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2000 Toyota Corolla - Total Loss?
I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla LE that has over 156,000 miles on it. A few months ago it started having oil leaks that where so bad that when I finally realized what was happening the engine made a loud clicking noise because it was completely out of oil. I took it to a mechanic shop that changed the oil pan. My car drove fine for months after that until recently when I took it to get an oil change at a Firestone. Firestone would not do the oil change because they found the car was again almost out of oil.
My family suggested that I take my car to a family friend that supposedly was a mechanic and knew how to fix my car. He said that the engine had to be cleaned out from it running without oil and some gaskets and seals needed to be replaced. He said it would cost $1000 to do the whole job since the engine had to be taken to a machine shop as well.
When I went to pick up my car when the "mechanic" said it was fixed, I noticed a strange swishing sound coming from the side of the engine. The guy told me that this was the tensioner belt and that it needed to be replaced. Then he pointed out that there was a leak from the power steering from the oil "bulb" and that also had to be replaced soon but the car was good to go.
When I got on the highway going back home the check engine light came on and then the car started stalling. I called the mechanic and he told me to take the car back to him. He said it was probably gunk still stuck in the engine block from me running the car without oil and that he would open the engine again and correct. A few days later the guy calls me back to tell me that he needed to get a Toyota mechanic involved because he did not know why the car was having problems. He said that a valve was messed up and some electrical component that he could not figure out. My grandfather called him to let him know that he should not charge me for anything that broke in the engine since he was putting it together and told me initially what was wrong.
After that two weeks passed and mechanic would not answer my calls. My grandfather got in touch with him again and the mechanic said the car would be ready in a few days. I just had AAA pick up my car from the mechanics house since I knew that the car had not been fixed. When I got my car back yesterday, I turned it on and the tensioner sound was still there. We looked under the hood and saw a fast leak that seemed to be coming from the engine in the back. When I turned on the air conditioner the check engine light came back on. I called the mechanic again but all I keep hearing is lie after lie of what is fine and not fine with my car. He refuses to give me my money back.
I feel so stupid for taking my car to some idiot instead of a real mechanic and shop because I thought it would be cheaper to fix with a family friend. Now the car is worse than when I sent it to him. My car never stalled / check engine light never turned on/ the tensioner did not make that noise and any leak was not as bad as the one it has now.
What can possibly be wrong with my car now and what should my next step be?
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