RUMBLE BEE 1546
Active LVC Member
I just recently started actually using my 98 Mark 8 that my mother gave me to use as a commuter car so I'm not driving my 10 mpg truck haha. The car was just sitting around and was used occasionally but not too often. Since it's now mine and I can't stand having it in the condition it is in. It is a shame for such a nice car.
Just a history on the car as far as I know. It was bought from the original owner who treated it like crap which we didn't know since it was shipped from TX. Long story but my dad got screwed with the buying the car but here it is and it had 63k miles. When we went to pick it up it didn't run and back and forth with the owner it ended up at the dealer and $500 in repair it was running. Some of the trim was missing or broken inside and the mats were trashed with stains. The bumper had what looked like acid dripped across the top maybe from putting something in the trunk and the drivers side had scuffs on it. It also was previously in a front end collision so the hood doesn't line up all of the way.
About 6 months after ownership my mother was out and she called and said the car wouldn't come out of park. She was able to get it home by putting it in gear with the car off and then starting it. It ended up that the rear tail light fuse burned and it had no tail lights. After replacing the fuse, the center section of the tail light didn't work and was later told by a dealership that the center light was bad (don't know what he meant) and would never work again. I however don't believe that it is useless now. It worked when before the issue so it has to work somehow.
So the things I would like to fix:
1- There is a serious pull to the left whenever I brake and is really bad at high speeds. I have to correct with steering into the pull. I took it in because I thought it was a brake issue but was told the brakes look fine and they weren't the cause. This was a while ago so I don't recall but I believe they replaced a tie rod? Could be way wrong there. Whatever they did it helped and was almost perfect but over time the pull has gotten worse and is obviously a safety issue. Along with this the wheels won't return to straight after making a turn as any other vehicle would. Instead of letting the wheel slide throught my hands I have to physically turn the wheel to straighten out.
2- The tail light still isn't working. I posted on here previously and was told the hinge on the trunk commonly is a point where the wires break. I looked there and 2 wires were completely disconnected (the looked cut if I remember correctly). I soldered them back together and added some extra wire to give them room to move if needed but still no go. I have an extra complete tail light with the black box and swapped out the black box and no go. My only other thought is to swap tail lights but the trim is different.
3- The parking break won't release when the car is put into gear as it previously did. The manual lever must be used and i only set it when I am not on a level surface because of this. I don't know where to start with this one. I don't want to wear out the manual lever. It doesn't feel very durable.
4- Theres some fog lights under the big grill behind the lower portion of the bumper and I am wondering if this is common and if there is any way to see if they work. I may just have to jack up the car and get under there to look at what is going. on there.
5- There is a rattling coming from a something that hits the exhaust just behind the rear axel. I can't figure out what the bar is for that is rattling agains it but I will try and take a picture tomorrow and maybe there is something simple to fix it.
6- Is there a problem with removing the phone from the center console or is it straight forward?
7- There is some trim missing from inside such as the door for the ash tray and some of the covers for the window button. Can the window covers be replaced or does the whole button need to be replace? I am thinking about going to a local pic and pull to get some parts for this car.
8- Is there a good brand of mats to get or should I just get some oem ones.
I have checked fuses and nothing is bad there as well.
I just really want to get this car to as best of condition as possible since it is such a nice looking car with so few miles on it (67k now). I plan on getting the windows tinted soon too. Thank you for the help here.
Just a history on the car as far as I know. It was bought from the original owner who treated it like crap which we didn't know since it was shipped from TX. Long story but my dad got screwed with the buying the car but here it is and it had 63k miles. When we went to pick it up it didn't run and back and forth with the owner it ended up at the dealer and $500 in repair it was running. Some of the trim was missing or broken inside and the mats were trashed with stains. The bumper had what looked like acid dripped across the top maybe from putting something in the trunk and the drivers side had scuffs on it. It also was previously in a front end collision so the hood doesn't line up all of the way.
About 6 months after ownership my mother was out and she called and said the car wouldn't come out of park. She was able to get it home by putting it in gear with the car off and then starting it. It ended up that the rear tail light fuse burned and it had no tail lights. After replacing the fuse, the center section of the tail light didn't work and was later told by a dealership that the center light was bad (don't know what he meant) and would never work again. I however don't believe that it is useless now. It worked when before the issue so it has to work somehow.
So the things I would like to fix:
1- There is a serious pull to the left whenever I brake and is really bad at high speeds. I have to correct with steering into the pull. I took it in because I thought it was a brake issue but was told the brakes look fine and they weren't the cause. This was a while ago so I don't recall but I believe they replaced a tie rod? Could be way wrong there. Whatever they did it helped and was almost perfect but over time the pull has gotten worse and is obviously a safety issue. Along with this the wheels won't return to straight after making a turn as any other vehicle would. Instead of letting the wheel slide throught my hands I have to physically turn the wheel to straighten out.
2- The tail light still isn't working. I posted on here previously and was told the hinge on the trunk commonly is a point where the wires break. I looked there and 2 wires were completely disconnected (the looked cut if I remember correctly). I soldered them back together and added some extra wire to give them room to move if needed but still no go. I have an extra complete tail light with the black box and swapped out the black box and no go. My only other thought is to swap tail lights but the trim is different.
3- The parking break won't release when the car is put into gear as it previously did. The manual lever must be used and i only set it when I am not on a level surface because of this. I don't know where to start with this one. I don't want to wear out the manual lever. It doesn't feel very durable.
4- Theres some fog lights under the big grill behind the lower portion of the bumper and I am wondering if this is common and if there is any way to see if they work. I may just have to jack up the car and get under there to look at what is going. on there.
5- There is a rattling coming from a something that hits the exhaust just behind the rear axel. I can't figure out what the bar is for that is rattling agains it but I will try and take a picture tomorrow and maybe there is something simple to fix it.
6- Is there a problem with removing the phone from the center console or is it straight forward?
7- There is some trim missing from inside such as the door for the ash tray and some of the covers for the window button. Can the window covers be replaced or does the whole button need to be replace? I am thinking about going to a local pic and pull to get some parts for this car.
8- Is there a good brand of mats to get or should I just get some oem ones.
I have checked fuses and nothing is bad there as well.
I just really want to get this car to as best of condition as possible since it is such a nice looking car with so few miles on it (67k now). I plan on getting the windows tinted soon too. Thank you for the help here.
