Relying on the Expertise of Others (or Why I Prefer to Know Everything About Everything)
I recently went through a frustrating vehicle maintenance experience. I replaced both of the rear tires on my car last July after an unfortunate encounter with “safety” glass, and evidently I should have taken care of all four tires at that time. But I am cheap and my service guy at the dealership didn’t say anything to the contrary, so I just took the two new tires and drove off disgusted that I had to spend so much on something that falls under the category of “routine maintenance.” A half a year later, the two old tires were looking pretty worn.
As a sidebar, I despise spending money on “routine maintenance” - from furnace filters to oil changes to the co-pay for my annual “well-woman” physical - having to part with my hard earned cash just so the house doesn’t fall down around me or my engine doesn’t blow up has always irked me. Logically, I am aware that preventative maintenance is really just an insurance policy that allows me to sleep easier at night, secure in the knowledge that I’m taking care of my stuff properly - but I really don’t like spending money on things that simply allow me to maintain my existing quality of life.
Back to the tires - my fiance had taken some time off work and generously agreed to go out into the snow in search for two new tires for my vehicle. Turned out the dealership (that I know and trust), didn’t have any of the tires I needed to match in stock, so my industrious sweetie shopped around town until he found a place with a comparable tire. There was one tiny problem, however - they refused to change the two front tires unless I agreed to replace all four. Something about alignment and the transfer case on a four wheel drive - my partner tried to explain it to me over the phone, but I typically defer to someone with more testosterone than I in such cases.
It seemed to me that this new place was just trying to take advantage of him - shouldn’t the dealership have mentioned that this was a concern if it was indeed as important as the guy pitching four tires seemed to think it was? My beloved didn’t know what to tell me - and I didn’t know what the right answer was - so I asked my work spouse (the person on my team that I work most closely with) what he would do in such a situation. He wasn’t much help either.
I ended up calling the dealership, and they told me that I likely needed four new tires. Why didn’t they say so back in July!? Ugh.
Auto problems seem to be plaguing others as well. Last week, JD at Get Rich Slowly wrote about his car trouble, and today JLP at All Financial Matters discusses why he loathes car dealership service departments. I feel your pain, gentlemen!
I wish I was a gear head or intuitively knew when a dealership or repair place was acting in my best interest and when they’re just trying to screw me over. I hate having to rely on others expertise and much prefer doing the research myself. In the case of vehicles, however, I don’t have the luxury of relying on my own experience for anything more sophisticated than an oil change - and even then, I take it to a pro.
Stumble it!
January 14th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I understand. Our recent car stuff had me stumped and annoyed as well. The problem is that there’s so much in the world to learn and I don’t know how to do it all.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Heidi - It is just a Ninja bill, that’s all. Do not beat yourself up over it.
However, maintenence is a great invenstment. It is always cheaper to fix it Before it breaks!
Whatever you have spent in the last two years on the car, divide into 100 and save that per week. Once a year on an easy to remember date, take the car in for the full meal deal checkup if it is a bit older. Always change the fluids on schedule and you will save yourself thousands later!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:11 am
I have a similar problem with maintenance. I feel like I already bought something, so now I should have it instead of having to re-buy or partly re-buy it all the time.
But of course expecting things to stay in perfect shape forever, especially things that get wear and tear on them, is like believing in magic.
It’s better to research the maintenance and expected life-span of things you are going to buy and re-adjust your brain to include all those costs, even though you only have to pay some of them up front. It makes things a lot less exasperating in the long run.
I just add a certain amount every month to my car upkeep budget and my house upkeep budget (which includes appliances) and my fun stuff budget (which includes toy upkeep), and then expect to have to drain those funds periodically.
Meanwhile, you might want to ask more of your friends (all genders) if they are into car maintenance, or know someone who is, so that next time you might have someone better to call.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I get this too. It sucks, but if you don’t do it–it will hurt worse later. It’s so hard not to say “I want to invest/save” etc.!
And…run from the dealer! I relied on them for “superior” service.
I’ll tell you the scary result… $400 for repairs from my trusted mechanic (I found after a really meager search. I went to my local BP a few times & they did a bang up job after I gave them some trial runs.
The dealer’s bill for similar extensive repairs = $1200+. For no reason, & they screwed up. Not only that, they didn’t care. I do have to say, some weird things on your car, your dealer could take care of best, but it’ll cost you & they could screw it up.
I feel you though. Try some fasting tea!
January 15th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
On replacing all four tires on a four wheel drive vehicle. Yes you do need to do that unless you have very few miles on the two you already replaced. If two tires are worn, then they are basically a smaller tire size than the new tires. When operating in four wheel drive, all four wheels have to turn at the same speed, or there is a bind put on the transfer case components, the gears and bearings.
The transfer case sends power to the front and back wheels at the same time, if the wheels in the front or back are turning at different speeds then the transfer case will be damaged if you are on dry or partly dry road surfaces. Believe me, tires are a lot less expensive than a new transfer Case!
You can get away with slightly more worn tires on the back if you are very careful to only drive in four wheel drive on slick surfaces, but that is really taking too big a chance, just not worth the risk in my opinion.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I hate this too. I’ve got some plumbing issues in my condo. So I called the plumber. He measured some water temperature, poked around a bit (didn’t take anything apart), went into the boiler room, and decided it’s a building-wide issue. And I got charged $150 for that. Ugh.