If you have been following my blog, you probably remember my April post about car problems along with 3 follow up posts. This story will be boring in comparison, but I thought I would share it anyways.
It started on a Saturday three weeks ago when I took my car in for an oil change. Since I had a coupon, I decided to take it to Goodyear. I have been there a few times before and the guy at the desk has always been friendly and helpful. When I arrived, he told me it should take 45 minutes tops for my car to be finished. During the wait, I decided to walk over to Safeway (which is nearby) and do a little grocery shopping. I returned about 50 minutes later. I saw my car parked in a different spot, which meant that they were done with my car.
I went up to the desk and was helped by a woman who was not as friendly. I asked her if I could pay for the oil change and get my keys. She told me that she did not have my paperwork and so my car was not done. I pointed out to her that my car was now parked in a new spot. She repeated her same statement. I was not thrilled. I had groceries that needed to be refrigerated and was not in the mood to hang around. I stood at the desk waiting instead of taking a seat. This did not thrill her. Finally the nice man came out and asked me what was up. He told the woman to go inside the shop to try to find out what was taking so long.
About 5 or 10 minutes later she came back with my keys and the paperwork. She rang up the bill and charged me ten dollars more than the coupon price (even though it said right on the paperwork that I brought in a coupon). I mentioned this to her. The nice guy overheard me and told her to ring it up at the coupon price. Good thing he was there since I no longer had the coupon (you turn it in when you drop off the car).
As she was ringing it up again, I asked her if they had to re-fill any fluid (of course I know nothing more than the windshield wiper fluid but asked anyways). She turned the paper over and told me that the fluids were fine but that they recommended a new air filter and 4 new tires. Incredible! If I had not asked, I would have never known these recommendations since they don't give you this paper. I sort of mumbled that it would have been nice for them to call me and change my air filter while they were working on my car so I wouldn't have to bring it back again and wait another hour. She said she would be happy to give me a quote. I told her I did not want a quote. She repeated that she would be happy to give me a quote and added that it was just a quote for my information and would not cost anything. Duh? I repeated that I did not need the quote. I paid and left.
When I got home, I saw one of my neighbors who has helped me with car issues in the past. I told him what had happened. He told me he would be happy to change my air filter for me. He said it would only take a couple of minutes and would be much cheaper than bringing it back to Goodyear. Since I had no clue what kind of air filter to buy, he said he would pick it up for me. He also mentioned that it was strange that my air filter would be dirty so soon since Saturn would have changed it with my 60,000 mile tune-up.
TIP NUMBER ONE for anyone who does not have a clue about air filters: A child could change an air filter. Do not pay to have your air filter changed. There are four little clips that you unsnap and then you just lift the air filter out. I cannot believe that I have paid labor costs for having this done in the past.
You are probably thinking, that is it for the air filter story? Nooooooo.... not quite! When my neighbor unhooked the four clips and looked at my air filter, he saw that it was practically brand new!! I could not believe it. Do I actually have the word SUCKER written across my face whenever I go in to have something done on my car? If I had believed Goodyear, I would have paid for something that I did not need to have done. All of these car experiences are just confirming my distrust in car shops. Because I obviously did not need a new air filter, I now did not trust the recommendation about the tires. I asked my neighbor what he thought about me needing new tires. Unfortunately the tire recommendation was true and it was going to cost much more than needing a new air filter.
My fall break was two weeks away at the time. I planned to take my car to Costco during my break to get new tires. I almost made it. Two days before my break...flat tire!
Even though flat tires are never fun, the timing of my flat tire worked out well. I could have discovered that I had a flat tire first thing in the morning, missing work or I could have gotten my flat tire while driving. Instead, I realized I had a flat tire while at work, well almost at work. The day of my flat, I drove down the street to grab something to eat during my lunch break.
