for something like a bed salter there’s not as much ofa risk. make sure it is wired and fused properly.

semantics, leave post space for people needing help with actual problems

id look for a 2nd opinion. sometimes you can get by with replacing an outside solenoid or even a solenoid close to transmission filter. ofc dealerships/shady shops will tell you you need a whole ass tranny because there is more money in that than replacing a 200usd solenoid in nearly under an hour. there are ways to test the outside solenoids for electrical resistance and smooth operation.

I am a bit emotional because I don’t have a person who’s good with cars to look at it for me.

hey believe in yourself. an easy enough DIY check is buying a UV dye test kit from amazon for 30usd and seeing exactly where the leak is coming from. ask around, usually in a handful of friends/family members theres at least one a little more comfortable with car stuff. you mgiht need to jack it up and get underneath to see exactly where its leaking from if you don’t see much from the top view.

you’ll foul up your plugs and potentially sensors too depending on how bad the leak is, a really bad leak can fumble up your cat then you’re looking at another 1k there. some guys will run distilled water because it burns cleaner but then you have an increased corrosion/rust kind of risk. gotta do what you gotta do though. gotta keep on keepin on

everything is hunky dorey until you get sued in small claims court. shops with a reputation and a business license have some kind of records to fall back on. a very litigious person can really swindle you out of a years earnings for losing a receipt, even if they sabotaged their own vehicle after your repair. sad world

if you’re trying to buy a six-figure car and still hitting up anonymous internet forums for free advice you probably have bigger problems on the backburner. look inward brother, there’s a world in there too.

yeah, if you’re still living in one of the free states you can get the EPA compliant one over the C.A.R.B compliant one, its less expensive

its kind of a jimmy fix if you’re suffering from a clogged catalytic converter. afterwards though your 2nd O2 sensor will give off bad readings and wonk out your air/fuel ratio. how badly depends on how the ECU is programmed to compensate.

is the rest of your car orange? thats your car subframe. if its bare booty orange then there is no corrosion spray on that part of the frame and it could get chipped off on your next 200miles. if you’re southwest just duct tape that b up, otherwise replace the liner

plastic wheel liner, they can be purchased for sub 75usd from a dealership in pairs. an easy enough DIY repair but you can ignore it altogehter if you live in a state that dosen’t salt the roads. the kick from salt can rust out the frame near the wheels, thats why they get installed there

sometimes those cheaper 25usd used tires can be jimmy’d up patch jobs from returns or thrown away tires. a sidewall tear like that can be patched up with a dremel kind of tool + patch/rubber cement but it won’t hold forever. looks like the patch finally gave out here but they are pretty low on tread anyway

if you live in a state that offers direct tailpipe emissions testing you can glean a good amount of info from the results report by way of CarbonMonoxide output vs Hydrocarbon output, that sort of thing. Posting the results on here, with your personal info removed ofc, could help yield some better info. a free DIY kind of compression check can give you some indication on the wear of your piston rings, maybe you are burning oil. burning oil after pulling away from an intersection can mean bad valve seals

the ball joint on that car bolts in. it is in the realm of DIYability with basic hand tools for about 100 in parts. The axle will take some more doing but sometimes shops will recommend replacing that after just observing a torn boot on the CV joint. does it make any noise at speed or during turns? you might have some years left on it

it is a reasonable fear. for peace of mind check out hydraulic press channels testing of jack stands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjmXQNhKCks reputable jack stands will hold a good deal past their stated rating. the car is more likely to roll backwards and fall onto you than the jack stands failing but thats why you pull the Ebrake and chock the wheels. like barney said it is a good idea to hump test the four corners with a good amount of force to make sure the stands are secure.

the dash light kind of checks are common enough, you could have a kind of battery parasitic draw dropping the battery low enough to make the ECU think that you haven’t started up in awhile. after a short test dricve you can take the car to a local autoozone/orielys, if it dosent spring an immediate code you might be good to go

naw she’ll be alright. be a gentleman and throw a spare on, test drive it and see what all sounds funky. prob fine tho