Monday, January 26, 2009

Gahhhh!!!!

I don't need this stress/negativity right now!

I took my hyundai in (to a hyundai dealer shop.. mistake #1) this morning. If you've been following along.. you know my story.. It seemed like a very serious issue that I thought warranted a look at by an actual hyundai dealer shop...

Ends up being I am extremely low on transmission fluid and power steering fluid. Plus all the hoses for said fluids have leaks in them. I was lucky to get my car in when I did (yes this is true.. but I was obviously able to drive it down to the shop...)This all started because my check engine light kept coming on, and was showing a dealer code when I had my oil changed 2 weeks ago at Mobil 1 lube express.

The diagnostic alone cost $80. I asked if I could come pick it up and he laughed at me "no hon.. this car isnt going anywhere til its fixed.".. So.. what.. now I am forced to have it fixed there?!! When i dropped it off this morning I told them to just see what the issue was... not tear it apart in such a way that I was forced to have it repaired there.

I hate that I don't know enough about cars or auto repair.. I feel like this place is totally scamming me.

He said the transmission was, luckily, fine. I just need to replace the hoses... and how much will that all cost (plus labor and tax ofcourse)

$800

WHAT!!!!?!?!?!

Obviously I freaked.. I don't have that money... I asked if I could take it back.. I'd still have to pay the diagnostic obviously.. but should I have to pay for them taking it apart and putting it back together again.. IF THAT"S EVEN WHAT THEY DID?! He said they put more fluids in just to see if it worked.. I may have to call my ex (yes.. my only 'friend' in ithaca) to see if he will drive me down to see if it's even in the shop.. or is that illegal? I have my key to it..

either way..If I can just pay for the diagnostic and then take it across the street to an auto place I trust (like I shouldve in the first place).. then i will.

I contacted my boss at the summer camp I work at and he was able to advance me $800 of my summer pay.. I'm going to be working for nothing this summer.. gah.. But I need to not think about that now.. and worry about the summer later..

Does anyone know how to work with auto shops!? Is this right what they did? The guys at work all cringed when I said i took it to Hyundai.. so now I feel like an idiot too..

and on top of all that.. now I am carless for the week... can't go to the gym (i'd walk but its seriously zero right now)... can't go up to school to practice.. and am really really working on not slipping into negativity on this.

On the positive side.. at least my transmission is ok and its just a minor transmission thing... at least I was able to secure $800... at least I have a co-worker who can pick me up in the morning and drop me off after work... not going to the gym will free up time for me to catch up on other things I push off all week because I get home so late... Maybe it will be good to have a breather... Maybe I will take the time to do some pilates or yoga .. at least after I clean my bedroom.. which now I can do tonight.

I WILL NOT LET FOOD BE MY FIX-ALL!

Once again.. Food does not help with my money problems.. or my car problems... ANY problem

Thanks for reading.. and thanks also to those of you who gave me some soup spicing up advice!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. Hang in there! $800 is crazy! But at least you were able to get advanced pay and such with your boss. Don't think too much about the summer and the job + money. For now, just relax and things will turn out!

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

Sorry about the car problems! Not all dealers are bad with the repair stuff. We have found ours to be trustworthy and will work with us and look out for us when there are multiple things going wrong. But there are definitely makers we trust more and Hyundai ain't one of 'em! ;-) I'm a Dodge gal and my hubby likes Fords!

I think in the future, you should just take it where you trust the guys and consider this a lesson learned. Most times they do have to take everything apart to fix whatever's wrong. Unless you specify that they should ONLY do the diagnostic test, they'll probably assume you will want it fixed. I don't think they are scamming you, they may just charge more for labor or something. And there's a good chance it might have cost the same at your favorite place, so don't beat yourself up! Seems like car repairs never come at convenient times!
Path to Health

Anonymous said...

You might wanna talk to the auto mechanic you trust, describe exactly what they think you need done, and ask him what he considers a fair price for the work. If he says a lot less than $800, you can call the Hyundai dealers a bunch of crooks and ask to speak to the service manager.

Hoses, 800? I dunno. Sounds like a rip-off.

I wish you the very best in getting that sorted out. Car issues are so very, very stressful for folks like us who are just total idiots about cars and repairs. I am. Any car issues make me wanna scream. :(

The P

Anonymous said...

it's so trite but it is the WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR which is working so well for all of us lately.

I admire your being able to come up with such a long list of the positive side----and some of it made me think of my post from yesterday.

perhaps your carthing will open up some YOU TIME for quiet? meditation?