I did it again!

[TollKeeper]

Bought another salvage car... Well a van actually.

Its a easy fix, to replace the wifes Aztek.

Low miles, already located a sliding door in the same color. Just need to find a front door, and to see specifically whats wrong in the rear.

https://www.copart.com/lot/45906233/salvage-2005-saturn-relay-3-co-colorado-springs

 

[Mooseman]

Why is everything in Russian?

Low miles but the it's pretty banged up and old for the price.

I had a 2008 Montana SV6 with the 3.9. The motor was pretty decently powered. Didn't give me any issues except for brakes and the water pump just before I sold it. I liked it. Cavernous cargo area when the heavy seats were taken out.

 

[TollKeeper]

I cant share the actual listing, as it requires a log-in. Where the russian site does not.

Its banged up, but from what I could tell, its all superficial. The only real unknown is the rear control arm. Is it the upper? Lower? Knuckle? I wont know until I get it off.

I will admit, the bidding house overbid, and they blamed it on me, and refused to correct their fuck up. I should have won the auction for 275.. It does have new tires, and a full tank of gas, thats worth the bid price. So I should make it out alright on this.

Wifes Aztek is dieing. Im tired of chasing this check engine light, and its now developed new problems, that are, to say the least, quite expensive.

I have a couple buyers for the Aztek already lined up, that I should break even on the Saturn purchase.

2 littles, we needed a Mini-Van, or a full size SUV. The mini-van made more sense for the wives business too. Her business will also be buying the Saturn, and then becomes a tax write off. So it works even more.

 

[TollKeeper]

Man I love my XUV.. Went and picked up the new doors, and window. Fit like a glove, like it was designed for it!

No pic.. She drives like she is new with all those new parts on her.

 

[TollKeeper]

She is now sitting in my garage... Let the tear down begin.

CoPart was not nice to it loading on the tranporter. They damaged a CV axle, but they will say prove it. So I gotta buy one of those.

Inspection tonight to verify damage. I already know that I need 2 parts, a CV Axle (maybe just a boot/clamp thou), and a Knuckle. Got almost everything else I need.

Was not expecting the knuckle to be sheared at the upper control arm, but it was. I was only expecting the broken control arm, which I already have.

 

[TollKeeper]

Saturday - Got the rear axle fixed. Needed a new knuckle, upper control arm, and CV axle. Found a local yard with a Relay AWD that I got all the parts from. Fixed for right at 200 bucks. Also got the rear drivers window replaced, and the rear passenger window motor replaced. I may have to replace the rear drivers side rotor. During re-assembly, I put the wrong bolts in, and they drove right into the rotor.. My fault! I didnt realize this until I went to try to pull the van out for a test drive, and the wheel wouldnt turn. Nice skid mark in my garage now.

She drives great, although it was a bit weird driving around with no drivers door. But the tranny shifts thru all the gears. The rear infotainment system works great. Found all the headphones in the seat back pockets. Both power sliding doors work great.

Sunday - Got a new front drivers door installed. Have a replacement rear sliding door ready to go in. Needs to make a stop at a body shop to get a little pull, and panel replacement. Still gotta find the right body shop. Into both doors for 300, and the bonus was, they are the same color! They came off a Pontiac Montana Base.

Stripped the old drivers door down too. Mainly for the wiring harness, door handle, mirror, and speaker.

 

[TollKeeper]

I am getting the Saturn Cleaned out today. Dont need any glass shards in my ass!

Got 2 appts tomorrow for body shops to get estimates.

The oddity is that the battery was completely dead. I put a charger on it for 2 hours. It still read completely dead.

Took the battery out, and put it on the charger again, and it charged up perfectly, and has been holding a charge in the van for a week now.

 

[northcreek]

I am getting the Saturn Cleaned out today. Dont need any glass shards in my ass!

Got 2 appts tomorrow for body shops to get estimates.

The oddity is that the battery was completely dead. I put a charger on it for 2 hours. It still read completely dead.

Took the battery out, and put it on the charger again, and it charged up perfectly, and has been holding a charge in the van for a week now.

Sounds like you have some crap floating around in that battery and shorting the plates. Not wishing you any bad luck but, I wouldn’t trust it with the wife and kiddies.

 

[TollKeeper]

What happened in that post @northcreek ???

 

[northcreek]

What happened in that post @northcreek ???

Cleaned it up on my Mac...did I tell you how much I hate my phone?

 

[TollKeeper]

Saturday, found a Buick Terraza in a local yard that is the same color. Got it, and got that door installed. Buick Terraza's have better door insulation than Saturns! Although I already had a door from a Pontiac Montana in the same color, it had a bit of damage to the outer skin. I was hoping to find another door to swap it out for. The same yard that had the Montana, had the Buick a week later. So it was a even exchange, with the only expense being time. 30 mins to get the old door off the Saturn, an hour to get to the yard get the door and get back to work, 45 mins for reinstall. Done.

Sunday, drove it for about 100 miles, and had a steady vibration. I tilted the drivers mirror down to look at the rear drivers wheel... Yea its bent. Found a Saturn Relay 3+ in a local yard, and went and got a rim and tire off it. 50 bucks on a rim.

