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OT: Car repair advice

S_Janowski

S_Janowski

Heisman Winner
Gold Member
May 24, 2009
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Marlton, NJ
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
 
S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
 
S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
The only similar situation I was in was when my Mazda 626's transmission failed about thirty years ago. I opted in to trade in without repair. I think that was the right decision -- that I wouldn't have recovered the cost of repair. Indeed, the new car dealer gave me a trade-in price and then came back later after he realized the transmission problem -- the hit I took was only half the cost of repair.

You are correct that a CC should last much longer than 80K, and that there is something else wrong with the car.

Your post is very helpful to me. We will need to buy new cars in the next couple of years, and I will know to avoid Hyundai.
 
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I drive a similar vehicle in a 2018 Kia Sportage, so I’m all ears on this one. Pls give us updates.
 
S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
My advice is #2. That's a big investment to make to simply trade it in. If you could find aftermarket or used part and get it done for less and then private sell I'd consider that. I highly doubt a dealer will give you the 2500-3500 more just because.
 
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S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...

It looks like it’s worth between $15-$18k on Edmunds. If it’s not drivable, I’d be surprised if you could unload it for $10k, so it depends what your time, effort and aggravation is worth to you.

My guess is this value is around $2,500 ($15,000 - $2,500 - $10,000).

Would you pay someone $2,500 to expedite the process of getting a new car so you don’t have to deal with it? If not, then look at it like paying yourself and it will suck slightly less.
 
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Trade it in w/o fixing first. The dealership won't give two shits about what's wrong with it because they'll just dump to an auction for small local dealers. Given what's wrong (major), they may even give you more than it's worth because they won't check that.

Then try not to get screwed on the price of your replacement, but either way you'll come out ahead psychologically being rid of it.

If they do lowball you on the trade, at least get a good price on the replacement.

Do not pay to fix then trade in. You won't recoup that cost.
 
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S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
Just an quick example..
 
According to what shape your Hyundai Tucson is should be how you
decide 1 or 2
What the market value selling it privately is makes repairing CC a go or no.
Trade in to dealer probably should be as is , usually get low balled anyway and might not get full repair price back

Selling privately after putting after market CC might cover the repair cost, but check how much 2018 Hyundai Tucson are going for in your area before repairing CC. It might not be worth fixing if value of Tucson not very high
An as is private sale might work best , if you can wait a bit before selling and have a vehicle to use while waiting
 
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An obvious expensive needed repair is going to hurt trade in it resale value by the same amount or more in reluctance. Might as well fix it and keep looking
 
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rutgersal said:
This advice is probably the best. 38 mpg with the 1.5L Turbo. Mom’s car has been flawless after 46K miles.
Click to expand...
This is a totally off-topic question. The Honda dealer in my area has a reputation as very high-pressure. I could buy a Honda from another dealer. But wouldn't I have to use the dealer I buy from for service? The nearby dealer, after all, might be unenthusiastic about servicing a car bought recently from another dealer.
 
retired711 said:
This is a totally off-topic question. The Honda dealer in my area has a reputation as very high-pressure. I could buy a Honda from another dealer. But wouldn't I have to use the dealer I buy from for service? The nearby dealer, after all, might be unenthusiastic about servicing a car bought recently from another dealer.
Click to expand...
No , they would love to service your car. They make lots of money on service
 
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retired711 said:
This is a totally off-topic question. The Honda dealer in my area has a reputation as very high-pressure. I could buy a Honda from another dealer. But wouldn't I have to use the dealer I buy from for service? The nearby dealer, after all, might be unenthusiastic about servicing a car bought recently from another dealer.
Click to expand...
No, not at all. Your local dealer will be more than happy to service your car, since they make more money from servicing.

You can buy via Costco if you don’t like to haggle. We got a good deal from Honda of Princeton from Immanuel Reyes. Don’t know if he’s still there.
 
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retired711 said:
This is a totally off-topic question. The Honda dealer in my area has a reputation as very high-pressure. I could buy a Honda from another dealer. But wouldn't I have to use the dealer I buy from for service? The nearby dealer, after all, might be unenthusiastic about servicing a car bought recently from another dealer.
Click to expand...

Service?

That's not something you do with an Accord 😋

Seriously, though, it's business for him; why should he car? And you might have gone to the other dealer for any number of reasons ...color or options you wanted, shopping around, better price ...
 
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S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
Just do some googling..assume base model 70k miles.

Your trade in value is between 10-12k
Your private party is 11 -13k
The avg cost to replace is around $1500 ( dealer quotes are a rip off at best) .. it's a secure , cut, and install job.

Spending $1500 to 2000 to just get that back and hope for the best seems inefficient at best.

My 2 cents.
 
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Junk yard CAT is the way to go but probably none available if you can't get an aftermarket one
 
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mdk01 said:
I'm not a car guy, but is there any possibility CC was damaged in attempted theft? A lot of that going on with Hyundai's
Click to expand...

Funny you ask this.

My neighborhood actually had a few stolen a couple months ago. I woke up to a sawing sound at 5am and my neighbors CC (parked about 50 feet from mine) was stolen.

