121104 - Learning Experience
I had just come home from my first day of first grade. As I settled down with my afternoon snack, Mom began asking her usual questions. "How was your first day of school?"
"It was ok," I said, trying to think of any real news. "We got a new principal at school."
She paused for a second, surprised. She hadn't received anything from the school. Had the other parents been notified?...
"You got a new principal?"
"Yeah," I said casually, swinging my legs, taking a sip from my juice box. "He looks a lot like the old one, but he has a beard."
She later discovered that it was, in fact, the same principal - he had just decided to grow a beard over the summer.
The lady got a haircut today. It's not just a standard inch or two - she had a full foot of hair trimmed off, so that her longest hair ends up around chin-length. She's worn it long for years, and so this is quite a change. In fact, after admiring it in the mirror a bit, she said that it's the shortest she's ever worn it.
And, of course, she looks amazing. In fact, it's almost like I have a new wife. She looks a lot like the old one...
---
Problems from the Real World
14a) Your car has been acting up for a while - every time you shift between reverse and drive, the transmission clunks into gear. Today, the car finally decided to stick it to you: reversing the car now involves a friend and some pushing.
You first take it to your local trustworthy garage. They diagnose the problem via computer, and give you an estimate to fix it - a month's wages. Now, you can pay it, but it's going to hurt.
You call your local transmission specialist. He refuses to give you any hard estimates until he can take a look at it in his shop. Although he makes a few incorrect statements about your trustworthy garage, he has an impressive list of clients, he waives a few initial fees, and he sounds very eager to get your business.
You call your local dealership. The mechanic you speak to sounds knowledgeable - they do their work in house, and few cars come back with problems afterward. Their base price is half of what your trustworthy garage estimated. However, although they've done good work before, you've never been impressed by their prices - but the car is still relatively young, so you might be able to get some sympathy on the the final bill.
What do you do?
b) After some prying, your dealership admits that the base price you heard doesn't include any new parts - they just take the transmission apart and put it back together. If you need new parts, the price is going to shoot up quickly.
And assume you let the transmission specialists take a look at the car. Their base price is a third of the price quoted by your local garage. However, that's also without any expensive new parts.
And once you let someone start taking it apart, you're pretty much stuck with who you choose.
Now what do you do?
(A) (or, at least my answers...)
a) I politely thank my trustworthy garage and take the car to the transmission specialist. I'll let them figure out what they can, get some numbers out of them, and then decide. Worst case, I end up going to the dealership.
b) I figure that the transmission guys know what they're doing, and they seem to be on the up-and-up - I mean, it means something that they came in lower than the dealership on base bid. So, I let them do the work.
The result? I ended up saving quite a bit on the number my local trustworthy garage quoted. The bill is still hefty (it is a transmission after all), but savings is savings. And I learned a lot about proper transmission maintenance to boot. Go me.