One woman's lament

[mtnairlover]

So, wanna know what I hate about being a woman? That auto/mc shops take advantage of us. I want to be wrong, but this story just keeps getting better and better, or should I say worse and worse...

Shop name being withheld to protect the probable innocent...

So, a couple weeks ago, I realize my transmission is close to toast. I have an 04 Impala. I did not do the right kind of research on the car before I bought it. I should have searched the Internet to find out the inherent problems in this vehicle. Alas, I inherited a car with a known transmission problem.

I have put on almost 30,000 miles since buying it in October of 07. It already had close to 100k. A couple of weeks ago, I got into my car at the park n ride in Loveland after coming home with my carpool buddy. I turned it over, and it made this amazingly loud racket. My heart sunk, so I sat there with the engine on waiting to see if the noise would go away. It did, but when I put it into reverse, the car lurched. Then it lurched again when I put it into drive. Yep...definite transmission problem.

I was at my Realtor's that night to sign papers. Her husband is a Chamber member and so he suggested a shop that he's been going to for a very long time and that is also a Chamber member. Not only that, he told me to tell them to give me a member discount.

I knew I was going to have to pay big $$$ for this problem. I also knew that I could have taken the car to a friend and gotten a really good deal on a used tranny. Well, so my logic...take it to a shop, get a discount, get a warranty and maybe the tranny will outlast the payments I'm still making on the loan. There is no warranty with a used transmission.

So, I pick up my car last week. Pay a very huge bill, which also included a radiator flush and oil change. Now, because the transmission was removed and replaced, the alignment typically will need adjusting. But, when I drove off, my steering wheel was half-cocked and if I tried to straighten it...well, I would have drifted into the right lane. So, I call and tell them about the alignment and they tell me to bring it back in for the alignment adjustment at no charge. I'm thinking, "That's ok, they missed it, but it was more than likely an honest mistake."

Then, on Friday, after work...I'm starting up my car and a warning light comes on. The warning light was my "Change Engine Oil" light. I look at the change oil sticker they kindly placed in the upper left of my windshield and I should have at least another 2000 miles left before I need to worry about oil. I'm thinking, "Damn guys! You forgot to fuck up my car's computer so the warning lights wouldn't let me know you screwed over another female customer."

I'm seriously considering changing my name to "mtn-bitch".

[Nick_Ninja]

Check the dipstick. You can tell if the oil is new or not. Check the oil filter too. If they are obviously dirty then raise hell and report them to the BBB.

Here's how to reset your oil alarm:

Turn the ignition to "ACC" OR "ON", with the radio off.
Press and hold the "TUNE DISP" button on the radio for at least five seconds until "SETTINGS" is displayed.
Press the "SEEK PTYPE" or the "SEEK PSCAN" up or down arrow to scroll through the main menu.
Scroll until "OIL LIFE" appears on the display.
Press the "1 PREV" or "2 NEXT" button to enter the submenu. "RESET" will be displayed.
Press the "TUNE DISP" button to reset. A chime will be heard to verify the new setting and "DONE" will be displayed for one second.
Once the message has been reset, scroll until "EXIT" appears on the display.
Press the "TUNE DISP" button to exit programming. A chime will be heard to verify the exit.

[mtnairlover]

I'll check the dipstick, but I'm going to leave the oil light as is until they see it.

Thing is, the oil light won't come on at exactly 3k miles. I missed an oil change a while ago and the car went another 4k miles before the oil light came on. The last couple of times I changed the oil, I also had a different shop put a synthetic blend in, because of the kind of miles I tend to put on the car.

The oil light came on this time at about 4k over where the last change should have been.

Although I am no mechanic and not very mechanically abled, I do know when things are amiss with my vehicles. I used to tell my ex when something needed attention. He used to not listen to me until the problem became more pronounced and then would say..."Guess I should have listened, huh?" And he was the mechanic.

[Foolds]

If you ever need a male to help you take your car in, or deal with shops please let me know I would be happy to help. I deal with all of my company's, parents, brothers, and my own cars.

[mtnairlover]

Thanks JJ. I'm thinking a better idea would be that no woman get taken advantage of at any shop.

I checked the car's dipstick. The oil is brown in color. The car sputters from take off, because the oil needs to be changed, which they supposedly did at about 1k miles ago. Since I have dealt with the oil being in desperate need of a change before, I know the signs.

*tapping foot, arms crossed across chest and scowling*

[Nick_Ninja]

Sic 'um. :twisted:

[mtnairlover]

Welp...took my car in to the shop today. I wanted to get a friend to take a look at the oil on the dipstick to see if he had the same opinion I did when I looked at it on Saturday....and to possibly spare me some embarrassment. He wasn't available. So, I did one last check of the dipstick when I got home before going to the shop.

