Phenomenon
I’ve only had my car 3 years. I managed to get through grad school telling myself it was an expense I could live without. Subconsciously, I was probably enamored with the fact that no one ever asked me to be the designated driver, but that might have been the case even if I had had a car.
Since buying my 9 year old car with 32,000 miles on it three years ago, the Colonel has been in the shop four times. The first time was because some dipshit made an illegal left turn which left his car parked in the Colonel’s way. The dipshit got arrested for disorderly conduct while his piece of shit ride got towed away. The Colonel and I limped home, and dipshit’s insurance company paid for 70% of the repair work so this vehicle phenomenon didn’t really show up that time.
Every time since then, there’s this thing that happens. For the life of me I can’t decide if it’s good luck or bad. So here are two examples. First, Last December I needed new brake rotors. Mine were rusted out. So I dropped the Colonel off at the shop. Two hours later I get a call “Mr. Sylow, uh your battery is completely dead.”
“Excuse me? I just drove my car to your shop.”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to recharge it but it’s not taking a charge.”
So I go in for new brakes and end up with a new battery too. There seems to always be this extra thing that needs fixin, urgently. Was I lucky that the mechanic left my ignition key on and killed my battery? Better for it to happen there than somewhere else, right?
So a couple weeks ago the wife and I took a drive to the Mustard Museum, because we’re secretly very boring. It was the first time the Colonel had driven any further than across town in over a year. On the way back we got to the stoplight two blocks from home and all of the sudden I’ve got no acceleration. I floored it, and we still couldn’t go above 5 mph.
My brother, the mechanical engineer, said I just needed to get my transmission fluid flushed. It works out well. He calls me when his computer randomly malfunctions, and I call him when my car does the same. That longer than normal trip in the car had sufficiently heated my transmission fluid to expose the fact that it didn’t get flushed at 30,000 miles as directed.
So I waited a couple weeks to get it done, so it’d be on the next credit card billing cycle. Saturday I got in the car to take it in, and guess what? The battery was so dead that no amount jumping (not to mention cursing) was going to get that thing started. Roadside Rescue towed it to the nearest dealer, which is not where I got the original battery.
In addition to my transmission fluid flush, they gave me a shiny new alternator, well, I assume it’s shiny, I didn’t actually look at it. This of course has nothing to do with the transmission fluid but everything to do with a dead battery in December. Then I took it back in this morning so they could determine that somehow this whole fiasco blew a fuse to the radio, which they replaced for FREE. Thanks, guys.
Add to the bill that the dealership finally figured out why the power windows wouldn’t work (this inability was the reason why the brakes and battery were found elsewhere in December), $700 when all I wanted was a $100 transmission fluid thing.
Every time I plan to fix one thing, something else falls apart at the same time. Good fortune, or bad luck? You decide.
Since buying my 9 year old car with 32,000 miles on it three years ago, the Colonel has been in the shop four times. The first time was because some dipshit made an illegal left turn which left his car parked in the Colonel’s way. The dipshit got arrested for disorderly conduct while his piece of shit ride got towed away. The Colonel and I limped home, and dipshit’s insurance company paid for 70% of the repair work so this vehicle phenomenon didn’t really show up that time.
Every time since then, there’s this thing that happens. For the life of me I can’t decide if it’s good luck or bad. So here are two examples. First, Last December I needed new brake rotors. Mine were rusted out. So I dropped the Colonel off at the shop. Two hours later I get a call “Mr. Sylow, uh your battery is completely dead.”
“Excuse me? I just drove my car to your shop.”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to recharge it but it’s not taking a charge.”
So I go in for new brakes and end up with a new battery too. There seems to always be this extra thing that needs fixin, urgently. Was I lucky that the mechanic left my ignition key on and killed my battery? Better for it to happen there than somewhere else, right?
So a couple weeks ago the wife and I took a drive to the Mustard Museum, because we’re secretly very boring. It was the first time the Colonel had driven any further than across town in over a year. On the way back we got to the stoplight two blocks from home and all of the sudden I’ve got no acceleration. I floored it, and we still couldn’t go above 5 mph.
My brother, the mechanical engineer, said I just needed to get my transmission fluid flushed. It works out well. He calls me when his computer randomly malfunctions, and I call him when my car does the same. That longer than normal trip in the car had sufficiently heated my transmission fluid to expose the fact that it didn’t get flushed at 30,000 miles as directed.
So I waited a couple weeks to get it done, so it’d be on the next credit card billing cycle. Saturday I got in the car to take it in, and guess what? The battery was so dead that no amount jumping (not to mention cursing) was going to get that thing started. Roadside Rescue towed it to the nearest dealer, which is not where I got the original battery.
In addition to my transmission fluid flush, they gave me a shiny new alternator, well, I assume it’s shiny, I didn’t actually look at it. This of course has nothing to do with the transmission fluid but everything to do with a dead battery in December. Then I took it back in this morning so they could determine that somehow this whole fiasco blew a fuse to the radio, which they replaced for FREE. Thanks, guys.
Add to the bill that the dealership finally figured out why the power windows wouldn’t work (this inability was the reason why the brakes and battery were found elsewhere in December), $700 when all I wanted was a $100 transmission fluid thing.
Every time I plan to fix one thing, something else falls apart at the same time. Good fortune, or bad luck? You decide.
posted by Sylow_P | 11:11 AM
8 Comments:
I don't know...I think a lot of what happens when those commercial garage doors shut, is not for our eyes to see.
I think they tinker and are negligent.
Unless you know them well and they run for local office, like my car guy - who knows that if my car doesn't go he doesn't get my vote.
I think that you must be thinking negative thoughts about your car - they're sensitive and can pick up on these things. If you think "jeez, I hope this damn car makes it to (insert destination here) today", it probably won't. Or it'll store up all this negativity until its at the shop, and then the doors will fall off.
This has happened to me. Fortunately, I had duct tape. That door wasn't going anywhere. Course I had to get in Duke's of Hazzard style.
My best piece of crap car moment was when the front brake rotors froze in the "Stop the damn car this damn instant" position as I was going through an intersection - rust on the brake lines had allowed water into the brake fluid, which rusted the calipers, which finally froze open. As I was driving. Damn car.
Granted, there is some general distrust of mechanics, but not my car. I named it for crying out loud (actually, SB helped me name it during a 5,000 mile trip across the country).
I'm happy you were not killed when the brakes froze up. Must be those underpants superpowers that saved you.
MB, you have a public offical who works on your car?
I tried, but a slimey/greasy polititian joke just isn't coming to mind.
the only one I can come up with is:
Why do politicians like to do auto-repair in their spare time? So that when they leave a trail of grease when they walk around, they can blame it on the car.
Yes, I made that up. Yes, I realize it isn't funny.
Sylow - the Underpants Superpowers indeed saved my life, however I must admit that I very nearly had to give my Rocketship Underpants a good washing after I came to the screetching stop in that intersection.
Sylow, you think car repair is bad, you should try your hand at home repair. Why do you think Sparkle and I had simultaneous nervous breakdowns this spring? Now we're about to have our back yard re-landscaped. We have a definite budget, but it'll probably cost us twice that. It's a good thing it's a small town-house-sized back yard... we'd have to move into the poor house.
Maybe you should start charging those tennents under the back deck some rent instead of kicking them out.
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