From reading what you had posted, they helped out to fix problems that it sounds like they (not particulalrly caused but) contributed to. Dealerships are no better than a GOOD independant repair shop. We have had vehicles referred to us FROM dealership service departments. We have access to the same repair information that dealerships use, and can buy (if needed) the same tools. There is no excuse for a shop not being as good as dealer level for basic problems such as you said you were having. Chances are pretty good that over the next couple years you will not have any problems and not be inconvenienced by being without your car, now. I'm not going to argue that you have a bit of piece of mind in that, I'm just saying that in the end it might not have been the cheapest solution, and the monetary difference would be able to be applied to whatever you buy in a couple years. I'm not say that it was a bad idea, or wrong choice, just showing you another side to things, and I really don't think your old car was as bad off as it seemed. Just my view on things.