I'm Not An Idiot When It Comes To Cars (long)

[Tyger]

Let me tell you what I’ve been dealing with for almost a week.

So, last Tuesday, my hubby, myself, our daughters, are going into town to do some errands. All of a sudden, my Check Engine Light goes on, and my speedometer just STOPS working, then it goes on, and then off. Of course, hubby HATES my “cuck”, so he immediately starts bitchin’.

Well, I tell him to calm down, chances are it’s something minor, since the car is working just fine, probably electrical, and when we get stuff done in town, we get home, and I call Subaru of America, get a claim number, & make an appointment at the nearest Subaru dealer, which is in Houston (ugh!). I get an appointment for the following day (Wed) to drop my “cuck” off, and pick up a rental. All of which is covered by the extended Gold Plus warranty I purchased when I bought the car. 60k mile or 6 yrs worth! Whoo-hoo! I’m at a little over 57K miles right now, so almost by the skin of my teeth, but still covered.

I also thought to mention that about 4-5 mos. ago, I noticed that my speakers on my driver’s side were fluxuating, going in and out randomly.

I told them not to worry, that the rep. had told me that they probably couldn’t get to my vehicle until late Thurs. anyway, so I was in no hurry.

I get a 2009 Subaru Forester to drive as my freebie “rental”. Not a bad Subaru “minivan”, but I like my “cuck” better. Sami LOVED it, very roomy, BIG sunroof, handled well, and it was like a seafoamy bluish green color. Pretty. Just not my particular style.

Coincidently, the day I called and made the appointment, I got some coupons FROM Gillman (which is the Subaru dealer) for a cheaper oil change, so I told them to throw one of those in too. May as well, it’s THERE, right!!? No worries, that got done.

I get a call that Friday. Here’s where the issue comes….

The manager, who I have dealt with before (more on that in a bit), tells me that the oil change was done. No biggie. Then the major complaint is addressed and that a connector that went into my car’s computer got bent, and they bent it back, and that was what the problem was. That they drove my car 20 to 50 miles (yes, that random), and that the problem seemed to be taken care of. But, there IS a possibility that, due to the bent connector, a short could occur, and short out BOTH of my vehicle’s computers. WHAT????? I said, well, WHY did it happen in the first place, and I got “well, due to the car jiggling around and such”. I said that I don’t go anywhere, or even take my “cuck” off road at all, and have lots of people to vouch for the fact that I really don’t go anywhere. So, how come the connector got bent with normal driving? He said that there was really no way to tell. Erm, huh?

Then he tries telling me that ALL 4 of my speakers need replacing (not realizing I know how to wire a stereo), and that will cost me about $450. I said “No, it won’t. I have the extended Gold Plus warranty on my vehicle, & I was covered”, really wanting to say neener neeeenner neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeener, but refrained. He said, “Oh! Yes, you do, ok, then you’re covered. Nice try buckwheat, but NOW you’re committed to replacing ALL 4, when, in fact, probably just the 2 needed replacing. HA! Tunes of Weird Al’s “Eat It” plays in my head.

It’s late afternoon by the time they call me with all of this, so I tell them I will be in in the morning, to avoid Houston traffic. Ok, no problem.

Well, the whole “fry both your vehicle’s computers” and the fact that I am SO close to the end of my warranty keep nagging at me. I think about it all day. AND all night, keeping me up, and making me want to be more of a bitch to make sure my vehicle, that I paid for, and is my baby, is at optimum performance as well as safe to put the girls in!

DH goes off the deep end, of course, ranting, raving, and bitching about Subaru, and how he’s unimpressed (he never wanted me to get what I did, so loathes my “cuck” to begin with) he is, though this is the first majorly thing to go bad on the car. Whatever. I tell him to basically shut up, I will handle it, and no, I am not going to threaten a lawyer at this point, for crying out loud!

But, I did make a list of questions, concerns and things that I would NOT be ignored about, when working on my vehicle. After all, it’s MINE, they’re providing a service, and even though it’s warranty work, MY satisfaction is KEY.

I call them on Saturday morning, and the manager’s not there that day, so I talked with the customer service rep. (who is AWESOME, BTW), and told her how things were explained to me and that I was NOT overly comforted with the diagnosis, and would she be, if she got the explanation I did? No, she admitted she would not be either. Cool for me. So, she told me, though she was worried about getting in trouble, keep the rental until Monday, and talk with the manager then. I told her not to worry, that I would make SURE she wouldn’t get into trouble. If she did, her manager would be getting into trouble, I guaranteed it. I ask her to give me the mileage on my car when I dropped it off, and when she got a chance, to call me with the mileage on it NOW, to make sure they drove it as much as they said they did, since I got too big of a range. Found out with a follow-up call that they drove it 44 miles. OK, feeling a bit better.

