Car Trouble

If any of you live near me, work with me, or generally hang out with me know that my car has been frustratingly out of commission. It seems that I generally have terrible luck with vehicles. I have been known to attempt to fix it myself (with a little help) and have been successful in the past. Because of this recent ordeal and of my past “issues” I thought I should write a car-related post. This specific issue has taught me a few things, but I will draw in from past experiences.

Firstly, I am a girl. I get treated as such by most people. That means that when I have a car issue one of two things happens. I either get GREAT service and extra help (very seldom) or I get taken advantage of (most of the time). The first tip I have is to KNOW YOUR CAR. Generally, (not always) the ladies don’t always know how their car works, where things are, what are easy fixes and hard fixes and how much those things should cost (at a fair price). Because of that, we tend to get taken “for a ride” when trying to fix issues.

Case in point: One of my issues was that I had a bad ignition switch. I looked online and saw people pay upwards of $300 for that to be fixed. I also looked online and saw I could buy the exact part for $26 including shipping. Why on earth would it be $300?! With some help, I replaced the ignition switch on my own. Help being my boyfriend’s tools and online resources. 

Another example is that the dealer wanted to charge me $165 for a new battery. Batteries tend to cost about $50-70. Why would labor cost $100 when you only have to disconnect a few wires? There are plenty of online resources to help you to understand what is fair and unfair, and you can also compare prices at places like Walmart, Autozone, etc. Be sure that you research the cost before just throwing money at a problem. 

Another recommendation is to have roadside assistance and know your plan. My issue this time was that my car would not start and sat in my apartment parking spot for a long time because I didn’t know that my roadside assistance plan included towing. I also misunderstood how much my plan would cover. It ended up only costing me $16 for the tow. Even if you are handy, having that in case of an emergency is necessary. My personal recommendation would be AAA or AT&T Roadside Assistance. I have had amazing experiences with both. 

The last thing I have learned is that I use my car far too much. I live in a Southern city where mass transit isn’t utilized as much as it could be (and I feel vulnerable when on a train alone). In addition, it almost is a symbol of status to drive to places rather than walk. I work in an area with TONS of food options for lunch that I can easily walk to. It’s even rather nice to walk to places and have that time to yourself, rather than driving there. I also live in an area where I can walk to the grocery store to get a few things and walk home. I discovered I rather liked walking rather than the headache of driving. If it’s close, I’ll try and walk (as long as I know it’s safe).  

This week I have a few challenges for you. 1. Research your car online for an hour. 2. Figure out a few places/times/days that you can walk or use your car less. For the first challenge, you may be surprised to find out that people share the same problems your car had/is having or you may find out some things to look out for. I mean it IS Google's 13th birthday today; use it!  For the second challenge, I think that you may be surprised as to how often you can cut down on driving and how much you like not driving. You may not have these predicted results, but hey, it’s always nice to try something new!