Monday, June 20, 2022

DUH

Sometimes I am extremely lucky and the ball bounces in my favor.  Like my transmission that either healed itself or responded to divine intervention.  It is still running smoothly and the $3500 it would have taken to fix it is still in my bank account. That was a cool bounce.  Then I think my slightly smug satisfaction over the tranny cure led to the following comeuppance.

The other day I was coming from town when my little truck started pulling hard to the right.  If I let go of the wheel, it would make a right hand turn quite smoothly. Oh oh.  Thinking I might be getting a flat tire, I pulled over to check. Hum--- looked Ok to me though radial tires always look a little soft. Still, it was not obviously going flat.

So when I got home I consulted Google.  Mister Google suggested that if the tire was OK then it was probably my front end that need alignment. It had been quite a while since I'd had that done so I immediately made the appointment. The mechanic wanted to make sure I didn't have parts gone bad so he had to check it first. He did and decided alignment should solve the problem.   Since it was the weekend, we set up the time for Monday.

 I was at the shop right on time. Monday morning.  An hour later as I was sitting in the office settling the bill he said that my little truck needed very little adjusting. 

I said, "It won't pull to the right anymore will it?"

He looked surprised and said,"Was that your problem?"

In my defense, that is what I had said when I first contacted him. 

He said, "Well I noticed your right front tire was soft and that was probably the problem. I filled them all for for you."  

You gentlemen probably saw this coming.  

Duh, I just paid $80.00 to have him put air in my tire. Well I did learn something and it was much cheaper than the $3500.00 the transmission would have cost so I feel I am still  ahead if a bit chagrined.  

I do feel embarrassed admitting to this but am putting it out here just in case you run into a similar situation. Maybe my stupidity can save you some money. Check your tire pressure. It might even improve your gas mileage. 

Ever pay for something you could have done yourself? 

44 comments :

  1. Patti, I'm bugged at your mechanic. He sounds like an honest guy, I just wish he was a more fair businessman. He shouldn't have charged you $80 and he knows it! Oh darn it, what can you do.. live and learn. Now you've got me thinking, a couple summers back I took my four wrist watches to the jewelry store to get their batteries replaced. The jeweler charged me a huge amount, around $50. Two of the watches have stopped again since then, and I'm wondering if I'm getting rooked and should try to replace them myself. I think you've inspired me to do that, thanks Patti. 🙂👍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug,
      Well he could have kept quiet about the tire pressure and he did align it though it barely needed it. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.
      Batteries do have a shelf life so he may have given you his oldest batteries. I'd check the expiration date on the batteries you buy. Good luck.

      Delete
    2. Batteries aren't made to last these days, like light bulbs. Why do you have four watches? I have one that goes with everything.

      Delete
  2. That is a ridiculous amount to pay for what he gave you. But yes, I'm glad your transmission is apparently doing fine. :-)

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    1. Djan,
      I guess he did align it even though it didn't need it. I guess that is what I paid for. Yes--me too on the transmission. Guess I should just count my wins:)

      Delete
  3. Oh well, another life lesson, Patti. My car tires are small enough for me to change myself twice a year. And I have a compressor for topping up their air. Often fooled by how those radials look and their actual pressure guage measurement.

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    Replies
    1. Florence,
      Yep, I have been schooled.
      Well I am impressed you change your own tires. I use to, now I hire it done.
      Agree on how it is almost impossible to eyeball a radial. I do have a plug in compressor. Guess I should just periodically top them all off.

      Delete
  4. Wow, that's a lot of money for him to fill the tires with air. But, I probably would have done the same because I don't trust myself to read the pressure correctly.
    As for paying for things I ought to have been able to do myself, that happens frequently. Though this last time, with the painting in the basement I almost wish I'd paid for the contractor to do it.

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    Replies
    1. Eileen,
      Well I guess I paid for the knowledge gained. Like my Dad use to say, "You don't pay a barber for how much hair he cuts off but for what he leaves on." Expertise has a price.

      Delete
  5. That does sound like a lot of money to charge for what little he did. Well, hopefully the problem has really been fixed. That might be worth the $80.

