Multiple Cavalier problems-estimate of cost??

Hi,

I'm a newbie and I had a question about fixing a 93 Cavalier I originally bought for my daughter. We purchased this for only $500 because it had been in an accident and was dented up, but it drove wonderfully--great acceleration, no problems with it whatsoever at first. This car ran as well as my 94 Saturn that I was paying $250 a month on at the time!!

Anyway, it started having problems with starting once the engine got warm. This problem kept getting worse until the only time it would start was when the car had not run for hours (such as all night). My daughter's boyfriend thought it was the fuel filter and he changed that, but then the gas line leading to the tank kept popping off so he duct taped it to high hell.

Next thing I remember is that it would start for a while, but then it would die and not re-start. We pushed it home many times. He then felt it was the fuel pump and he and his friend tried to replace this. I think they had put it in, but the gas tank is still hanging there and they never finished the job because the gas tank needed to be "re-pressurized" and the sensor needed to be fixed because the tank now shows that it is full with no gas at all in the tank.

Don't know whatever happened to the other guy, but my daughter's boyfriend got sick of fixing it and the last time I drove this car was about a year and a half ago.

The last time he actually "worked" on it, he said it wouldn't start because it needed a new alternator now and when we lost our house, one of my daughter's friends had it towed and the wheels were locked from the car sitting so long. I don't even want to venture what else may be wrong with it now.

I kept asking him if he was sure he could fix it and he swore he was and now I have a car that is probably worth more than I paid for it (or at least it WAS) that I still want to get fixed because it was a great car and if I sell it now, I probably wouldn't even get $500 out of it. Everyone is telling me to junk it or sell it to them for cheap but I can't find anyone willing to fix it for me and now the neighbor wants it moved because a small part of the car is on his mom's property...

My daughter's former boyfriend is now out of the picture because she got sick of his nonstop lies and he refuses to do anything else for her because she won't be friends with him anymore (i.e. she won't sleep with him)...and now there is probably an additional several hundred dollars worth of repair that needs to be done that I wouldn't have had to mess with if I would have just had it fixed at a garage.

Any advice or suggestions would be extremely helpful so I can get this car up and running again and if you live in Des Moines and have some knowledge of how to fix things like this, I'd be willing to pay for the repair--after the car is working of course--I've gotten screwed too many times in the past to pay up front!!! :banghead:

Thanks!!
Stephanie :disappoin

Well It seems that for starters i would ge tthe gas tank back in place with the fuel pump in and it sounds like the calipers are locked up on the car it seems the alternator is not working properly and i would also consider putting a new battery in also.change the oil. tranny fluids flush the radiator new plugs and wires. and then i would drain the gas if it has been sitting awhile and fill it up. and if still do start then u will need to make sure you have spark at your plugs, confirm your fule pump is pumping. i would also make sure you injectors are clean and not clogged