As I walked back to my car carrying my lunch, I noticed that my right rear tire was very low. I wasn't sure if I should attempt to drive it back to school or deal with it right there. I had no plan on how I would deal with my flat tire at the mall and I needed to get back to school so I took a chance. Lucky me! I made it back to school before it went completely flat. I went in search of the custodians hoping one of them would be able to change my tire for me. Lucky me again! Our two WONDERFUL school custodians (Andy and Ron) volunteered to help.
I probably could have at least attempted to change the tire myself, but I have a "frozen shoulder" (just got this confirmed on Monday), which has been extremely painful and I am not able to lift anything very heavy, especially anything that requires the use of both arms without causing additional pain. After taking out some of the tons of crap in my car, Andy lifted up the flat to get to my fake spare tire. Andy & Ron worked together jacking up my car and taking off my flat tire . The cause of my flat - a big nail. As they started to put on the fake spare, they asked me when the last time I put air in the fake spare was. Huh??
TIP NUMBER TWO for anyone else clueless (like me) about filling up your spare tire. It is recommended that you do this every now and then, and probably more now than then.
Andy tightened the nuts and Ron lowered the jack. There we stood looking at another flat tire. Boy did I feel stupid! As I stood there, I thought to myself, at least this didn't happen to me while I was on the freeway! I would have really been screwed! This was one important lesson learned. Andy volunteered to take my tire down the street to the gas station to fill it up with air and then put it back on my car. Lucky me again!!
I returned back to my classroom just as my lunch break ended. While my kids napped, I called Costco. After about 5 minutes of pushing numbers to reach the tire department, I talked to a guy about getting new tires. He asked me what size my tires were. Huh?? Fortunately I did not need to know this answer. Just as he started to look up the tires, I was disconnected. I called Costco again, punched the requisite numbers, and reached a second guy. Again I was asked my tire size. This time I did not get disconnected. Unfortunately, Costco was out of stock. The guy told me he could order them for me and they would arrive in about a month. Well that was not going to work. I asked around and was given the recommendation to try Lex Brodie's. I called up with fingers crossed that they would have the tires I needed. I spoke to a very nice guy, who of course asked me what size tires I needed first. Once we got past the fact that once again I had no clue, he looked up my tire size and told me to bring my car in any time before 5pm.
The day of my flat tire was the day of the VP debate. Because of the time difference, the debate would be starting at 3pm. I had a meeting with a parent at 1:45 and hoped to leave school by 2:45, getting home a a little after 3pm. It's a good thing I taped the debate just in case because my flat tire put a wrench in my plans. I drove very carefully with my fake spare to Lex Brodie's.
After filling out the sheet of paper handed to me (name, address, etc.), I went into the waiting room. Curses....college football! I really wasn't surprised since college football is huge here in Hawaii, but I still had a tiny bit of hope that perhaps the debate would have been on. I sat there very bored watching my car and waiting for the four new tires to be put on. About 15 minutes later, the older guy left.
There I was all alone in the waiting room. Should I dare to change the channel? After a minute or so, I went over to the TV. I wasn't brave enough to put on the debate (thinking that this might cause a small riot in a car shop waiting room) but was determined to turn off college football. I changed the channel to the baseball game - Cubs vs. Dodgers. A few minutes later a younger guy walked into the waiting room. I held my breath wondering if he was going to be upset that football was not on. He sat down and began to watch the game. The Dodgers got a hit and we both groaned together, and then smiled at each other realizing that we were both rooting for the Cubs. 100 years! You gotta root for the Cubs Unfortunately this wasn't their year once again...but back to my car. Phew, the change to the baseball game was a good move. Finally, my name was called, I paid my bill, and headed home, arriving just as the debate was ending.
So the moral of the story...
#1 - change your own air filter - a child could do it!
#2 - fill up your spare tire now and then!
In the end, things worked out perfectly! Because Goodyear did not call me and ask if I wanted to have my air filter changed while I was getting my oil changed, I saved money on having unnecessary work done on my car. It was also lucky that I got my flat before I bought my new tires since the nail caused my flat. I would have been very bummed to have a nail in one of my shiny new tires and I love my new tires (as much as someone can love new tires).
