The joys of auto repair

I must start this post by first thanking the Benningtons for letting me "hang" at their house along with providing lunch and a fun trip to the park today while my car was serviced in Greenwood, so thanks Jeremy, Laura, Tessa, Charley, Hayden, and Rosie for a great time while I waited! :)

Okay, now I have to share my recent experience at a dealership to be unamed, but if you know what kind of car I drive right now, you will be able to easily figure it out! So anyway, last Friday on my way home I stopped by said dealership to schedule an appointment for some "routine" maintenance that was now due. I also wanted to have the oil changed, tires rotated, and the sunroof checked as it has been giving me some trouble. So the estimate I received was high, but I figured it would be a pricey visit.

Today I arrived at the dealership and reviewed again the previous estimate and signed my life away. I must add that they did in fact get me a rental car and they are paying for the cost of the car while mine is being serviced, to this I give Kudos as the cost of the rental is a drop in the bucket compared to what I will be paying them later this week.

Well, a few hours later I got a phone call from the service assistant and after she rattled off another long list of recommended services (some were optional, some weren't--replace oil pan, fix a bracket on the engine,etc) my new estimate was more than double the original...in the $2000 range, oi vey!!! At this point I have her email a copy of the estimate to both Scott and I and then I call him on my cell phone to see what he thinks. There were several words not to be repeated in front of small children and he even called our service assistant to "discuss" the estimate.

Bottom line, my car is still in the shop, I still have a rental car and as much as we both hate to pay for the new oil pan (Scott figured out he can replace it for a fourth of the cost quoted today) I think we are going to have to have them do the work as Scott is probably going to be traveling starting tomorrow and I need wheels for work.

To be continued later this week...