My 1998 2.4L Malibu needs a water pump. My regular mechanic tells me special tools are needed to do the job and he told me to take it to a chevy dealer. My experience with dealerships is that they charge exhorbitant prices for repairs, especially those that “only the dealer can fix.” My plan was to replace the water pump and then sell the car. However, considering the age of the car and the likelihood that this repair is going to be very costly, I’m wondering if I should just sell the car “as is” for a reduced price instead of having it repaired first.
Selling “as is” is an option, get a quote from two GM dealers. Then call some other independent mechanics to see if they will quote the job too.
Your mechanic may have had a tough time with the job for a previous customer and doesn’t want to go through that again. It doesn’t mean all independent mechanics would pass on the job.
Once you have the quotes then you can decide to fix or sell as is.
It doesn’t require special tools to replace the water pump on your engine. But it does require the removal of the exhaust manifold and the timing chain cover. The water pump is driven by the timing chain. So this repair isn’t going to cheap no matter where it’s taken.
Tester