martym77

97 sable, 61800 miles (original, i think, bought used from carmax): very strong shaking of steering wheel when applying brakes medium to hard pressure. highpitched squeeling in back right. some shaking of steering wheel at 45+ mph. tires, lugnuts good shape; no fluid leaks that I can see. i am guessing i need to replace transaxle joints and a complete brake job...what am I missing here? Can you help me please? is any of this a shade tree mechanic fix? thanks

Johnny Mullet

The only way to truly know is to remove the wheels and do a brake inspection.

99SableGS

Did you buy the MaxCare agreement?

Mine more than paid for itself after purchasing our Sable with 64k in 2004 at CarMax. The agreement was about $1400, and they spent about 2 grand making repairs 7k miles later.

I'll go ahead and give you a rundown of things you might expect that failed on my car around that time.

64,546k - Car sold to CarMax by Previous Owner
Oil Change, Adj. Brakes Turn Rotors, change transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and Air Filter.

71,730k - Warranty Repair(s)
Concern: Power Seering Making noise, and is full.
Cause: P/S pump not pumping and full of fluid. Rack and Pinion leaking bad from end seals, both boots full of fluid.
Correction: Replace

Concern: Care Care Check
Cause: Lower Ball Joints and Stabilizer Links worn and boots deteiorated.
Correction - Replace

Concern: Rear Window does not work.
Cause: Failed LR window Motor
Correction: Replace

Concern: Check for brake fluid leak.
Cause: Failed Master Cylinder leaking from left and right wheel cylinder. Right wheel cyl. stuck.
Correction: Replace wheel cylinders, Master cylinder and bleed entire brake system.

Cost: $1914.50
My Cost: $50.00

That's what I call a warrantee!

I really like the CarMax Service department, I've been using them on the Mercedes I just got from there, and their prices are excellent, currently I'm using a ford dealer for my Sable, but I think I'm gonna go back to CarMax just becuase everyone there is so honest and helpful. Plus, the prices are really decent!

Good luck

__________________
Current Cars:
1996 Honda Accord LX I4 - EX Alloy Wheels, Alpine iPod/MP3 CD Player, Security System, Gold Trim Kit. - 106k
1999 Mercury Sable GS - Alloys, Wood Trim Kit, floor mats. More to come! - 78k
2004 Volvo S40 - Sport/Convience/Luxury Pkg. - 105k