I told her of the other experience I had there when her manager tried to only replace PART of my wearing tanneau cover on the back, when Subaru of America told me it would be a FULL replacement, and how irritated her manager seemed when I told him that a FULL replacement’s what I was promised, and THAT was exactly what I was going to get. He begrudgingly had it done. So, I felt that this is the second time I feel my car’s been “jerry-rigged” by their dealership, and until proven otherwise, I was NOT comforted. She totally understood.

I get transferred, by request, to the manager’s voice mail, where I pose my questions such as: Why did this happen, what’s to prevent it from happening again, I was worried about wire structural integrity and if the wire had been bent, why won’t it break? If it took rewiring the car, even though it’s time consuming, tough. That’s exactly what I got the warranty for to begin with! I wasn’t happy with how things were explained, and I don’t feel comfortable putting my kids in the car until I get answered. Oh, and that whatever comes OUT of my car, I want to see. I know they have to send it to the company, but they CAN & will wait to do so, until AFTER I see proof that it really WAS replaced. So there.

I have a good friend, who’s a Master Mechanic. I call him, explain to him what happened, what I was told, and he explained to me exactly what the connector looks like, which, think of a coax cable plug that goes in the back of your VCR/DVD player, with 6-10 prongs or more, and THAT is what is. AND those connectors are usually connected by a SCREW directly INTO the computer. So, the chances of one prong, or 2 being bent, is unheard of, unless a tech did it accidently. Here I was thinking it was more like a fuse type prong. OK, another question to add to the list: How did one or 2 prongs get bent? Was it an accident from the tech when trying to plug it back in, or what? Also have them check my speed sensor. He also agreed with me about the speakers, but, hey, if I am going to get them replaced, and they’ve pretty much screwed themselves by diagnosing the way they did, YAY me. And the Check Engine light going on with the speedometer issue is normal. He also said that he has bent prongs back into place, and that normally, everything’s fine, so it’s really NOT as big of a deal as he made it sound, but sounded like they were trying to cover their ass. OK, I can understand that.

I call the dealership, apologizing to the girl if I sounded cross or a bitch with her, and it was the UNKNOWING that scared me and made me uncomfortable. That I know a lot more about my car than people realize, that I may have breasts, but that automatically doesn't make me a vehicle-idiot, she laughed and agreed that that does happen often with mechanics. I apologize to her, and also to the voicemail of the manager, and looked forward to hearing from him on Mon.

Send off an e-mail to Subaru of America, stating my concerns, with my claim number as reference.

Monday rolls around, I call in the AM. I sound a lot more educated, calm, asked my questions, which sounded like he was a bit surprised. He explained it better. The screw holding the connector in place, had come loose. Only 2 or 3 prongs where slightly bent, and 5, maybe 10 degree angles, they were bent back in place, and there was no code popping up for the speed sensor on the computer (my friend had told me all issues have a code, so I was fine with that). He reaffirmed that the speakers were needing replacing, and that they’d ordered them, and it’d take a week to get here, and only a couple hours to replace. I thanked him for his explanation, and that he really should try and be more specific with people about the mileage put on their vehicles, because 20-50 is WAY too much of a generic response. I want to know EXACTLY what’s being done, I understand computers and vehicles, to a degree, and want to know what’s going on, and to build up customer trust, it’s key that they be honest. He agreed.

I go there, they’d driven my “cuck” another 20 miles to make sure that it was still working properly, and I was happy. Drove home, and everything’s fine. I thanked them all, especially the rep. And now my “cuck’s” back where she belongs & so far, running fine!! *Knocks on wood*

I got a follow-up e-ami from SOA, and responded that I am satisfied so far, and that things were explained to me better, and what they were.

[pappyld04]

Tyger you may wear a bra but you damned sure have balls! LOL! Way to stand up and make sure your warranty that you paid for was put to the use it was intended for. The mechanic needed a lesson like this to make him see that not all women are ignorant about their vehicles. I think a lot of them take this same idea and try to run women over.

Whoever told you that every problem has it's own code is correct and with the proper tools and information is very easy to check. Unfortunately the cheaper code readers are getting difficult to find. Many shops can hook-up to the diagnostic tester for abotu $25 and is well worth that if you don't trust the dealerships. You will know exactly what should be coming your way and will have that on hand if they try treating you like a fool.

I may not agree with your choice of Subaru but I must say I understand why you love your cuck. I have two El Camino's and we love them. Mama has her own. Not as fast as mine but she loves it anyway!

