Yesterday: I went to the watch concession store at Sears to get a new battery for my 31-year-old Longines watch. Total damages: $39.73 with tax Today: I got into the car, turned the key and heard “Click.” I called my sister, we jumped the battery and I went to Sears for a new DieHard battery. …
I got the Mini back this morning for the ridiculous price of $1,839.87. For that I got four new tires (they didn’t have three to match the one they put on in January, so they gave me a fourth free to replace it). I also got new front struts and a wheel alignment, and something …
That’s what I hear when I turn my car’s steering wheel hard to the right or left. The shop says “We’ll put it on the lift and take a look. Might be control rods, might be suspension. Maybe it’s just a lubrication thing.” At least the guy heard the same thing I did. That’s an …
Brake pad replacement, rotor replacement, brake system flush, and lifetime brake repair agreement = $572.79. It’s amazing what one little idiot light on an instrument panel can lead to. Oh! On the brighter side, back in January I discovered that the tires I had on the car were not Run Flats but ordinary old radials. …
Continue reading ‘Slowing down and stopping is a good thing, I guess’ »
Um, thanks, Mini for telling me my brake pads have worn thin. Why can’t you also infuse my checking account with the cash to pay for replacing them? I like this car fine, and I’m sure I’m just misremembering what happened with the previous car, but it sure seems like things happen to the Mini …
Continue reading ‘Ack! Warning light on instrument panel! Oh no!’ »
When I bought the Mini back in 2012 (used) the guy I bought it from said he’d just had four new tires put on it, all of them run-flats. That means you can drive on one of them for roughly 100 miles if it deflates to get someplace where you can have it fixed. Uh-huh. …
The car registration is due in September, and I’ve been sitting on the bill for three weeks, not because I didn’t want to pay it but because I shuddered at the line I’d have to stand in at the Satellite City Hall down the hill waiting to reach the cashier. I don’t think I’ve ever …
Back in October I paid out $1,700 to fix the sensor for the passenger-side airbag in the Mini. That didn’t even tell me whether the airbag would actually work in case it was needed. Today the airbag indicator light came on, but it didn’t specify it was the passenger side one. Nope, it just gave …
I don’t often do this, but when I am feeling really ripped off, this is the place to squawk about it. As I was driving downtown to a doctor’s appointment with Mom today my tire pressure light came on. Now, that’s not entirely unusual; I think this is the third time it’s happened since I …
I figured it out eventually. They unscrewed the radio antenna to run it through the automatic car wash.