Should I give up on my 92 PA?

[92Majic]

I bought my 92 PA on january 1st 2004 and it seemed like an awesome car but now i'm thinking it might just need to be given up on.It started off that the previous owner lost the second set of keys that had the clicker on it. so i only have one set of keys and it would cost like 100.00 to get a ignition key and more for a clicker.
About one week after buying the car the Trunk stopped pulling down the auto arm. So the trunk stays open about one inch all the way around and peopl are alway telling me "your trunk is open" Then the ABS light came on shortly after that.About a month after having the car the alarm would go off everytime i opened the car doors. but when i would set the alarm it wouldnt go off. I noticed that after driving the car for a while that the door buttons would stop working. The doors wouldnt unlock, the seats wouldnt move, and the mirrors wouldnt move. But the windows worked fine. The next thing was when it would rain, when i would take turns mainly left turns, water would come out of the roof control panel( the thingy that has all the light gages on it)When i would drive i noticed that my car idles in 10. which i thought was strange. And when i put my car into park and leave it running the rpms jumps up and the oil gage jumps and the car stalls out. I was going to work one rainy morning and i had the wipers on and it started geting darker so i turned on the headlights. When i was going to make a right turn and i turned on my signal, the car just shut off completely! i tried starting the car with no result. I shut off everything in the car and the dash board started grinding and i thought i was going to blow up. It turned out to be the battery cells had infused and i needed a new battery.About 3 weeks ago i was out shopping and on the way home my car started smoking and stinking i pulled over checked the fluids the coolant seemed fine i let the car cool down and i checked the radiator and it was empty. I put in water and antifreeze but it all just poured out onto the ground. Took the car back to the house and had someone check the radiator. radiator was fine but the upper intake hose to the engine was broken off at the connection and all the fluid was pouring out onto the engine. I had AAA tow my car to the shop to have that fixed. but as they were putting it up on the truck, the chain snagged the trans line and now it's leaking trans. Now i just spent 190.00 to fix the radiator hoses. and i have to worry about fixing the leak in the trans and what happens? When i go 55 in my car it starts shaking and the service engine light comes on. AND if The temp gets over 100, the service engine light comes on the coolant low light comes on and the change oil. No needless to say if i drive on the highway, my dashboard lights up like a christmas tree. Most recently i tried using my cruise control and nothing happens. I'm wondering if i should Bother putting In the time, effort and money into restoring my PA.

Any suggestions?

[tman]

sell if for whatever you can get, and buy a newer (94-96) park ave, for around 3000

[parkavenuechrome]

send us some pics... might be worth selling.. My saab was broken into tonight and totally destroyed. i have to work around the clock tommarow to get my saab back in order to get my PA off the road for the winter.

[public]

Burn baby Burn.....

[deadring]

that is sad parkavenuechrome....

stupid crooks eh?..hmh

deadring

[pirho451]

1. Go to an independant locksmith and get another ignition key made. The last one I had made was $20.
2. The problem with the trunk is a common one. They sell rebuild kits on eBay all the time. OR you can get one from a salvage yard, though they don't always work.
3. Just ignore the ABS light. The brakes work fine otherwise, right? You could even just remove the bulb from the dashboard if you wanted to. The ABS systems are a pain to fix in these cars.
4. No idea what to tell you about the alarm.
5. Check this thread out about the problem you're having with your power accessories. I have the same problem as the guy who posted this: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=299114
6. Does your car have a sunroof? If so that's probably where that leak is coming from. If not, it's probably the seal on your windshield. Does your auto insurance cover glass? If so, you might be able to get them to pay to replace the seal. I was able to get that done on my mom's car, free of charge to us.
7. "Car idles in 10". Do you mean it's idling at ~1000 RPM? That is high, but nothing to worry about *too* much by itself.
8. Car stalling out... probably tied to A. your high idle speed, which is probably caused by B. whatever is triggering that service engine soon light.
9. $190 for radiator hoses?!?!?!?! Please tell me they did other work to your car too... that's ridiculously high just to replace a couple of hoses.
10. If the tow truck driver damaged your car, then he is responsible for the cost of repair. I hope you brought it to their attention when it happened. I would call the towing company and demand they pay for that repair.
11. I would DEFINITELY check your ECM and find out what is causing that Service Engine Soon light to come on. Most likely whatever is causing the car to shake is also causing that light to come on. Do you know how to check for those trouble codes? If not, I've posted a link in the past on how to do that, but the website escapes me right now.
12. The more I read about your problems, it looks like you *might* have a bad body control module (BCM), or at least a bad ground.
13. The cruise control can be any number of problems, but I'd get the other stuff fixed first.

I would heartily recommend getting a repair manual for this car. The Chilton's manual for that model year is fairly good, though a factory manual is the best you can get. I'd stay away from the Haynes manual for this one car though.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

In my opinion, fix it! You didn't say how many miles are on it, but I'm reasonably sure that you won't be able to buy another car for what it would cost to repair this one.

[fudgecar]

I'll tell you what. You need to send your car story to Reader's Digest. They're always looking for good, hard to believe stories. And who knows, they might even send you a little something for it.