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    1. Robin,
      I was shocked at first and disappointed that I didn't check further but it is driving perfectly now so I am OK with what happened. Lesson learned.

      Delete
  6. I am going to be paying for something I don't really need today. A tire rotation. I made an appointment for an oil change online and mentioned I wanted the air in my tires checked. The system printed the appointment for an oil change and tire rotation The tires were new last summer and I haven't even driven 1,000 miles since then. I couldn't figure out how to delete that.

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    Replies
    1. Jean,
      Ouch, You sure don't need rotation. I hope when you get there you can explain what happened and you get just the oil change and tire pressure check.

      Delete
  7. That would have irritated David. That is something you could have done yourself. Oh well, at least it wasn' something worse. Gigi hawaii

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    Replies
    1. gigi,
      That is how I am looking at it and hopefully that little bit of alignment will pay off.

      Delete
  8. He should have checked out things and started with the easiest fix first. You weren't the mechanic, he was. It was up to him to diagnose the issue. Sorry you had to pay that much!

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    Replies
    1. Margaret,
      Sometimes I think if I weren't a white headed old lady it might have gone differently. Maybe not.

      Delete
  9. Maybe that service man needs to have his hearing checked. You told him it pulled to the right.
    Hopefully the tires were the true fix and your truck seems to have gotten a clean bill of health.

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    Replies
    1. Linda,
      He seemed so surprised when I asked if the pulling to the right was fixed. He seemed too young to have a senior memory but who knows. At least it is running right now.

      Delete
  10. "Ever pay for something you could have done yourself?" Oh my gosh too many times! I'm sorry this happened to you!

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    1. Peg,
      Sorry you have had things like that happen too. Somehow I think that wouldn't have happened with Rick or any guy really. I think he would have listened better.

      Delete
  11. Years ago the clutch on my 2 yo Jeep on lease went to the floor without disengaging. drove to the dealer in 2nd and was told the clutch (not under warranty) was toast. Replaced the clutch for $800. One year later same problem. Drove to my local mechanic and was told I needed $1.75 of clutch fluid. Pretty sure that i all the the first place did as well.

    The next year the dealer burned to the ground (not me) so it was either Karma or an insurance scam...I suspect the latter.

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    Replies
    1. Joeh,
      Yikes, your $800 makes my $80 look like pocket change. That really was Karma that they burned down and I hope they had let the insurance lapse.

      Delete
  12. Uh, that mechanic doesn't communicate well. Please look for another, recommended by an old friend that's used them for years, before you emergently really need an honest, competent mechanic.
    If you're going to add air to your tires, use a tire gauge please.
    I'm hoping your "pulling right" problem isn't connected, literally, to your tranny problem, like an important metal arm link thingie. Usually a fully flat tire would cause such a severe pull to the right.
    I tell or provide a list of things I'm concerned about to my mechanic. He looks over and fixes things, and explains what and why. (He knows I played with VW engines and removed / replaced one in my younger days.) He even tells me what will be needed next, for safety and about when. By bundling symptoms, he rarely charges me for every item because he's in there anyway. I've towed my car to his shop before letting any closer shop touch my car. He kept my 25-year old Saturn running past 200,000 miles, and quickly fixed a problem when I was a driving-all-over hospice nurse. Good, honest mechanics are GOLD. I've traded husbands before I'll give up my mechanic! Linda in Kansas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda,
      Actually I have a great mechanic that I am thinking of adopting. We only talked on the phone and since he doesn't do tire work he recommended this guy.
      Just think the new guy didn't listen when I told him my problem. Sigh.

      Delete
  13. Yet one more reason why I don't have a car. Your $80 probably paid for an alignment check. Keep the receipt in case it does start pulling to the right again. Or the left.

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    Replies
    1. River,
      Agreed, regardless if needed or not. Yep, I am keeping the receipt.