If you live in Hawaii, I would highly recommend Lex Brodie's. They not only provided excellent customer service, they will rotate my tires for free every six months, fill your tires up with air anytime you ask, and fix a flat tire for free. I also want to thank my neighbor and our wonderful custodians for all of their help. Lucky lucky me!
Comments (7)
Crikey! You had a day of it - or, a time of it!
Posted by Leslie | October 13, 2008 1:13 AM
Posted on October 13, 2008 01:13
Hi Girasoli, wow . . . what a story. Thanks for sharing these great tips. I think it's so important to have someplace reliable to bring your car to. And having friends and co-workers to rely on for some help is also good to have.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | October 13, 2008 3:47 AM
Posted on October 13, 2008 03:47
Sometimes I think having a good, trustworthy mechanic is as important, if not more, as having a good doctor! Glad it worked out.
Posted by Kim | October 13, 2008 4:28 AM
Posted on October 13, 2008 04:28
What an ordeal! I'm glad that it all worked out in the end. Are you going to write Goodyear a letter about trying to rip you off? Maybe you should tell them you blogged about them!
I'm a member of AAA. I haven't had to use them very often but when I have, I've been very glad I was a member. I had a dead battery one morning and they came right out to my house.
Posted by Annie | October 13, 2008 9:44 AM
Posted on October 13, 2008 09:44
Thanks everyone for your support and comments.
Leslie, it certainly made life interesting.
Kathy, the main point of my story (besides my whining) was to share the tips. I sometimes think I should take a basic car class to learn some of the basic important things to know about a car. I agree that it is important to have a reliable place to take my car...still searching for that place.
Kim, I wish I had your car guy. I definitiely agree about how important it is...just need to find someone I can trust. Does your guy know anyone on Oahu? :)
Annie, I thought about it and probably will let them know at some point. I had AAA for a while. They are not fast here - usually take over an hour to get to your car. the other frustrating thing with AAA is that usually you get a mainland operator when you call (or I did the few times I called) and it took 10 to 15 minutes for them to just figure out the street names (although with google map that probably has changed). Once they raised the cost, I realized that I could get almost the same service through my car insurance for much less, so I opted for my car insurance service.
Posted by girasoli | October 13, 2008 5:39 PM
Posted on October 13, 2008 17:39
Yikes -- you really had a time of it, Girasoli! Good tips, though. I haven't checked the tire pressure in my spare in years!
I hate car stuff, it drives me crazy. I have a good garage, but I'm fearful that it recently changed hands which could mean a whole different attitude. I really hate it when garages pull that kind of crap that you experienced with the air filter. I guess they really don't care about word of mouth.
I've been thinking about tires lately, too -- I've decided to buy winter tires. For the past 10 years or so, I've been using all-season radials but they really aren't that effective on snow and ice. I've been getting by, but I think it's too big a risk. So new tires for me! (At least you don't need to worry about that anymore!)
BTW, I hope your shoulder is feeling better. I wonder what caused your problems?
Posted by sandrac | October 14, 2008 10:33 AM
Posted on October 14, 2008 10:33
Sandra, I hope the new management does not change the attitude at the garage you take your car to. Good luck on the new snow tires. I agree...not worth the risk. I am lucky that is one thing I don't have to deal with here.
My shoulder problems began right before I went to Italy. I think I might have pulled a muscle or something at the end of the school year packing up and then probably aggravated more lugging my luggage around Italy on and off trains/up and down stairs. It started to become very painful mid-August. After a long wait to get an appointment with the orthopedic doctor (best on the island), I finally went to see him last Monday. I will be going under for 5-10 minutes while he "manipulates" or in other words yanks my arm around to "unfreeze" my shoulder. Then I will have to deal with painful physical therapy for a month or so depending on how fast I recover. Not something I am looking forward to but something I need to get done. I will probably write more about it either right before I go to get it done or when I start PT.
Posted by girasoli | October 14, 2008 10:39 PM
Posted on October 14, 2008 22:39