I have an 02 Cavalier (4 door) with a lot of problems. Only 54,000 miles, but here we go. Everything bad happened at once. Exhaust system has been bad on my car for awhile, and I recently was hearing it clunk so I got it checked out. Before I was able to, a couple of days ago I noticed my brakes were going (which sucks because my Dad replaced them 15-20k miles ago and I had purchased good ones). So, I take it to the GM dealership to have it diagnosed. I was having steering issues too which started maybe a week after the clunking in the exhaust. What I was told was this:

Bad oxygen sensor (I knew this, it's not essential to me at the moment and I can do this myself cheap)
2 bad tired - They aren't completely shot, not really concerned with this at the moment.
2 bad hub bearings in the front tires. I know nothing of this, but I don't think the parts are too costly.
Bad brakes and rotors.
Loose and corroded exhaust system.
Bad catalytic converter which I knew because I failed inspection for it.



Estimate is over $2,000. Here's the situation. My Dad is a Diesel mechanic and can fix cars, but given his age and the cold *** weather here in New Jersey, I cannot put all this on him. What I can do is this. I can pay $300 for new brakes and rotors at a shop and I am fine with this, it's essential anyway and is normal. My dad can fix the hub bearings and I believe the parts are cheap on that as well. I don't care about the oxygen sensor right now or the tires, I can do those in a month or two. The problem is the exhaust system and I believe that is where the huge bill is coming from. I haven't told my Dad yet, I don't know how big of a job this is but the entire thing is loose and corroded. Towards the front there's mesh stuff hanging, I have no idea what it is but that's an issue and the guy was saying something about it. I know catalytic converts are bad but realistically do I HAVE to get that fixed at the moment? It's bad for the environment, I get it. My car might not run as efficiently, I get it. However, it's not completely essential at the moment is it? I can afford to replace that as well. My question I guess is how much would parts cost of an overhaul of the exhaust system, and how much are hub bearing assemblys? How big of a job is this? If the parts are $500 and $300 for me to get brakes and rotors done at a shop, I can live with this. The car is worth fixing for $800. The guy told me not to fix it, it's not worth it. For over $2,000 for them to do it, I might agree here. But to get it road worthy now for a reasonable price and then replace the tired in 5,000 miles and consider the sensor and converter I would be fine with. The guy thinks when they work on the exhaust system more problems are going to occur because it's in that bad of shape. If the job is hard to do I don't want to put my Dad through that, even though he would do it. However, for $1,000 to get everything done aside from the catalytic converter I would do right now and can pay for it right now. Please give me some advice here. The mechanic told me to trade it in somewhere and get a new car. I could do that but I don't know how much I'd get for my car right now. I'm not in the best financial situation until work picks up sometime around March either, but I could pull it off depending on what the payment was and what my car insurance would go up to (I'm under my parents at the moment, I pay like $1200 a year and obviously to finance a car under my name the insurance would go up a good amount). Any advice is appreciated, I am sorry if I forgot anything.

 

I usually do my homework when it comes to buying parts, often I end up at rockauto.com. They have reasonable pricing and they do not start spamming your mailbox after you order something (I'm an IT professional and hate spam).
If you already failed emission test you may be forced to have it done by some shop, you have chosen not to reveal your location, check your country/state laws and regulations.

 

Check the nj state laws. If you dont mind traveling I can help you get your car up to spec, I live right over the tacony bridge.

 

Thanks for the replies. I got a second opinion from another guy. I bought brakes and rotors and will be doing that this week, and am taking the car someone to have the exhaust done. I've decided to let the tires go as they have tread left and a few people I asked all agreed as well. The guy that took a look at my car said it's completely driveable right now but I need the struts and plates done eventually. I didn't even think about it but it makes sense. I did the bounce test and the car goes up and down multiple times. That explains the noise as well when I hit bumps and the car bottoms out. I'll report back with updates and if I need any help. The exhaust is in bad shape, but I am fine for inspection for a while. I am going to have the one part of it replaced for now because it is corroded and not sturdy.