Dear Axle Seal,
What are you? Why do you keep leaking? And why when I look you up on wikipedia does it ask me if I mean axle steel?
Sincerely,
Your Annoyed Owner
So several of you know that I don't exactly have the best luck with cars. I've owned one car in my life and it has caused me a bit of trouble over the few years I've owned it. Last November when I took it in to get inspected, it passed inspection, but the mechanic told me my axle seals were leaking. And by mechanic I mean the dealer because the local mechanic who is nice and puts up with my lack of car knowledge couldn't fix them. So back to axle seals, I had no idea what an axle seal was let alone why it leaked. He could have told me there was a little green man dancing the hula in my car and that was causing the leak and I wouldn't have known any differently. It is PATHETIC how little I know about cars and I swear they can tell. My car "knowledge" comes from reading my owner's manual and calling my neighbor from time to time to ask him what something is/does. So I naively asked what an axle seal was and he explained it to me and a week or so later I'd completely forgotten what he'd said. I'm still hoping my new neighbor turns out to be a mechanic who will fall madly in love with me or at least be a dear friend who will want to fix all my car problems. If that doesn't happen, I'm hoping to soon meet a mechanic who wants to be my new best friend. If I decide to believe in future lives, I'm coming back as a mechanic in my next life. Anyway, back to axle seals...so I set up an appointment to have it fixed on Veterans' Day so I wouldn't have to take a day off from work. And of course why would I want to do something fun on my day off when I could hang around the house all day without a car (actually, it wasn't that bad, I think I got some reading or movie-watching done). They said it would be ready in a few hours. A few hours came and went and still nothing so I called and apparently they didn't have a tool they needed. Hello, you are a friggin' dealership, aren't you supposed to be the one with all the tools?! And when were you planning to tell me this? They told me they were going to have to get it from another dealer the next day. I somewhat politely (okay, maybe I wasn't that polite) told them I had to work the next day, could I please have my cark back with the leak and I would return it to them after work the next day when they had the proper tools? They said NO! They told me my car was up on a whatever they put cars on and taken all apart. Well, I like to walk, but I really didn't feel like walking 15 miles to work on a cold November morning and none of my co-workers are terribly close by, but by some miracle I found someone to drive me to work (I really miss working within walking distance of my home). The next day I had a functional car. Hooray! But wait. The story isn't over yet. Fast forward to a week and a half ago when I brought my car in for an oil change and guess what? After I got home I saw a note on the receipt... They told me my axle seal was leaking and it would cost $250-$300 to fix. WHAT?! Who can afford that every 8 months? I called and they said they would look into it and call me back. Do you think they called me back? Of course not. So I called again for two days and finally someone left me a message and we then played phone tag. Finally, I got ahold of someone who told me since it has been less than a year they will fix it for free. Thank goodness! I mean seriously, who can afford to get axle seals fixed every 8 months? It's bad enough I had to buy a new transmission earlier this year when my car wasn't even 5-years-old (that will earn its own blog on a slow news day). I tell you some days I really wish I still lived in Boston and rode the T everywhere. But then when it's minus 20 and I'm in a nice warm car I guess I don't miss waiting for the T so much. sigh Okay, keep your fingers crossed that my car will be ready today with axle seals that don't leak. And if you know what axle seals are, please refresh my memory. And if you know any mechanics who want a new best friend, call me. :)
2 comments:
oh my... i know EXACTLY how you feel. i have been really lucky with my car, but anytime i have to spend ANY money on it i get so mad. like... they cost a million dollars, you should never have to spend another penny after you buy it.
and mechanics can really screw you over... like... how do you know they even did what they said they did? if i opened the hood of my car i think i could point out the engine, the battery and where you put the windshield washer fluid. and that's it. so if they told me they replaced an axle seal i would just smile and say thank you... but who knows!!
plus i swear they get an extra commission for talking girls into doing things they don't need. just say "oh my dad can do that." that's what i do!!
Well, you know more than I do Jess. I told my friend Dan the story of my car tonight and he is now afraid he's going to have nightmares of little green men doing the hula in his car, but as he understands cars and can even fix things on his own, I think he shouldn't worry. He doesn't have my car disability.
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