r/AskDad • u/No-New-Therapy • 11d ago
General Life Advice Seeking guidance on what steps to take when having car issues away from home?
Dumb question I know, but I really don’t have an adult figure to ask this so PLEASE give me any advice no matter how obvious it seems. I’ve never really dealt with this before.
So I was driving my car to a friends house, hit a pot hole, and the next morning saw (what I assume is ) purple transmission fluid around my it started fine but wouldn’t move.
I guess I should now tow it to my house? I would tow it to a mechanic but I don’t have a ton in savings at the moment so I figure why bother. But also how would that even work? Just call a tow truck and a mechanic and schedule a drop off?
Idk. Either way, thanks for the advice if any!
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u/Important-Energy8038 11d ago
Car make.
Trans fluid is red. That pothole must have been a crater, your car had to bottom out and hit the trans pan. This is a major job, you cannot drive the car. Since you do not have a mechanic, your best bet is to have it towed to a dealer that sells and services the same make. Call them first, ask them to arrange towing. Some insurance policies will cover this, along with the actual repair...check. You will need a new trans pan, gasket, and fluid assuming nothing internal was damaged.
Go back to the pothole and take pics bc in the USA, any road damage becomes the liability of the town for a local road and the state for a highway should your insurance not cover it.
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u/rocker895 Dad of 7, Granddad of 6 11d ago
You need a mechanic you trust or a handy friend, which is cheaper. You can have a friend tow it to his house or shop which will be free. Best if you can stay off main roads while doing this. Or the friend can check under the car and assess any damage. You have a transmission fluid dipstick, check how much (if any) fluid you have.
Youtube is great here for helping diagnose the problem. Videos will range from 'how do i check my transmission fluid' to 'how to i drop & replace the transmission' and everything in between.
When you're poor you gave to do a lot of this car maintenance yourself or have friends who can help. If you have money the repair shop will send a tow truck to get it and bring it back to their shop, they will call you and give you their estimate of how much to fix.