotten the performance from the caddy that i had with the lincoln. and if i ever buy another car ill assure you it will be a lincoln..thanks

First of all I think you are getting a generous heaping of "the benefit of the doubt" by some simply because they think you are a woman (tsk tsk). The name Pat is somewhat ambiguous and i for one haven't been able to ascertain which sex you are but that should be irrelevant.

The warranty issue. There is no issue. If you don't have one then there is no issue. Some would imply that warranties are simply pieces of paper that contain scribble. Tell that to the people that have actually purchased a warranty and see if they agree with you. Some people just feel they are entitled to things whether they deserve it or not. I believe you are one of those people.

This is the part that bothered me. You come on this Cadillac board and dump on Cadillac, GM, and common sense without first verifying the problem by getting a second opinion. And then you have the eggs to compare your 2000 caddy to an 18 yr old lincoln. You then proceed to pinch a king sized loaf all over us caddy lovers by stating that your lincoln had better performance than the caddy. Here's the burning question then. If you were still in possession of your beloved lincoln when you purchased the caddy (I assume you drove the caddy before you bought it) and thought the lincoln (18 yrs older) was a better performer then why in judas name did you keep the caddy and get rid of the lincoln??? :blink::blink::blink:

Things don't add up here. You wouldn't happen to be related to James would you?

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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I told this story to my DEALER yesterday that they OUTRIGHT said, NO WAY, NO WARRANTY, NO 50%!! PERIOD... THEY said you were VERY lucky. No ticky no shirty! They said that they would IMMEDIATELY do a chemical analysis of the COOLANT to see the concentration, and I imagine your dealer will do that also..

You caught a few softies here that felt sorry for you, and then you go on to say that some were RUDE to you probably because we didnt agree with you.. I reacted to your NEGATIVE statements! Some said, that we or I was hard on you, BUT, your EMAIL to me was the FIRST nasty strike!! Maybe they did not realize that....

I wish you luck...

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not related to james or judus..just make a statement that the lincoln performed better than the caddy and ill stick with that one..

and read the post i told you why i sold the lincoln, i wanted to upgrade..get a newer car, and thats what i did, but as it stands now, id been a lot better off keeping the lincoln towncar, which is still running without any problems..

and tell me this, how can i get a second opinion with the car all torn apart and not drivable..i guess i could hire a towing service to take it somewhere else, but if the engine is not working it wont work anywhere else..so before you ask if im related to james read the post again as i stated why i bought another car..i thought cadillac was the top of the line car, thats why i bought one..i had already had a 1980 eldaro, so i was not unfamiliar with the performances cadillac was suppost to have..now are you related to james or judus...

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not related to james or judus..just make a statement that the lincoln performed better than the caddy and ill stick with that one..

and read the post i told you why i sold the lincoln, i wanted to upgrade..get a newer car, and thats what i did, but as it stands now, id been a lot better off keeping the lincoln towncar, which is still running without any problems..

and tell me this, how can i get a second opinion with the car all torn apart and not drivable..i guess i could hire a towing service to take it somewhere else, but if the engine is not working it wont work anywhere else..so before you ask if im related to james read the post again as i stated why i bought another car..i thought cadillac was the top of the line car, thats why i bought one..i had already had a 1980 eldaro, so i was not unfamiliar with the performances cadillac was suppost to have..now are you related to james or judus...

You're entertaining, I'll give you that. Most any place I know of will put whatever they took apart back together (no charge) if you refuse the work. I assumed everyone that ever had service done knew that. I suppose I was wrong. Did you even bother to check or ask? If there is a crack I think most decent mechanics would be able to tell. Sometimes it's easier if it's already taken apart. Once again did you bother to ask? Most people i know aren't mind readers.

Yes yes yes....I read the part where you wanted to upgrade. So!?! What did you think when you took the caddy for a test drive? You never shared that. How did it drive? What did you think of the performance? Did you have an independent garage look it over before you decided to purchase it? And if you're going to tell me that you don't know much about cars then don't you think it might have been wise to bring someone along that does? This situation and the handling of it is really something that I would expect of a new driver or someone that hasn't a clue around cars. I'm going to assume the latter. The short of it: I think you made some poor judgements and simply refuse to admit or own up to them. You have yet to admit anywhere on this discussion string that you made a mistake or even might have. That fact alone sends up red flags. Personally I think you won't ever admit even partial responsibility and that is troubling. I would like to say "I wish you good luck" but I'm pretty sure that would fall on deaf ears (eyes).

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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