You know what? The oil looks different when the car has been running. So, I took the car in anyway, and let the shop owner take a look. He cleared the computer and then took a peek at the dipstick. He said that when the oil looks clear...when you can see clearly through the holes at the bottom of the dipstick, then it's fresh, or has been recently changed...:oops:

One of the things that I regret is never having been taught the mechanics of vehicles. I spoke with a co-worker today who's father not only was in the military making it easy to take their cars to the base shop, but he also worked on race cars and showed her how to work on the cars when she was growing up. Now, when she goes to a shop asking for work to be done on the car, she will question why needless work is suggested and then she has the mechanic put the parts back in her car so she can take it elsewhere.

Anyhoo, I only mention that to show I'm not a paranoid bitch...women do get treated differently at shops.

keeping fingers crossed my car doesn't all of sudden decide to have coronary tomorrow...lol

[zetaetatheta]

Just sounds like they did not reset oil light. On some chevy's its just ignition on and push accelerator 3 times, check owners manual or google for your car.

[mtnairlover]

Oh yeah...I know the procedure. I wanted to be sure the oil really was changed, though. I mean, they did forget to do the alignment after putting in the new transmission.

Resetting the computer is a little more than pressing the gas pedal 3x's, it's like what N_N had mentioned.

[ripper750]

Drove my truck less than 1/4 mile from my house before all electronics went haywire so I pulled over to see if shutting it down and restarting would reset anything. Nothing. Pulled the battery, had it tested at the local auto parts chain and it tested fine. Reinstalled suspect "bad" battery and tightened everything up. Truck fied up like a champ.

I suspect the guys at the local "Buy More" didn't tighten everything up after replacing speakers in my truck. Things do get overlooked once in a while. Glad I was close to home and my roomie was available to assist. Anyway, it even happens to guys.

[mtnairlover]

Drove my truck less than 1/4 mile from my house before all electronics went haywire so I pulled over to see if shutting it down and restarting would reset anything. Nothing. Pulled the battery, had it tested at the local auto parts chain and it tested fine. Reinstalled suspect "bad" battery and tightened everything up. Truck fied up like a champ.

I suspect the guys at the local "Buy More" didn't tighten everything up after replacing speakers in my truck. Things do get overlooked once in a while. Glad I was close to home and my roomie was available to assist. Anyway, it even happens to guys.


Holy crap!!! A post from Chuck!

:lol:

Ok...got that outta the system. Yeah, I know. I'm just a tad more touchy, I guess. And yes, I could go on with excuse(explanation) after excuse, but meh. I'm not afraid to learn more about the mechanics of my car, it's that I don't want to learn completely on my own. Some people can do that, I like to "check for meaning"/bounce my thoughts off someone else...so, yeah...guess I get to learn the embarrassing way...again...meh.

[dm_gsxr]

Sorry to hear that.

Oil is pretty easy. Fresh oil looks honey colored and is somewhat transparent. The longer it's in a working engine, the more particulates gets suspended in the oil, the blacker it looks.

Carl

[mtnairlover]

Thanks Carl.

I've been changing the oil in my bike since I bought it, so 3 years. I like to use full synth, but when I take it to a shop and they change the oil, I always need to request the full synth. I forgot one time and they put in regular oil and the difference wasn't just in how my bike ran, but also in the smell...heavy on the petroleum stink.

Now, when it comes to my car and oil...well, since I haven't changed it on my own, I get more nervous (for lack of a better word). I don't know why I have this block in my mind that oil is oil and if it's behaving one way in one machine, why not the same in another machine. The other thing is that I only use a synthetic blend in my car, so I can't go by smell alone...clarity of the oil on the dipstick is one thing I need to see...both with a fresh change and then when it's at the end of its life to make a good comparison.

[sprtbkbabe]

Cathy - I had a mechanic make me cry when I had my VW bug. Manifold was cracked and it was something like $800 to me to fix (might as well as been $8million)... I was living on Top Ramen and paying my own way thru college, living in shithole in Capital Hill and that fooker made me cry. Then he told me I'd bought a piece of shit anyways... blah, blah, blah

Since then I've gone thru alot of cars and thru each one, I found a dickhead in a shop who tried to overcharge me someway, somehow. But I never had one make me cry again... Instead, I started being a majour bitch when I realized what I was dealing with. Only one shop was EVER good to me and that was a Subaru shop on Sante Fe/Miss.

