Step 1: Take your vehicle in to your authorized dealership for it's 5th recall. (yes, 5th)
Step 2: When they ask you if you would like their free overall inspection, say yes.
Step 3: They will call you up when the car is done, and tell you aaaaaalllll the tiny things that need to be fixed "right away" on you car. Then, they will give you some crazy, confusing quote of how much each thing is going to cost you.
Step 4: Tell them you will have to call them back after you call around to get price quotes.
Step 5: Call your trusted car place and get a quote from somebody who doesn't work on commission.
Step 6: Feel all warm and fuzzy about spending 1k on your car.
Done!
Yes, I am one of those Americans who is dependent on my vehicle. I hate to be too cold. I don't like sweating profusely. If the weather were just perfect (50/60 and sunny), I would totally ride my bike everywhere. But it's not, so I don't.
I own a VW Passat. His name is Vinny. I like him. It's cozy, has a little get up, and looks nice. The maintenance has been a pain, though. VW uses "special" parts, requires the pricey gas, and not everyone can work on them. And don't get me started on all the recalls. Though, we have been fortunate enough not to have problems with the recalls, until Sunday, when we were driving to church. They had sent me all the notices and paper work, I was just too lazy to take it in. Our closest dealership is 30 minutes away, and that's driving on the [expensive] toll road. It was just not something I felt like doing. So, I waited until our maintenance light came on to remind me. When we dropped it off this morning, they asked if I wanted the free inspection. If it's free, it's for me! Later, they called up and told me all the things "wrong" with Vinny. I think the price tag came to about $1,846.00....probably plus tax. Suddenly, feeling very poor, I called up my usual car place and they gave me a quote of $1,052.57 (including tax) IF all those things really needed to be done. It's weird how I feel so good about spending that much money.
I'm sure it will hit me when I hand over the money.
2 comments:
Sometimes I miss Linus. However I don't miss him when I think of all the maintenance costs.
ew. car stuff is pricey. we dropped close to that on our car this summer for things that we knew needed to be done. unfortunately we havent really found an all around "trusted" place yet. so I mostly try to convince mike that he could do it because we did invest in the $20 car manual for just that purpose. we just cross our fingers that our car can hold out for between semesters (and that the car still works once he's done with it).
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