I did ask the Dealership if there was any sign of theft on my CC and they said there wasn’t….but I guess it’s a possibility there was an attempted theft on it which damaged it but if they were using a saw I think damage would be pretty obvious.
 
S_Janowski said:
First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)
Click to expand...
I don't know where you live or work. But if you're anywhere near Bucks County Pa, take the car to these guys and they'll fix the exhaust much cheaper. They charged me less than $300 to replace the cat on my Caddy.

https://lowcostexhaust.com/

By the way, years ago we had a Wrangler that has a similar problem. It would just bog down and kind of choke as if it wasn't getting any air. Turned out it was a known issue where the filter or whatever you want to call it that's inside the thing would crumble and choke off the air flow.
 
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czxqa said:
I don't know where you live or work. But if you're anywhere near Bucks County Pa, take the car to these guys and they'll fix the exhaust much cheaper. They charged me less than $300 to replace the cat on my Caddy.

https://lowcostexhaust.com/

By the way, years ago we had a Wrangler that has a similar problem. It would just bog down and kind of choke as if it wasn't getting any air. Turned out it was a known issue where the filter or whatever you want to call it that's inside the thing would crumble and choke off the air flow.
Click to expand...

Nice I’ll give them a call. I’m in South Jersey so not that far.
 
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RUinPinehurst said:
Call area auto salvage yards and see if they have a used CC. If so, buy it, get it installed, then sell the car.
Click to expand...
Or he could just steal one from some other shitty Hyundai and put it in himself - it's not hard - and then he'll get much closer to full sale value. :>)
 
S_Janowski said:
Funny you ask this.

My neighborhood actually had a few stolen a couple months ago. I woke up to a sawing sound at 5am and my neighbors CC (parked about 50 feet from mine) was stolen.

I did ask the Dealership if there was any sign of theft on my CC and they said there wasn’t….but I guess it’s a possibility there was an attempted theft on it which damaged it but if they were using a saw I think damage would be pretty obvious.
Click to expand...
Ironically enough you would have been better off had they stolen it - I just had my CC stolen a few weeks ago off my Honda CRV, and insurance covered the whole thing minus the deductible.

My initial opinion on your situation is that I try not to put good money after bad money if I don't have to. Cut your losses and just trade it in as is and hope the dealer just dumps it immediately without even checking it. Anyway that's just my 2 cents and could be totally wrong in this instance.

Good luck!
 
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As you already understand, it's time to get rid of the Tucson. The only question is whether it's more economical to replace the cat and quickly sell or simply trade-it-in "as is." It doesn't take an experienced mechanic (and, I'm not a mechanic) to tell you that it's time to cut your losses. Something caused the cat to fail and while it could relate to the CC, itself (or an attempted theft, etc.), there's obviously high probability of another, far more costly, cause. If you think your Tucson is worthless with an exhaust issue, wait until you throw a rod and blow the engine. Not worth the risk. Attempt to get accurate estimates for the value of each a working and dead 2018 Tucson. Once in hand, dump the vehicle, ASAP.

Unless you're savvy with cars and/or know a qualified mechanic willing to work with you on the cheap, a dealership trade-in is likely inevitable. In the old days, you could deal with mechanical problems by going to a salvage yard and buying used parts if you could install them yourself or knew a mechanic who would work with you to do the work. Here, even if you were an ace mechanic, I doubt that you could find a CC at a salvage yard. As suggested by others, I don't believe that they're even available for sale. In the absence of such cost-cutting measures, you're at the mercy of a garage, if you can even find an old school, independent repair shop. If not, you're limited to unreliable franchises like Midas, Mavis, etc. or unaffordable dealerships.

If it were my Tucson and the vehicle was drivable, I'd simply take it to a dealership, say nothing and see what's offered for trade-in. If you're ridiculously lucky, they might not fully appreciate the problem. But, assuming the problem is obvious, the value of the vehicle will be central to your negotiations. Unless you're a truly skilled negotiator, you should first negotiate the financing or lease for your new vehicle before swallowing the bitter pill of the low value of your trade-in, otherwise expect an amazingly generous offer for your shitty trade in exchange for paying top-dollar for the new vehicle.

For what it's worth, if the Tucson is in such bad shape that it's not even drivable, I would first call dealerships to explain the situation and attempt to get a guarantee for a minimum offer, sight-unseen, before absorbing the cost of having the vehicle towed for their inspection. Don't add insult to injury by having a wrecker take your vehicle to a dealership only to be told that they're not interested in a trade or are only willing to cough-up $500, etc. Remember, you've been dealt a bad hand, here. You shouldn't anticipate any favors.

Sorry for your situation. My advice, quickly address it and move-on. Regrettably, I've spent a good deal of time in my life dealing with these sort of concerns--even when I truly couldn't afford the consequences; even when I assumed that I was past such concerns; even when they only became my responsibility to help others. The faster you take care of the problem, the better you'll feel. In the end, it's only a car. There are far more worthwhile things worthy of your time and attention. Good luck.
 
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