The Lithia Jeep dealer on Arapahoe tried to tell me that the leak I had when I bought the car from them was not their fault. I remember wearing white shorts the day that I came in and went off on them. Then got under the car and SHOWED them where the fucking water pump was that was leaking and if they didn't make it right, I had a lot of vacation time coming my way and would use all of it to picket their shop each and every day with a sign that said "These assholes sold me a fucking Lemon!"

It was fixed right away/no charge. :)

If you don't know much about your car, still go into the shop and act like you do. Try to watch what they're doing and Always ask for the parts that they replaced so you can see for yourself. Get a second opinion on big work needed, too.

Changing the car oil isn't as simple as the bike, but if you need help, I'm happy to assist ya!

[mtnairlover]

That's the kind of stories I'm talking about.

If I feel like wanting to learn about changing my car oil when I get my arse moved, I'll give ya a ringy-dingy.

My first car was also a VW. It was a 75 SuperBeetle. It was a hand-me-down from my Dad, one that I won over my brother because I was the first to get a job and get my license and he was a year and a half older than me. I had to teach myself how to drive the stick-shift though, because I saw my Dad only about once or twice a year. A year after I had it, my Mom was driving it and the engine seized up. I took it to a "specialist" who said I needed a new engine and he could take care of it for $500. The day after I took it home, it had snowed and it was freezing cold. So, I started it up and left it running for a bit in front of the house. My neighbor came over as I was getting in to take off and told me I was leaking oil. When he said leaking oil, he meant there was a waterfall the size of Niagra Falls coming out of the engine. Turned out the engine was a junk-yard engine with a cracked block. When I went back to the shop to demand it be taken care of the right way, the mechanic had left and was no where to be found and the shop was not taking responsibility. I didn't have any reliable adult figures to help me out on that problem, so it left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.

The next car I had was given to me by the guy I was living with in college. He sold his 280Z for 2 Chevettes. A hatchback and a stationwagon. I got the hatchback with a rusted out driver's side floor board. The morning after an oil change, I was driving down I35 from Dayton to West Carrolton. The roads were made of cement and there was construction along part of my drive. Because the roads are made of cement, they had to jack-hammer up the cement to repair big sections. So, there was about a 6 inch drop-off to my left while there were cars on my right and in front and behind me. As I got up to about 55mph, my hood blew up and smashed up against the windshield. The windshield did not crack, but I couldn't see a damn thing. Instead of stopping in the middle of traffic and possibly causing a big accident, I stuck my head out the window and watched the traffic barrels. As soon as I passed one, I dropped off the edge of the higher cement and onto the contruction section and came to a stop right in front of a porta-potty. As I looked at the hood jammed up against my windshield and tried to shake off the jitters so I could yank the damn thing back into place, a construction worker came out of the porta-potty and pulled the hood back down for me. Yeah...someone at the shop did not latch the hood.

My next car was something I actually purchased on my own. It was an 85 Chevy Cavalier with 56k miles on it, 5sp, 2.0L engine. I loved that car to death. I drove it until it was slower than molasses getting up to speed on the on-ramps. It had 194k miles on it before I finally gave it up. My ex would be amazed every time he did a tune up. He just kept showing me the clean spark plugs when he changed them. He always said, this never happens. The worst thing that happened to that car was the muffler falling off on a drive around 11-mile Res. We used to joke that we were the first ones to start the loud-ass 4-banger trend.

A couple of junk cars in between and my last vehicle was *gasp* a minivan. It was a Nissan Quest. I bought that with 48k miles on it. I missed changing out the timing belt until it had 183k miles on it...no problems at all...ever. I finally sold it back to my ex at 222k miles when the transmission fluid started leaking.

So yeah...my experiences with cars are, I guess, typical, but I think to one extent I was spoiled with a husband who was also ASE certified and before that, I got the royal treatment from shady characters, which kind of tainted my outlook on all shops.

Here's something that makes me wonder why some shops treat their female customers so badly...http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/aug2005/mech.htm. I mean, with a customer base like that, you'd think shops would do a better job of doing what's right for their customers to keep them coming back.

[chanke4252]

Car service sucks. My mother had a transmission switch fixed on a 2000 4runner because it wouldn't transfer into 4wd. When she got it back it was slamming every shift and it blew up within a thousand miles. I'm not sure why she continued to drive it other than she just didn't know, but that's something they shouldn't ahve let the car leave the lot like. They were obviously at fault because they kept lowering their price to change the transmission when she didn't respond. I personally would have consulted an independent mechanic, but she had it replaced and then sold the car.