My Avalon has been repaired, at enormous cost, and should...better...last at least another year or two or three. I want it to be reliable, not simply last. That is key.
The repairs were finished on Thursday afternoon. New front struts, front & rear brake pads, new timing belt, new power steering line to replace the leaking line, new rack & pinion to replace the blown one on the front right side, new water pump...lots of stuff. When I noticed the 'check engine' light come on yesterday morning on the way to work, it annoyed me...I assumed something had not be put back together correctly. I stopped by the garage and they gave me ride to work. The service manager called later to tell me the bad news; the problem had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with what they had done to my car, it was just an unfortunate coincidence that an oxygen sensor, a $300+ repair, had gone bad. Needless to say, I was very, very skeptical. After an extended conversation with the guy, he asked if I wanted them to pick up the entire cost...would that make me feel better? I said yes. He said it was important that I understand that it had nothing to do with their work...it was just coincidental. Frankly, I don't know whether it was or not, but the guy had convinced me to have the work done, rather than ditch my car, by telling me my investment in the car would be worthwhile and it would keep on running for a long, long time. So, his willingness to eat the cost was just fine...regardless of whether it was coincidental or not.
I've added independent Japanese auto repair shops to my list of people and organizations not to trust.
It's just after 6:00 am and I've been up for almost two hours...it's odd, so easy to get up on the weekends, very early, and so tough to drag myself out of bed during the workweek.
No comments:
Post a Comment