Monday, took it to a tire shop early AM to get the rim swapped over... Oh yea, its a holiday. Back home we go.

Then got the wife and kids up to take it to a body shop to get the side repaired, and door replaced.

All in, including repairs, I estimate I should be into it for less than 4000. Probably closer to 3650.

All the other U-Vans out there, that have the options, and miles, that I want, were selling for 8-12k, some as high as 20k!!! So ahead in that game.

Body shop says they will have it done next week. I have worked with this shop before, so I am planning on 3 weeks!

Tomorrow, head to the DMV and get the title re-issued.
July 27th, reinspection scheduled to get a clear title.

 

[Sparky]

Post some before/after pics.

 

[TollKeeper]

Only pics I have currently are from the Auction...

 

[TollKeeper]

And one from when I had the pontiac door installed with the rear Axle fixed.

 

[TollKeeper]

Updated first post with a better link for auction too..

 

[TollKeeper]

I have to admit, I am really surprised that the rear K-Member did not get broken during the impact. I was prepared if it did, but to my surprise, it wasnt.

Its just a aluminum K-Member, and its not really thick. But no bends, no cracks. Nothing. I am guessing the impact was high enough, that it just sent the impact force thru the Upper control arm, and knuckle. Upper control arm is mounted to the frame, lower is mounted to the K-Member. No deformities where the upper control arm mounts to the steel frame. But still, its all aluminum. Control arms, knuckle, K-Member, differential, I think even the calipers.

My wives Aztek uses the same K-Member, so I was able to take measurements from one, and compare to the other. There was obvious differences in castings (one is a 2001, the other is a 2005), but mounting points all measured out within a 1/16 of an inch of each other.

 

[TollKeeper]

How it sits at the body shop now with the newer Buick door...

 

[TollKeeper]

So someone may know the answer...

My Saturn uses KeyFob 15114374
I would like to use KeyFob 15114376

Anyone know a reason they would not interchange?

 

[Mooseman]

Just looking at pictures,

15114374 has 4 buttons
15114376 has 6 buttons, the extra buttons are for the side doors

If you have the motorized doors, the extra 2 buttons might work. Maybe the remote you got was the wrong one but still worked for the other functions.

Just guessing here.

 

[TollKeeper]

That was my thought actually, because I do have the motorized doors..

 

[Sparky]

Yeah more than likely you're supposed to have the 6 button fob.

 

[TollKeeper]

Waiting my turn on paint...

 

[TollKeeper]

Picked up the Saturn from the body shop Saturday. Looks great. Little bit of orange peel, but for what I paid, I'm not complaining.

 

[TollKeeper]

And then I took it to the tire shop, Discount tire, to get a bent rim replaced.

They decided to NOT use the designated jacking point, and completely screwed up all the fresh new body work..

 

[TollKeeper]

..So other than the body work is screwed up again, it was perfect timing..

Saturday, the wives Aztek decided it wanted to break down.

Backfiring thru the intake, bogging, flashing check engine light.

Odd part is, when I hook the scanner up to it, I dont get anything for a misfire, only a P0131 O2 sensor.

 

[TollKeeper]

Heard back from the insurance company for Discount Tire..

"regardless of the cost, we will repair the vehicle"

To which I responded "are you sure?? The preliminary estimates I got are not cheap, into the 1000's of dollars? One shop I had look at it said likely 4-8000, as parts are no longer available new"

They responded "Yes we will make you whole, and provide a rental car"

All I can say is WOW! Kinda mind blown at the moment.... I am amazed that the cost is that high... But again not surprised. I had access to a donor to keep costs down.. I dont have that anymore, as those parts are currently on the van, and now damaged... again LOL.

The door wont open, and what little it does open, causes the door to not close correctly, and PCM to go into limp mode, with all types of warnings and chimes going off on the interior.

Took me 2 hours to get the door closed enough to make the modules happy last night.

They also managed to push up the fender half way up just behind C-Pilar, making it so the rear sail window pushed in at the bottom, and created a air gap at the top.

 

[Sparky]

Could almost get yet another vehicle for that.
*edit* never mind. I was thinking of pre-inflation vehicle pricing.

 

[flyboy2610]

They know they messed up, big time! They would rather have a happy customer than deal with an insurance company, bad press, and a potential lawsuit. CYA.

 

[Sparky]

How much you wanna bet that the guy who thought it smart to jack it up there doesn't have a job anymore? To cause that much damage with a misplaced floor jack is no small matter.

 

[TollKeeper]

How much you wanna bet that the guy who thought it smart to jack it up there doesn't have a job anymore? To cause that much damage with a misplaced floor jack is no small matter.

I would NOT take that bet.. Most of the companies around here are so short staffed, they will literally take anyone that can pass a drug screen, and sometimes even then, they dont care.

 

[azswiss]

To cause that much damage with a misplaced floor jack is no small matter

Clearly that guy didn't know jacks*** about jack s***

 

[TollKeeper]

Side skirt flew off the sliding door from the tabs breaking under neath

Rear skirt also decided to go fly a kite..

