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23 Sep 2008 Life skills worth having: Car mechanics
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Boy I've had a very expensive week.
My car (Nissan Primera) has had a loose exhaust for nearly half a year now (or it had a hole in it, I have no idea to be honest). I didn't get it fixed immediately because I couldn't afford to and it wasn't greatly affecting my driving performance, so I thought I'd put of off for a while. Well that off-putting attitude finally caught up with me. Two weekends ago my car pretty much packed up. It wouldn't accelerate when you put your foot down on the accelerator, it actually decelerated.
So I took it to a Nissan garage, they told me there were various problems with the exhaust system, they fixed it, and then raped me for £570. It did sting and pretty much means I won't be able to afford to do anything fun for a month, but at least the car got fixed and it felt like it did when I first got the car. So all is well.
Actually no, all is not well.
A few days of driving later the "Malfunction Indicator" warning light turn on in my car. I despise the Malfunction Indicator light. It doesn't tell you anything except to take the vehicle to a Nissan garage. It pretty much says that in the car manual, word for word. So I took it back to the same Nissan garage and asked them to take alook at my car again to see if they'd missed anything.
Later that same afternoon I get a phonecall from the garage and they inform me that the exhaust catalyst part has to be replaced (or something like that). And that it'll cost me £590 to replace.
...
So I've just spent under £1,100 getting my car operational again.... I'm still pissed off about it as I write this entry.
...
If anyone tells me that I could have bought a car with that money I will slap them.
But I'm not writing here just to vent out. Here's a few tips for life that I feel the urge to speak out to everyone to try and avoid my pain.
- If you spot that there is something wrong with your car don't put off getting it repaired. The sooner it's done, the cheaper it may be.
- If you can avoid it, don't immediate give the garage the go-ahead to fix your vehicle. Ask around for a better quote.
- Befriend a mechanic. That way they'll be able to fix your car cheaper and give you a more honest opinion. Even if you have to do them a favour yourself.
- Learn some car mechanic skills. Even the basic skills would save you money and heart ache as you do it yourself.
- While your at it, encourage your children to learn car mechanic skills. They'll thank you in the long run.
Now please excuse me while I go fume for a bit.
Posted at: 18:00 PM
Your Thoughts
VIXX said on Wednesday 24th of September 2008 at 08:32:32 AM
Wow - timely entry. Driving home last night started to hear a v low, bizarre rumble from beneath my car. Think it's something to do with my brakes. The performance seems okay, but I'm off to drop it to the garage tomorrow. (Thankfully, I both know and trust them!)
Poor you, though. £1k outlay like that hurts like a motherfucker.
V xx
DEB said on Thursday 25th of September 2008 at 01:48:28 PM
You're absolutely right---if you can learn more about the mechanics of your car, the better, or just befriend a mechanic is even best advice given! Being a woman, I sometimes find myself getting the highest prices. :( RAZII JINX said on Sunday 28th of September 2008 at 04:07:05 PM
Hey long time no see!
And damn right you are! To this day I know they raped me when they gave me the quote to fix my car, my last car anyway, I wish I had known what I knew now. But I guess that is why they call it experience,
Now I just need to see what's up with my new car. If I turn on the AC, there is a weird rumbling/whining noise, and the wheel becomes hard to turn! All I know is, that it's not my power steering because I topped that sucker off already.
Anyway man, sorry to hear that. But it's best you at least went and got it fixed. It's worse when it just breaks down, and then costs more to fix it. Lates!
Suzie said on Tuesday 7th of October 2008 at 09:58:44 PM
Another tip is: Don't go to a dealership - they ALWAYS rape you and have probably the worst reputation!!! Go somewhere were everyone is actually a qualified mechanic (not the big dealers) and preferably somewhere you can trust the mechanic. The VW garage attempted to charge me almost £300 for a service!!! Fooooook that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Robbin Bastards.
Boris (Lvl.70 Car Mechanic) said on Tuesday 21st of October 2008 at 04:27:18 AM
HAHA PWNED YOU NOOB