[fudgecar]

Originally Posted by pirho451

1. Go to an independant locksmith and get another ignition key made. The last one I had made was $20.
2. The problem with the trunk is a common one. They sell rebuild kits on eBay all the time. OR you can get one from a salvage yard, though they don't always work.
3. Just ignore the ABS light. The brakes work fine otherwise, right? You could even just remove the bulb from the dashboard if you wanted to. The ABS systems are a pain to fix in these cars.
4. No idea what to tell you about the alarm.
5. Check this thread out about the problem you're having with your power accessories. I have the same problem as the guy who posted this: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=299114
6. Does your car have a sunroof? If so that's probably where that leak is coming from. If not, it's probably the seal on your windshield. Does your auto insurance cover glass? If so, you might be able to get them to pay to replace the seal. I was able to get that done on my mom's car, free of charge to us.
7. "Car idles in 10". Do you mean it's idling at ~1000 RPM? That is high, but nothing to worry about *too* much by itself.
8. Car stalling out... probably tied to A. your high idle speed, which is probably caused by B. whatever is triggering that service engine soon light.
9. $190 for radiator hoses?!?!?!?! Please tell me they did other work to your car too... that's ridiculously high just to replace a couple of hoses.
10. If the tow truck driver damaged your car, then he is responsible for the cost of repair. I hope you brought it to their attention when it happened. I would call the towing company and demand they pay for that repair.
11. I would DEFINITELY check your ECM and find out what is causing that Service Engine Soon light to come on. Most likely whatever is causing the car to shake is also causing that light to come on. Do you know how to check for those trouble codes? If not, I've posted a link in the past on how to do that, but the website escapes me right now.
12. The more I read about your problems, it looks like you *might* have a bad body control module (BCM), or at least a bad ground.
13. The cruise control can be any number of problems, but I'd get the other stuff fixed first.

I would heartily recommend getting a repair manual for this car. The Chilton's manual for that model year is fairly good, though a factory manual is the best you can get. I'd stay away from the Haynes manual for this one car though.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

In my opinion, fix it! You didn't say how many miles are on it, but I'm reasonably sure that you won't be able to buy another car for what it would cost to repair this one.

Say, you sure know your stuff.

[Loekee75]

Do everything pirho451 said to do and keep the car! I don't want to be the only 92' owner on here who tolerates his car's problems!

[crys36]

Oh-My-God-As my mom and fiance' love to say. I own a 92PA with 225K on it. It had 165K on it when I bought it . I owned a 91 with 155K or so when it met its demise a block from my hotel when I was going to Saratoga for the summer horse racing meet. If U look up anything I posted you'll see what I mean. My 92 worked great the first month, then the front winsheild just cracked, the auto trunk closer which is made of plastic must have gotten water in it ( leaky trunk) during the cold put the trunk down and the thing exploded, then a metal delivery truck backs over the front of the hood right over the passenger headlight putting so much pressure on her that it dented the metal causing the headlight assembly to just pop, the windows-locks-power seats all play the who's gonna work today game (except the driver window). The light panel on the roof looks like a Christmas tree at any given time then tells me all is well after awhile. Needs struts. Went through 2 water pumps so far and its makin that noise again which means change it before the nose breaks off and I lose the belt with it.Thats all I can remember so far. The car was mint when I bought it now i just use it til she's gonna fly apart but she won't. The guy I got it from was so meticulous withit. In the garage every night,oil changed at 3K on the dot, any dent or malfunction was fixed ASAP. SHE WAS A HANGER QUEEN. Did'nt know what it was to live outside in the cold . I've seen em before. The other night I'm driving home in the rain going to go down my entrance ramp when a SUV of somekind pops out of the gas station right there and boffs my passenger quarter. He takes off. Do I care ?? NO.Just add it to the list. I'll get me another 1 maybe slightly newer when she finally dies. The motor and trans are as strong as an ox-the rest well . Alot of older folks have these cars and baby them till its time for them to get a new car. Always garaged and in mint cond. The prices are rediculously low. What dad comes home with his sons/daughter first new car being a LeSabre Or a PA. I'm 45 and I love my PA's no matter what. Roomy,drives nice,comfort and the 3.8 engine in some of the years you just can't kill. Built a manual trunk mechanism with the U shaped locking piece and some homemde brackets. Guess what the trunk don't kleak 1 bit now. The radio , lighter, my window still work. I'll keep her till she tells me not 2. I have a 2000 Jeep that I'm working on now and the PA is my own traveling garage. No-one rides in the car except for me and my daughter. There is no other room left.Plus I'm a paper slob.You are not alone my friend but mine always breaks in the driveway, in frontof a gas station, or a friends house-so I'd call that reliable if not just being nice.

[CVMòóse]

the ABS light is a problem trust me if u live in a snowy climet u will want to get that fixed chances ar that on of the wireing harnes for thefront whells is shot
also check the rocker panels they tend to rust out fairly quikly
my final advice is to check the condition of the powerstering cooler and the rear air ride struts


P.S. u bought a lemon

[CVMòóse]

the ABS light is a problem trust me if u live in a snowy climet u will want to get that fixed chances ar that on of the wireing harnes for thefront whells is shot
also check the rocker panels they tend to rust out fairly quikly
my final advice is to check the condition of the powerstering cooler and the rear air ride struts


P.S. u bought a lemon

[animekenji]

The option I would have chosen isn't in the poll but I would look around for another car and if you have the space, hang onto the old one and strip it for parts as required to keep the new one running or sell some of the odds and ends from the old car on ebay to help finance the buying of the new car. Even though some of the techie types here have given some good advice, the car does seem to need a lot more work than it is worth. Why spend thousands of dollars to bring this one back from the dead when you can probably get a clean, low mileage car for not much more than you would spend to fix the one you already have?

I've been down that road many times, where you have a choice of dumping a bunch of time and money into your old car to keep it running and legal to drive, or just giving up on the old and going for something newer. It is a hard decision to make and you are the only one who can make it.