Okay, maybe not really, but I have been busy doing other stuff and got behind in my blogging, so - ketchup time! (Ugh, hate the stuff, being allergic to tomatoes probably doesn’t help!)
So, first thing that caused my busy-ness was the death of my longserving van. I never expected it to last forever, but it died an untimely death. Here’s the story; the name of the national chain of “service” centers has been replaced to protect the guilty.
The vehicle was originally brought in for service on Monday, 12/29/2009, because it had started running rough intermittently. At that time, to my knowledge, there was not an overheating issue, but I honestly do not recall checking the temperature gauge. I waited for a diagnosis, which I was told would cost me $88 but would be waived if the service was performed there. After a short while I was told that a fuel injector cleaning was needed and a vacuum leak needed repaired, which I authorized. After waiting roughly half an hour in the service center, the vehicle was given to me and pronounced good to go. I was warned that there would be some residual smoking from the fuel injector cleaner until it cleared from the system. During the short drive (under 2 miles) home, the vehicle ran more smoothly.
Due to the NYE holiday I did not drive the vehicle again until Friday night. I drove down to south Tampa at roughly 8:30 p.m., after Buffy’s hours, and again noticed some roughness, again intermittently. I parked the van for approximately four hours, then headed home.
As I approached the I-275/Fletcher exit the van began running very rough, as bad as it had before I brought it in. I began making my way over to the Bearss exit; by that time, the engine was overheating and the vehicle stalled as I pulled onto the exit ramp. A passing DOT truck pushed me into the closest parking lot, out of danger, and I called AAA and arranged for a flatbed to bring the van back to Buffy. I was there Saturday morning when they first opened, described the issues, and left the keys.
I called them a couple hours later to see what the prognosis was. At that time, I was told by Byron that cleaning the fuel injectors had actually made things worse, because the distributor cap was in poor shape (“almost falling apart”) and dumping more fuel into the non-firing cylinders was not helping. I was told they would be calling around to see what parts were needed to repair it that day.
A couple hours later Byron called and told me that there was no compression at all in the rear three cylinders, and that a new engine would be needed. Obviously, I was not pleased. Byron and I went around on the phone several times, but the essence of his claim is that the original issue had nothing to do with the consequent blown engine. I disagree. Even if his statement that “The overheating caused the engine to blow” is correct, the overheating appears to have been caused by the initial problem - which was never repaired.
This is actually a pattern of missing problems at this store. In January of this past year, almost exactly a year ago, I took a different van in there to have an oil leak repaired. I was charged $300 to have the valve cover gaskets replaced - and the leak did not stop. A return visit revealed that the valve cover itself was cracked, something which should have been obvious to the person who changed the gasket the first time. It is apparent to me that the “mechanics” at this location are nothing more than parts replacers, guessing at what will fix a problem and putting the burden of replacing parts without solving the problem on their customer’s wallets.
I am not a mechanic; that’s why I took my vehicle into a location and agreed to a diagnosis by someone who is supposed to know what they are doing. In this case, the missed diagnosis cost me an engine, and considering the overall value of the vehicle, the end result was a loss of transportation altogether. I seriously considered suing them in small claims court for the cost of the vehicle, but after looking up the book value decided I would likely not recover enough to make it worthwhile.
In the meantime, on Monday, January 5th, at 9:52 a.m. I received a call from a “TT, regional manager” at Buffy. As I couldn’t answer the phone, it went to voicemail; he said he would call me back in approximately an hour. I’m still waiting for that call. Draw your own conclusions.
So that’s the sad story. I had to get a new vehicle, fast, since I can hardly work without one - it’s not like I can take the bus! So here’s the new beastie:
Okay, it’s not a Mercedes or Lexus, but it’s in good shape and gets about 30 mpg, which is 11 more than the van did. It’s comfortable, the AC blows cold, it drives smooth, all the power windows and locks and door handles are there and work (unlike the van), so I guess I can’t complain - I just wasn’t expecting the expense. So that’s part one on the “What I’ve been up to” entry - part two, coming up!