Getting estimates this Friday.

 

[TollKeeper]

Could almost get yet another vehicle for that.
*edit* never mind. I was thinking of pre-inflation vehicle pricing.

Just for clarification.. Here is the same exact van, year, color, options, AWD, with DOUBLE the miles..

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/f87826cb-6b94-4463-bc0f-d50654aef1e1/?aff=atempest&CMP=atempest&utm_source=AutoTempest&utm_medium=TRP&utm_campaign=atempest

Its selling for 9000 thru a dealer

 

[Mooseman]

There's hardly any left here. I used to have a 2008 SV6. They and their variants used to be everwhere, not so much anymore. Pretty much all rusted away.

 

[TollKeeper]

The oddity about the rust you mentioned is that the Saturn, and Pontiac variants were more prone to rust than the Buick and Chevy Counterparts. The Saturn and Pontiac had plastic cladding on the lower doors, and rockers, which retained water, dirt, debris, salt, etc. The Buicks and Chevys didnt have that.

Anyways..

2 weeks ago, I got the emissions done, and it passed with extreme flying colors. I was a bit shocked, as the plugs are still OEM, and at that point, I still had not done the oil change or transmission filter. The emissions certifier didnt believe the numbers either, and crawled under the van to make sure no modifications were done. He was surprised when he saw a completely stock exhaust, fuel system, and emissions system.

1 week ago, I did the oil and filter, transmission oil and filter. No noticeable difference in the way it drives. I am going to drive it for 2-3 years, and let the dealer do the plugs and wires.

Got the rebuilt from salvage inspection done this morning. Passed with flying colors. The Colorado State Patrolman was a bit miffed that the drivers front door still had the VIN from the donor junkyard van. Not much I can really do about it, and nothing he could do, or say, about it either.

Went to the DMV to get a new title, and plates.

She is officially road worthy, and legal, although I have been driving it the past month, and about 1400 miles. She drives wonderfully, although a bit under powered. My Aztek with the 3400 engine has the same drivetrain, but has FR9 3.29 gears, where the Saturn has a 3500 engine, and FR3 3.69 gears. The Aztek has more pep in its step.. The Saturn, not so much. She does get better gas mileage, 18 mpg.

I cant say I enjoy driving it thou, I also dont enjoy driving the Aztek. But they arent for me, they are for the wife.

She will start driving it full time tomorrow, and I get my Envoy back..

I also get to start trying to fix the Aztek. I am hoping the fuel filter is clogged. But I am thinking a have a bad injector or fuel pump.

And if that wasnt bad enough, I still have to figure out the high speed vibration on the Envoy. I think the rear driveshaft needs to be balanced, or the rear end needs to be rebuilt... Leaning towards the rear end rebuild. Which means sending it to a shop. I have no way to check thrust, or drive in or out the pinion bushing.

I also need to take the Saturn to the body shop tomorrow to get the estimate from the tire shop damage.

 

[TollKeeper]

Took the Saturn for a drive into the mountains Friday. Fully loaded, 2 adults, 4 kids, 2 dogs, groceries, toys, and a bunch of other stuff.

Saturn didnt even pay no mind to it.

Friday morning, took the Saturn to 3 body shops. All said they wont touch it, parts are no longer available, and if they did write an estimate, it would be 9000, which is over the 70% cap for totaling a vehicle out.

 

[TollKeeper]

Have had a rough couple weeks... Going to disown 2 of my 3 brothers as a result..

Took the Saturn into the mountains again, Even more loaded than last time, 2 adults, 4 kids, 2 dogs, groceries, luggage, etc. Again, it performed better than imagined, and expected.

Got it to a body shop on Friday that was actually willing to write an estimate..
Got the estimate today.. $16869.32 !!!!!!!!!!

All because some asshat doesnt know how to jack up a van.

I cant see their insurance company authorizing that repair... As parts are no longer available, and that estimate included buying a donor van for the needed parts.

Then you have to include a rental car on top of that. I would imagine it would take a month, or more, to get the work done.

I just dont see them doing it. If they want to.. I may consider doing it, depending on what the wifey wants to do.

 

[Sparky]

Would be funny if in the end they cut you a $17k check...

Sorry about the family stuff. I haven't gone through that, but I have seen glimpses of that sort of thing and it is awful even as an outsider.

 

[Mooseman]

Probably the insurance will total it and pay out the value of it. You could also buy it back, probably for the scrap value. I did that for my wife's CR-V when it got scratches on the passenger door and window from a wind storm. Found a same colour complete door for $100 and we were good to go. I could have kept rolling with it as-is but found the door cheap.

At least you'd get some sort of compensation for it.

 

[christo829]

The garage should be stuck with replacing or repairing their screwup, regardless, but that's just my sense of outrage talking. Maybe you can pursuade the insurance to get you another Saturn and you keep the damaged one for parts. Just don't take it back to that shop...or maybe *do*, because they'd be extra careful? I know...wishful thinking... Hope it gets resolved well enough in your favor!