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View Full Version : I hate cars.


BookstoreEscapee
10-26-2008, 08:15 PM
Took my car for an oil change yesterday, and they manage to find $1500 worth of stuff they can do. I let them do the scheduled maintenance stuff and replace my burned out bulbs on my license plate (even though I know I can get them cheaper but $19 in the grand scheme of things was worth my not having to make another trip elsewhere). They also wanted to replace my tires. I don't buy tires from the dealer. So I got out for $400 and went and did my other stuff. Did some shopping and then headed back to my parents' to spend some time with the dog while they were out visiting friends. When I was leaving the shopping center I noticed that my front left tire was looking rather low, though it wasn't exactly flat. I decided I'd make it back to my parents' OK, so I headed off, and about 10 minutes into my drive my check engine light came on. Grr.

So I got back to my parents' and when my mom called later I told her about it; my dad said to pull the car into the garage so he could check the tire. I did, and he put air in it, but he didn't trust it, so he gave me his car for the night. This morning he took it to Sears, and they said only the front tires needed replacing. So he did that, and I'm going for dinner and I'll have to write him a check. We considered going to Sam's for tires, which would have saved me about $20, but if I have any problems I wouldn't be able to go in by myself, since I don't have a membership of my own. Plus I can go to any Sears auto center, and there is a free-standing one just up the highway from my apartment, so I can go there for alignments and rotations and such.

In the past, when the engine light has come on, 2 out of 3 times it was because the gas cap was loose. I got gas about 4 days earlier, and when I checked it the cap seemed fine (though the second time it happened the cap looked fine and they still said that was the problem). I'm thinking they knocked something loose or something when they were working on it. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to call them, though, and I'll probably have to borrow my dad's car again, or get a loaner from the dealer, while they check it out, since I can't take a day off work to deal with it.

Grr. :mad:

smileyeagle1021
10-26-2008, 08:26 PM
That BSE is why I can't wait until I'm living/working somewhere where I don't have to drive... I look forward to the day when I can dump the car altogether... *stares dreamily off into the distance*

anyway, good luck with getting the car to work again.

BookstoreEscapee
10-26-2008, 09:03 PM
That BSE is why I can't wait until I'm living/working somewhere where I don't have to drive... I look forward to the day when I can dump the car altogether... *stares dreamily off into the distance*

anyway, good luck with getting the car to work again.

Oh, it works fine (so far). I just hope the light is because of something they did because if so they shouldn't charge me for it. Otherwise it's $85 to run their diagnostic and reset the computer.

Heksubah
10-26-2008, 10:25 PM
I hate car maintenance and car problems but I love cars! I especially love my car. Now, I'm not some car guru that can quote years and models and the like. I just like to drive and listen to music while mentally working on a story in my head. I'm a writer and my car story, while it will never be published and is always being rewritten and redone, tends to break down my issues with writers block and helps my stress.

My car itself is named, all my cars are, and this one is my prrrecious. It is the sort of car you buy if you want to stand out as an oddball. It is a roving box on wheels! (A Scion xB, the 2006 model, whee!)

BookstoreEscapee
10-26-2008, 11:50 PM
OK, I've never named my cars. I actually like my car well enough. I'm not a big "car" person...as long as it gets me where I need to go and I don't have to worry about it breaking down on me, I'm happy. I currently have a 2002 Hyundai Elantra. Before that I had a dark green '98 Prizm. When that got killed I wanted to get a blue car, but the Elantra colors that year included a greenish-blue color that I didn't particularly like, so I got "Midnight Gray" instead, with gray interior. In the sun it looks almost purple and sparkly. :D (Annoyingly, my brother has a habit of getting cars in colors that I want. His previous car was a pearly blue, and the one he has now is dark blue.)

Now I owe my dad 300 bucks but I don't have to pay him right away since he put it on his credit card and won't have to pay that for a few weeks yet. I could pay him now anyway, that's no big deal, but hey, if he doesn't want it yet, I'm cool with that. :p

It's weird driving my dad's car, even though he has a Prizm (2001), too. I'm so used to my car now that it took me a second to find the ignition when I first got in it last night, and when I parked and went to set the emergency brake, I reached for it and grabbed nothing because in his car it's at the right of the center console while mine is in the middle...:o

blas
10-27-2008, 02:49 AM
That's why I just have my dad and brother change my oil for me, and I check my fluids and air filter and all the other little stuff so I know when I need new stuff. It may be faster to get it done at a shop, but it's cheaper to just buy it at a shop and have someone with experience do it for you.

That, and one of the local tire shop has the most decently priced tires....I got 4 like-new tires for my Neon when I first bought it for a little over $100, and that's including labor and balancing and whatnot.