When it rains, it pours – but then eventually there will be sunlight (WEEKEND OPEN THREAD)

Remember the little car problem I had last month that cost me close to $900 to get fixed, and the run-around I feel like I rec’d? Guess what? The car has been having the same problems again, and this morning it was to the point the car was smoking a little bit. So I took it in to the same place that fixed it initially, thinking surely it would be a warranty issue.

They told me an hour later after inspecting it that it wasn’t. This time it was the radiator. I asked the guy that, considering this was the same smell I was smelling last month, that the place didn’t see the radiator problem when I brought it in last time. “Oh, we tested it then, and everything was fine.”

Riiiight.

I got the same speech again about how many things that needed to get done to the car, and how it would cost me in the neighborhood $650. This time, I got a second opinion over the phone – and the other place (which I have been to before) said it would cost about $425, but that they needed to inspect the car, too, to make sure that’s what the problem was. Turns out that it was the radiator, but they said I didn’t need the two hoses that come with it, that they were in good shape, so all total I will be spending a little under $300 to fix the problem. I called the other place and told them to take my car out of the bay, that I was taking it elsewhere to get it serviced for less. They didn’t charge for me for taking a look at it to see what was wrong, either. So I went from $650 down to $282. I’m feeling a bit proud of myself this morning for doing some comparison shopping ;)

This makes me wonder if this is what the problem was last time. I don’t know enough about cars to make an educated guess, but it’s rattling around in my mind “what if I had gotten a second opinion last month?” Sigh …

Anyway, I said all that to say that because of all the back and forth this morning I’ve done with the two mechanic shops, I’m behind here at the 8-5. I’ll be back later this afternoon or evening to catch up a bit. In the meantime, please utilize this as an open thread. Happy Friday :)

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