Hi all,

My Saturn SW2 station wagon was stolen, but I got it back,
but the ignition was totally removed.

When I got it to the mechanic, I was told that not only do I
have to replace the ignition, but the whole steering
column.  The vinyl covering of the steering column
had been taken apart, it;s true, but the mechanic
said that when they do this, you have to replace
the whole column,  and that the gears had been broken.

I don't know what gears he meant.  I had to get help to get
the car started with a screwdriver, but after that it drove
just fine.  The mechanic did not even look at the steering
column, at its mechanical condition, I mean.  He just saw
that the covering had been pried apart and pronounced
that the  whole column had to be replaced.  I tend to think
he could have looked at it a little more carefully before making
that judgement.

My b/f has been to this place before, and considers them good,
(although he does't know much about car repair), but on the
expensive side.

The guy is charging us $475.00 for a re-built steering column!
He also proclaimed that a new one from the dealer would cost $1500.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tracy