      Delete
  14. Well, one way to look at it, is if he didn't drive it himself to see what it was doing, put some air in the tires to see if problem and then drive to see if corrected, how would he have known until he set it up and aligned it how little alignment was needed?
    I don't think he would have routinely driven your vehicle before aligning -- my guys don't -- even if he put air in your tires before aligning. He still wouldn't have known you didn't have an alignment problem and you had ordered one. I'm not so sure he was taking advantage of you. Yeah, next time, check the air in the tires first, drive it yourself and see if it's fixed. If not, then you can make an appointment for an alignment. I think of when I've taken my car in having made an appointment for an alignment, the guys never check the air in the tires before they do the alignment. On the other hand, whenever I have asked them to check the air in my tires at other times they always have, put the air in and charge me nothing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joared,
      He didn't drive it before, only after. Evidently filling the tires is something he does automatically. Trust me, I will definitely keep them properly inflated from now on. I don't really blame him, mostly me. Now I know.

      Delete
  15. I hate the times I have been fooled by mechanics. If I could go back to school I would take an auto mechanics course instead of home-ec.

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    Replies
    1. Annie,
      Ha ha, I think it should be a required course for girls now days. Times have changed.

      Delete
  16. It happens to the best of us. Bummer it happened to you. In my 20s. I bought my pickup truck brand new. I had to take out a loan to buy it. Later I did the math on how much I paid in interest. That was an expensive mistake. I made that truck last 20-years and refuse to buy a brand new one ever again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue,
      Yes, car or house loans will break most people. Had to smile at your making it 20 years and 200,000 miles. I am at 19 years and 185,000 miles.

      Delete
  17. Oh poor thing! It is so disheartening to have something like that happen. But, men know cars and they know that we women don't know cars so they sometimes can take advantage of us. Scary!

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    Replies
    1. Latane,
      You are probably right but the good thing is they may catch us once, but never twice. Next time I will ask a male friend first.

      Delete
  18. We need tires on the new car very badly

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    1. Mage,
      Good luck. Few things I hate more is forking out for all new tires. They are SO expensive.

      Delete
  19. The mechanic where we normally go, sells a "lifetime alignment" which I bought. I also buy the tire warranty when buying new tire(s). This gets me free alignment, tire balancing & rotation every 6-12 months. Also, I can bring it in anytime & they will check the air & fill it up.

    My car is now nearly 24 years old. I paid about $125 for the "lifetime" alignment way back when. No doubt they don't sell as many now, when it's $275, (most would buy the 1-time alignment) but on a new car, it's worth every penny, if keeping car more than 3 or 4 years.

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  20. Janet,
    Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. You keep your vehicles as long as I do so lifetime warranty will pay for itself. I've got 19 years on my little pick up and see no signs of wanting to trade.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well, I have finally faced the fact that I am too old to keep driving and I actually sold my car ... it was 21 years old and had over 200,000 miles and I was really surprised to get $1200 for it ! That's my story for money and cars ... (I really miss my wonderful Acura coupe ... but I don't miss what it cost to keep it up to par.)

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    Replies
    1. Ginnie,
      I know the day is coming when I will have to hang up my keys also but I do dread it. Glad you got a good price for yours.

      Delete
  22. I think front-end alignments do save wear and tear on your tires, so just think of it as investing in the life of your tires. And yes, I also did something ridiculous. When I had a repair done, the mechanic reminded me my inspection sticker had expired. Next time I had the money I got the care inspected in order to purchase the sticker. I tried to order the sticker on line and it wouldn't let me. I had to call the State's number to find out why and she said that I had purchased a sticker that was still in good standing. I realized that when I get a new sticker I immediately put it in the driver's side pocket just in case I get stopped before I can peel off the old and affix the new. Only this time I had forgotten to put on the new sticker. So when my next sticker is due, I am hoping that the inspection done 6 months before the new sticker purchase is due will still be good.

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  23. Good grief! I didn't know a vehicle could pull a certain way if a tire is out of air. Sheesh! This is good information for a lot of people.

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  24. As long as I have Bob, we don't pay for something that we could do ourselves. That said, he's the person in the know when we have a fix-it issue. I'm afraid I'd be ripe for over-charging and scammers if I was a single woman asking for service help.

    ReplyDelete

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