***UPDATE
Thanks David.
As an update...as mentioned above, we pulled the vehicle immediately away from the dealership based on their price quote. Seemed suspicious, so took it to the "family mechanic". He spent some time with it, confirmed the blown motor and quoted a much lower price...but couldn't get to it right away. Had it towed to a mechanic in the next county with a very good reputation...he kept it overnight, gave it a look and drew the same conclusion. He called me later and said he'd never seen such a thing... Rod was thrown, block was damaged (irreparably) and the crank was broken. Had a friend of mine, who is a GM/Cadillac mechanic, go by and stick his head under the hood on his way through town on vacation. He called and said, "oh man...what a mess". He is the 4th mechanic to concur with the diagnosis and the "treatment". He located a low-mileage used engine that has been compression tested and comes with a decent warranty. Seemed the best option given the vehicle's age and the likelihood that we'll trade it in the near future...
Cost savings is around 50% from the original dealer quote. Still a chunk of change, but not as bad as originally painted.
Michael, what a awful situation for you/yours, time to regroup. First, I don't see what year your SUV is, and definitely the dealer is absurd in their pricing. This requires major work, don't know if your equipped to tackle this type of repair or not.
Depending on the value of your ride, a major cost of this kind sometimes will put you upside down in your investment. Whatever the cost is, you will never recapture the added expense when it's time to pass this vehicle on to someone else. I was born/raised in TN. and there has to be someone who would tackle this job for you @ a fair price, @ least that's my gut feeling. Depending where you live, maybe I could give you a starting place. JMHO and good luck to you/yours.
David g................
Thanks David.
As an update...as mentioned above, we pulled the vehicle immediately away from the dealership based on their price quote. Seemed suspicious, so took it to the "family mechanic". He spent some time with it, confirmed the blown motor and quoted a much lower price...but couldn't get to it right away. Had it towed to a mechanic in the next county with a very good reputation...he kept it overnight, gave it a look and drew the same conclusion. He called me later and said he'd never seen such a thing... Rod was thrown, block was damaged (irreparably) and the crank was broken. Had a friend of mine, who is a GM/Cadillac mechanic, go by and stick his head under the hood on his way through town on vacation. He called and said, "oh man...what a mess". He is the 4th mechanic to concur with the diagnosis and the "treatment". He located a low-mileage used engine that has been compression tested and comes with a decent warranty. Seemed the best option given the vehicle's age and the likelihood that we'll trade it in the near future...
Cost savings is around 50% from the original dealer quote. Still a chunk of change, but not as bad as originally painted.
