I got my car around one and half years back, and its not given me any major problems since then. The only maintenance I gave her was the regular oil-changes. [Car Details: 1990 Honda Accord LX Sedan 4D, 142K milage 4-Cyl. 2.2 Liter , Automatic Transmission] (1) Few months back the alternator went bad, and I had it replaced from Autozone. I am fairly a new driver and I dont know much about car details. The autozone people first tricked me into changing the battery and eventually i had to change the alternator too. It all cost me around 150$. (2) Thereafter, after a couple of months the car wouldnt start when I tried starting it after it had a quite day in the garage. It seemed the battery got drained out or something, though I didnt feel so 2 days before.. when I last drove it. So I got it jump-started and took it to FireStone. They said, the alternator I got from Autozone was faulty and that they would have to change that. That alone cost me 377$!! I had no option since I work from 8 to 5, this is my only car and I didnt want to bother my friends. So all in all, though getting the alternator changed is a very common and a trivial problem it did cost me a lot: (1) around 550$ (2) the feeling that it is very easy for any mechanic to fool me (3) A recently developed sense of distrust towards my car (I dont like that!), though it was not at all her fault in all what happened. My questions: - What precautions do I need to take to avoid any potential problem with my car? I am taking her to a mechanic this weekend, to get her Engine, Transmission, Suspension etc checked. (I hardly know any of these terms in detail, but I got the information from kbb). I'll also have my car tuned up (change spark plugs and all that). Do I need to give her any other periodic maintenance? - Are there any good (honest) mechanics around Birmingham (AL). Incase so, could somebody please give me their contact information? - Is there anything I can do to not let mechanics fool me any further (besides learning from my own mistakes) ? Incase there r some easy-to-learn tutorials about the common car problems please let me know. - How bad is getting the time belt changed? I think that might be one thing I need to do eventually. Please let me know if that has any potential after-effects (such as leaks) and if its a very delicate job (something that i should get done only from a talented mechanic) - And my last question, how many times have i been fooled by mechanics?? (Autozone/Firestone/or Both :( Thanks a lot for ur time!!
