Son of a bitch, what a day.
Little things first, been planning for a while to cut my hair (see profile picture and profile comment) to shorter than I've ever had it in my life (which is still not all that short, but for me it's a big jump). Except I've worked up the nerve to go to the place twice now... only to find they were closed for the day. Argh. I know it's not that big a deal, but when you've had long hair for 10 years it's sort of A Thing when you decide to cut it all off- I just want it to be done.
Now the big thing- Friday as I was driving over to Jiffy Lube for my standard oil change, my car's transmission fucked up on me. This wasn't a huge surprise, I'd felt the harsh gear shifts first thing in the morning for a little while and was planning to have them check that out while I was there. This time, however, the check engine light popped on and the gear shift was harsher than ever. I made it to the place and they took a look, decided they couldn't fix it there, did my oil change and sent me on my way.
Before I left, however, a fella there told me he'd worked on transmissions from 1985-2003 and that more than likely all I needed was a flush. He told me that, if I took it to a place who tried to charge me a few hundred bucks to fix it, I should talk to him again and he'd recommend a place for me.
I kept this in mind and took it over to Right Honda. They told me they'd get back to me with the diagnosis on the following day. They did, about 8:30am on Saturday, to tell me that I needed a new transmission.
They said that as a gesture of goodwill, Honda was going to supply parts. However, it'd still be $800 labor.
I have that money, but I'd really, really rather not spend it. Additionally, I happen to be aware that my car is 6 years old with less than 60,000 miles on it. It's an automatic. Why the fuck would I need a new transmission? It's not as though I stop the car by shifting into reverse and applying gas.
Fortunately, I have a hook-up. My best friend for the last 12 years happens to be the son of a very influential person in a company that has a great deal of sway with a number of dealerships. So, as much as I hate asking for favors, I did. Phone calls were made and I picked up my car today (paying the $140 for the rental, which I wanted to return on Saturday but ended up keeping through the weekend because I couldn't get a hold of anyone at the place to say that I was taking my car back... until they were closed), drove it over to the other dealership (a good 20 miles, my car made the trip just fine after some initial protests) and left it there.
Last time I used them, they saved me $2000. I'd been told that I needed a new compressor for my air conditioning. Turned out my compressor needed a tube. No charge.
Anyway, got a new rental, started to drive back to my place when I realized that I left my garage door remote in the other rental. Fuck. So I drove over to that dealership again and approached the car rental desk.
There was a customer already there waiting. She and I waited over 20 minutes for someone to show up and help us. Then, of course, this individual was someone completely different from the person who accepted the car I returned not an hour earlier. He didn't know what happened to the car I returned, it wasn't in the parking lot. My garage door opener is essentially gone. He did, however, offer me a replacement opener which I could just program. Fair enough, I said.
At this point, I've been here about a half hour. He makes a phone call and tells me it'll be brought over in about 10 minutes. I say thanks and have a seat.
45 minutes later without Word One, I decided to leave. I still, so I thought, needed to get my hair cut and I had a number of other things to do. That place had eaten about three hours and $150, that was enough. Fuck it, I'd pay the $20 to buy a new remote and just never go back there.
So I wandered around Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Can't find a compatible remote.
Now I'm back home. I surrender, world. You win. I'll stay home.
I apologize for the length and self-indulgence.
If you LIKE my self-indulgence but not the subject matter, visit my blog at:
http://eyebrowascendant.blogspot.com
Little things first, been planning for a while to cut my hair (see profile picture and profile comment) to shorter than I've ever had it in my life (which is still not all that short, but for me it's a big jump). Except I've worked up the nerve to go to the place twice now... only to find they were closed for the day. Argh. I know it's not that big a deal, but when you've had long hair for 10 years it's sort of A Thing when you decide to cut it all off- I just want it to be done.
Now the big thing- Friday as I was driving over to Jiffy Lube for my standard oil change, my car's transmission fucked up on me. This wasn't a huge surprise, I'd felt the harsh gear shifts first thing in the morning for a little while and was planning to have them check that out while I was there. This time, however, the check engine light popped on and the gear shift was harsher than ever. I made it to the place and they took a look, decided they couldn't fix it there, did my oil change and sent me on my way.
Before I left, however, a fella there told me he'd worked on transmissions from 1985-2003 and that more than likely all I needed was a flush. He told me that, if I took it to a place who tried to charge me a few hundred bucks to fix it, I should talk to him again and he'd recommend a place for me.
I kept this in mind and took it over to Right Honda. They told me they'd get back to me with the diagnosis on the following day. They did, about 8:30am on Saturday, to tell me that I needed a new transmission.
They said that as a gesture of goodwill, Honda was going to supply parts. However, it'd still be $800 labor.
I have that money, but I'd really, really rather not spend it. Additionally, I happen to be aware that my car is 6 years old with less than 60,000 miles on it. It's an automatic. Why the fuck would I need a new transmission? It's not as though I stop the car by shifting into reverse and applying gas.
Fortunately, I have a hook-up. My best friend for the last 12 years happens to be the son of a very influential person in a company that has a great deal of sway with a number of dealerships. So, as much as I hate asking for favors, I did. Phone calls were made and I picked up my car today (paying the $140 for the rental, which I wanted to return on Saturday but ended up keeping through the weekend because I couldn't get a hold of anyone at the place to say that I was taking my car back... until they were closed), drove it over to the other dealership (a good 20 miles, my car made the trip just fine after some initial protests) and left it there.
Last time I used them, they saved me $2000. I'd been told that I needed a new compressor for my air conditioning. Turned out my compressor needed a tube. No charge.
Anyway, got a new rental, started to drive back to my place when I realized that I left my garage door remote in the other rental. Fuck. So I drove over to that dealership again and approached the car rental desk.
There was a customer already there waiting. She and I waited over 20 minutes for someone to show up and help us. Then, of course, this individual was someone completely different from the person who accepted the car I returned not an hour earlier. He didn't know what happened to the car I returned, it wasn't in the parking lot. My garage door opener is essentially gone. He did, however, offer me a replacement opener which I could just program. Fair enough, I said.
At this point, I've been here about a half hour. He makes a phone call and tells me it'll be brought over in about 10 minutes. I say thanks and have a seat.
45 minutes later without Word One, I decided to leave. I still, so I thought, needed to get my hair cut and I had a number of other things to do. That place had eaten about three hours and $150, that was enough. Fuck it, I'd pay the $20 to buy a new remote and just never go back there.
So I wandered around Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Can't find a compatible remote.
Now I'm back home. I surrender, world. You win. I'll stay home.
I apologize for the length and self-indulgence.
If you LIKE my self-indulgence but not the subject matter, visit my blog at:
http://eyebrowascendant.blogspot.com
sorry to hear about your car.
good luck finding a garage door opener