I'm Not a car person so I need help.

[killergamer]

I have found a car I really like but there are a few things that need to be fixed on it and the person gave me a list of the problems. This will be my first car.
Here is what is wrong:
1. Needs a ball joint on passenger side.
2. Anti sway bar link's need to be replaced she says that it has them just there not good.
3. Windshield has a crack (I can get that done for cheap)
4. The fan or switch or fuse is bad on the fan in the dash.
5. There is a hole some where in the exhaust.

I would like to know how bad those would be to replace? Also if you kinda give me a hint on how much it would cost I can give you the link to the listing. HERE (http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/ctd/856894079.html)

+rep to any one that can help me figure some of this stuff out

[Luke122]

I'm sure you could get those repairs for less than $1500 around here, I'm not sure what rates are like where you are. For $900, that's not a bad looking car though.. do you have any friends (or family) who are mechanically inclined? Have them check it out to make sure.

[TheGreatSatan]

Depending on the exhaust hole size you may be able to have it patched with sheet metal and a torch. I think the sway bars are least a $100 each to replace

[mittelmeier]

I'm an ASE certified technician so I can give you some ideas. I haven't worked on many Hyundais but cars are built similar so the procedure should be about the same. The ball joint should take a garage 1-2 hours to change, the sway bar links are about another 45 minutes of labor, the fan depends on if it's a fuse or a switch or what, and the exhaust depends on where the hole is and what part needs replaced of repaired.

The ball joint would be best to let a garage do because you really should use a ball joint press and they are around $50-100. The sway bar links you can do yourself if you are mechanically inclined. It will either be a long bolt with some bushings or a rod with a bolt and busing on one side with a tie rod end on the other. Does the fan work on any speed? If the answer is no chances are it's not a fuse or resistor as the fan uses a different fuse and resistor for the high setting on almost all vehicles. If the fan needs replaces that may get pricey, you'd have to call a garage for an actual quote because I haven't changed one on them and they could be simple or hard. The hole in the exhaust should be simple enough, I would recommend replacing the piece of exhaust with the hole simply because if it's rusty enough to have one hole, another one will most likely soon follow. If you get the car my best advice would be to find an independent garage that some of the people around you recommend and try to avoid dealerships as the labor rates are a lot higher than independent shops. Don't be afraid to get estimates form a few places either. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions or need something I said cleared up let me know.


Edit;
Here is a link to Autozone with the sway bar link and the ball joint.
http://www.autozone.com/UseCase,O001/UserAction,viewShoppingList/getInTheZone.htm

[Omega]

Sway Bars shouldn't be hard to do. they usually link up to the suspension arm out near the wheels on both sides (it connects both sides to help with body sway, hence "sway bar"). On my dad's Porsche and on a lot of other cars I've seen it's pretty simple. It's just this bar that runs across to each wheel and on the suspension arm there should be a little ball that the sway bar end will click in to. In some cases all you need to do is jack up the car, take off the wheel, reconnect the sway bar, bolt the wheel back on and take the jack out.

the only real thing I can think of that's wrong with the sway bar linkage is the bushing or the ball. hopefully it's the ball because that's just an unbolt it, put a new one in kinda job. if it's the bushing on the bar, that'd probably be harder to replace and if you could find a new or lightly used sway bar for cheap, that's what I'd do.