QuestionI have stored my car in the garage with a shut off switch for the battery since I only drive it a few times a year. I have not driven this vehicle for several months after I had to have a smog certificate for renewal. The car passed but I was told there was alot of oil leakage underneath the car in the back end. This was supposedly cleaned up and corrected, but I am writing to you because the car doesn't even start now. I tried jumper cables and had no luck. I think it is the alternator or starter? Plus it is still leaking from the lower rear end. Could you recommend someone other than a service gas station or chev dealer?
AnswerSince I have no idea where you live, I cannot help you with a recommendation.
I suggest you go to
http://www.cartalk.com/ct/mechx/find.jsp
Plug in your zip code, and look through the list of recommended mechanics. Don't just pick the closest one to your zip code, look for the one with the most recommendations.
You may or may not have a leakage problem - if you didn't notice a large grease puddle under the rear of your car, it probably isn't worth worrying about - you may have been hustled by the guy who told you about it.
The failure to start will require someone with experience to evaluate the situation - I can't guess at what it might be without testing it myself.
My advice is DO NOT start replacing parts - alternators and starters are expensive, and you are engaging in an Easter-Egg hunt hoping to hit on the problem. The problem could be in your ignition switch on the steering column, for instance, or it could be a failed fusible link, or a corroded bulkhead connector, or any one of a hundred other possiblities - you won't find it by changing parts, in fact doing that often obscures the real cause of the problem, besides wasting hundreds of dollars.
Get a competent mechanic to diagnose the car for you, even if you have to have it towed to his shop, but check out the shop first by using the above web sites. If you have the car towed, be sure to specify a "Flatbed" tow - your car should not be towed by lifting one end like a dead cat!
You can also check on Angie's List for a recommendation in your area - if you find a shop that is recommended by both sites, you're in pretty good hands.
If you do happen to be in the Temecula California area, post a follow up question to me, and I WILL be able to recommmend a very good and honest shop to you.
As a person named "Tina", with a valuable collector car, you are a sitting duck for any shop with a little larceny in their blood - as I'm sure you know, so be careful out there!
Dick
