Driver's Side Window of Car Stopped Working

debodun said:
Diagnosis on car window - bad regulator. Bad news - the car dealership didn't have the part needed - they have to order it and it will take several days. I have to go back next week. I hope the weather holds up. Bottom line to fix including "diagnostics" - $460.
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I'm surprised a mechanic didn't cover the window somehow, like with clear plastic....or, did they raise it and fix it in place until it's repaired?
 

Itā€™s not just the labour that costs so much, itā€™s the parts too. My husband fixes both our car and suv and heā€™ shops around for vehicle parts. Mazda wanted $1048 for a taillight part and he bought the exact same part at Amazon for $143. He bought actuators for $70 where Mazda wanted $370.

Car dealerships jack up prices at an outrageous percentage and going to the companies that make them sounds like the smartest move but they are ALWAYS the ones who will charge the most.

You donā€™t need a warranty for a replacement window part.
 
They also indicated I had a bad battery. I didn't ask them to test it, but they said it was "complementary". They said that last year, so I took it to where I bought it and had them test it and they said it was fine. It got me through the winter and if there's a bad battery, that wouldn't be likely. It seems to me the dealership garage is always looking for more things to fix than are asked for.

battery.jpg
 
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debodun said:
Diagnosis on car window - bad regulator. Bad news - the car dealership didn't have the part needed - they have to order it and it will take several days. I have to go back next week. I hope the weather holds up. Bottom line to fix including "diagnostics" - $460.
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You can order it yourself, probably. RockAuto

Then hire a guy not at the dealership to install it. The guy over at Mike's Auto Repair. It's a mechanical part, not a computerized part. It's old-fashioned mechanics.

I don't know if you have a 4-cylinder or not, but I just looked up the regulator. $28 to $75 for the part.
2002 HONDA CIVIC 1.7L L4 Window Regulator | RockAuto
 
Why not treat yourself to a lovely new car deb? You have the money, and you deserve showering yourself with gifts.
 
I'm so used to my old car, where everything is, what it does and it still gets me from here to there and back. A new car had a lot of bells an whistles I'm paying for and wouldn't even use. Besides, if I get enough parts replaced, I'll have a new car. And what if I get another retinal detachment? I'll be legally blind and unable to drive, then I've spent all they money on a car I can't use.
 
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debodun said:
Tell me more.
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We know cables were loose and out of place.

Did he electrically reconnect the cables or were they just off their moorings perhaps interfering w the glass itself?

Or did he just observe the loose cables then conclude the replacement parts were an easy sale taking advantage?

Did he test the motor or regulator before concluding new parts were required?

I could see a motor or regulator going bad after 20+ years, but the "thunk" was the window dropping down not a motor failure, which may produce the smell of burning wire or struggling to get the window up.

When the window is actuated now does it go part way up and then drop back down?
 

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