[Tyger]

Thanks Pappy! Yes, I sometimes have bigger balls than even my hubby. What can I say? LOL

Yeah, car preferences are personal choices. I got a Subaru because most of my family has had one at one time or another, and they just LAAAAAAAAAAAAST!! Plus, you can't BEAT their gas mileage rates! And, it's a safe vehicle, which was very important.

If it makes ya feel better, it was either that, or a Dodge Magnum, but there was a 6 week waiting period when I was in the market. Tyger's not the most patient person! LMAO

But, it's not the car maker's fault I was treated like that, it's the shop's, and now they know that I am NOT a dumb broad. A bitchy broad!! LMAO

[Tyger]

Well, to update, last week, I took the car back, and got all the speakers replaced, which, thankfully, took less than an hour!. I asked the tech HOW these NEWER speakers could fail like that, and he said it's usually brought on by people blasting them. I told him, "look, I have a child in the car 9 out of 10 times I drive it. I never blast it when she's in there, cuz I don't want to damage her hearing." He shrugged, and couldn't explain how it happened then.

Jeez! I had an '89 Firebird, and a 91' FORD TEMPO, BLASTED THEIR speakers, never had a problem. Both were used when I bought them too!!! Whatever. I got them replaced, at no cost to me!! Even got the car washed too. Bonus!

[mystofpric]

Well, to update, last week, I took the car back, and got all the speakers replaced, which, thankfully, took less than an hour!. I asked the tech HOW these NEWER speakers could fail like that, and he said it's usually brought on by people blasting them. I told him, "look, I have a child in the car 9 out of 10 times I drive it. I never blast it when she's in there, cuz I don't want to damage her hearing." He shrugged, and couldn't explain how it happened then.

Jeez! I had an '89 Firebird, and a 91' FORD TEMPO, BLASTED THEIR speakers, never had a problem. Both were used when I bought them too!!! Whatever. I got them replaced, at no cost to me!! Even got the car washed too. Bonus!

Hi hun! i'm getting ready to fight with sears to Honor my tire warrenty, a 60,000 mile warrenty and no good after 15,000? No, I don't think so. Any way I blast my '06 Ford Taurus radio all the time! The entire town knows my mood by my music! hehe. And as a techie most car stereos are designed witha built in compressor s you can't easily blow your speaker, the big culprit? shotty wiring!

[tmmc]

Its so aggravating when they assume because they are talking to a woman, that the woman doesn't know anything. Jiffylube did that to me the guy told me I needed a new air filter when I know that all of our cars have k&n filters on them. And they think we're the stupid ones. I'm glad you were able to set them straight.

BTW...its funny to me that your husband makes fun of your car because mine does the same thing. It must be a guy thing

[pappyld04]

Its so aggravating when they assume because they are talking to a woman, that the woman doesn't know anything. Jiffylube did that to me the guy told me I needed a new air filter when I know that all of our cars have k&n filters on them. And they think we're the stupid ones. I'm glad you were able to set them straight.

BTW...its funny to me that your husband makes fun of your car because mine does the same thing. It must be a guy thing

I'm a big fan of the K&Ns!

[pappyld04]

BTW, Tyger I have one of those Tempo's sitting in the back yard now!

[Tyger]

Yeah, once I go in, they realize what sort of bitch they're dealing with. When I walked in to get the speakers done, the service manager knew my name and asked how the car was running!! LOL Oh, he knows if it wasn't running right he'd have gotten a not-so-nice call from me prior to that visit!! LOL He now knows that this is one "broad" that you can't snow-job. Damnit, I'm a YANKEE to boot!! LOL

Archer, would if I could darlin'! LOL

Pappy!!! That car deserves to be restored! Those things ran really well!! I loved my Tempo. Though that was the car I traded for the Firebird, I got a GREAT trade-in value, cuz I used the dealer's words against them, and got an extra $2500 out of them that they had offered before. I'm tricky that way. LMAO

[pappyld04]

Yeah, once I go in, they realize what sort of bitch they're dealing with. When I walked in to get the speakers done, the service manager knew my name and asked how the car was running!! LOL Oh, he knows if it wasn't running right he'd have gotten a not-so-nice call from me prior to that visit!! LOL He now knows that this is one "broad" that you can't snow-job. Damnit, I'm a YANKEE to boot!! LOL

Archer, would if I could darlin'! LOL

Pappy!!! That car deserves to be restored! Those things ran really well!! I loved my Tempo. Though that was the car I traded for the Firebird, I got a GREAT trade-in value, cuz I used the dealer's words against them, and got an extra $2500 out of them that they had offered before. I'm tricky that way. LMAO

The motor has enough money in it to make that a viable possibility! We spent $1300 on the motor alone when we first bought it! I only gave $500 for the car initially!

[sun_flower969]

This story KICKS ASS! You rock!

[Tyger]

Thanks Sun!! LOL