So Far This Morning...
I've been banned from talking about food before 11am at work because I'm making my cow-orkers (sic) too hungry too early. And this, after I brought them Carrot Pie samples. I Win!
I've also learned that the Vinga mobile (my car license plate is VINGA) needs a new transmission. This is depressing because transmissions in general as far as car parts go, aren't exactly cheap. I'd had vain hope that some solenoid or another was the problem and they could just deal with that, but no such luck. Now that I have been working on another car manufacturer's course materials for their service techs I'm even more skeptical of car dealerships in general. Most people don't know squat about cars and there are plenty of dealerships that prey on that or try to take unfair advantage of the fact.
I've been going to this dealership since I bought the car, used, from them. It's a good car and has a complete service record. For those service bits not done at the dealership, I have all the records of the work done (most oil changes, plus some brake work and tire changes). So when they told me that the transmission was likely the cause of the problem, I wasn't surprised, but I was sort of naively hoping that there would be something else that could be fixed that would make this whole thing magically disappear and cost me very little money. As transmissions go, a few thousand dollars in repair isn't unheard of. But when the dealer tech said that it would be on the order of 5 thousand dollars (before she'd hooked it up to the diagnostics, I might add), I told her that not only did I want whatever she was smoking, but that in no uncertain terms would I ever pay her that much money to fix my car. I told her that fiscally speaking it was worth more money to me as a trade in with a broken tranny than it was as a vehicle to be fixed (bless my husband, he didn't correct me at that point; I think he was sitting back and watching the show because I can be an amazing Yenta when I really get going).
I told her flat out that if it was going to cost me that much money that I would trade in the vehicle at a different brand's dealership and take on a different car loan before I paid that much money for a new transmission. I was, of course, bluffing, but you have to be willing to back up the bluff if necessary, and I was too angry at that point to not blindly forge ahead. I think I shocked the tech with said statement. There was an amazing amount of backpeddling at that point. At which point I just stopped talking and let her run amok for a little while until she finally got to her point, which was "Let me see what I can do. I'll call you back tonight."
And call me back she did. Now, I'm not going to be even more naive and assume that what I'm about to say is because I was an amazing Yenta, a brilliant speaker, or somehow so charismatic that I managed to get a fantastic deal. What I am going to say is that I think the dealership and the brand are having a blinding amount of failures WAY too early on their transmissions and don't want to see what is arguably one of the best service records in the industry marred by either a major recall or a class action lawsuit.
I got my tranny for free.
No really. Free. All I have to do is pay for the labor. Not an inconsiderable amount when it comes down to it. But several hundred dollars is still better than several thousand dollars in the car repair arena, and at this point, I'm going to take what I can get. Vinga comes home by Friday, new tranny and new warranty on said tranny, and if I'm really lucky, washed up and polished.
I've also learned that the Vinga mobile (my car license plate is VINGA) needs a new transmission. This is depressing because transmissions in general as far as car parts go, aren't exactly cheap. I'd had vain hope that some solenoid or another was the problem and they could just deal with that, but no such luck. Now that I have been working on another car manufacturer's course materials for their service techs I'm even more skeptical of car dealerships in general. Most people don't know squat about cars and there are plenty of dealerships that prey on that or try to take unfair advantage of the fact.
I've been going to this dealership since I bought the car, used, from them. It's a good car and has a complete service record. For those service bits not done at the dealership, I have all the records of the work done (most oil changes, plus some brake work and tire changes). So when they told me that the transmission was likely the cause of the problem, I wasn't surprised, but I was sort of naively hoping that there would be something else that could be fixed that would make this whole thing magically disappear and cost me very little money. As transmissions go, a few thousand dollars in repair isn't unheard of. But when the dealer tech said that it would be on the order of 5 thousand dollars (before she'd hooked it up to the diagnostics, I might add), I told her that not only did I want whatever she was smoking, but that in no uncertain terms would I ever pay her that much money to fix my car. I told her that fiscally speaking it was worth more money to me as a trade in with a broken tranny than it was as a vehicle to be fixed (bless my husband, he didn't correct me at that point; I think he was sitting back and watching the show because I can be an amazing Yenta when I really get going).
I told her flat out that if it was going to cost me that much money that I would trade in the vehicle at a different brand's dealership and take on a different car loan before I paid that much money for a new transmission. I was, of course, bluffing, but you have to be willing to back up the bluff if necessary, and I was too angry at that point to not blindly forge ahead. I think I shocked the tech with said statement. There was an amazing amount of backpeddling at that point. At which point I just stopped talking and let her run amok for a little while until she finally got to her point, which was "Let me see what I can do. I'll call you back tonight."
And call me back she did. Now, I'm not going to be even more naive and assume that what I'm about to say is because I was an amazing Yenta, a brilliant speaker, or somehow so charismatic that I managed to get a fantastic deal. What I am going to say is that I think the dealership and the brand are having a blinding amount of failures WAY too early on their transmissions and don't want to see what is arguably one of the best service records in the industry marred by either a major recall or a class action lawsuit.
I got my tranny for free.
No really. Free. All I have to do is pay for the labor. Not an inconsiderable amount when it comes down to it. But several hundred dollars is still better than several thousand dollars in the car repair arena, and at this point, I'm going to take what I can get. Vinga comes home by Friday, new tranny and new warranty on said tranny, and if I'm really lucky, washed up and polished.