The title pretty much sums it up, but rest assured, i WILL go into details....this is definitely NOT one of the things i was looking forward to this month. UGH.
THIS story is going to begin on saturday. So, i was *supposed* to go out and meet up with some friends saturday night. BUT, my body had other plans...i had a massive headache and stomach ache...(the stomach ache was TOTALLY my fault...ATE WAY TOO MUCH...i think the headache was the result of the stomach ache) anyways, instead of going out, i decided it was best to stay home and nurse myself back to health. I figured i would get up early sunday morning....go the gym, run some errands and get back to the house before the redskins-eagles game.
So now, it's sunday morning....i wake up...and hop outta bed...i'm feeling good and i'm ready to hit up the gym. so i change into gym clothes and head out the door. I jump into the car and buckle myself in and try to start my car. only, my car had OTHER plans. (*side note, this story is really best told face to face so that you can see all my hand gestures and i can make the sound effects, so i apologize...but i HAD to get this off my chest...back to the story now). so, it is making this noise (insert sound effect) and it SOUNDS like it's going to start, but it just doesn't. now, a NORMAL person would immediately think, 'crap. something broke and now the car is not working', but let's face it, i'm far from normal. here's what I do...i keep trying to start the car. after at least 4-5 times of no luck, i think, 'hmmm, maybe it's user error?!' so i get out of the car...think to myself, maybe the car needs to 'rest' <--this, is where i immediately realize that i AM my mother's daughter. because that is totally something crazy that, again, most people would never think in this situation. i get out of the car, and head back into the house. i wait for about 20 minutes, and head back outside to check on the car. i try to start the car again, and it doesn't start. it's about this time that my common sense kicks in....and i realize, the car has some kind of issue. i pop the hood, and i "pretend" like i know what i'm looking for...i rule out the battery, the starter, and the alternator...why?! i don't know why, it just sounded good/right/made me feel better.
after the realization that i was not going to be able to do anything that i wanted to do, i call my insurance company to see if they can give me advice or help me in any way. to be honest, i have NO idea what kind of coverage i have....i receive all the packets, but there is so much boring information...i just don't want to waste my time reading all that crap. i call geico and my conversation with the geico lady went a little something like this:
geico lady: thank you for calling geico, my name is X, how can i help you today?
me: i dunno if i have roadside assistance or if my situation even qualifies, but my car won't start. i'm not stranded anywhere....well, i'm stranded at my house...i'm not sitting on the side of the road or anything...am i covered?
geico lady: let me check. looks like you are! we can get a tow truck out to your house, just need a little information from you...
etc, etc...point is, i didn't have to pay for my car to get towed...one less expense i have to worry about. so YAY! sounds like this story is starting off pretty well, right?! well, hang on...it DOES get worse...
so the tow truck guy comes and picks up my car (and me, i might add) and brings me and the POS car to the closest place that was open on a sunday (and HERE is where it REALLY starts)...the closest mechanic was a shop off of 29. ladies and gentlemen, here is my PSA...DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO GOODYEAR GEMINI TIRE AND AUTO IN CENTREVILLE. i walk into the shop, and there are AT LEAST 5 guys standing behind the computers, and i'm standing there, just waiting for ONE of them to acknowledge my presence. FINALLY, after 10-15 minutes, one guy says, 'can i help whoever is next?!" i look to my left, look to my right, behind me...there is NO ONE THERE BUT ME...whatever. i walk up, and tell him, my car was towed and need it fixed. he asks me what's wrong, and i describe the problem and hand over the keys. he tells me 'it's gonna cost you $100 for us to even look at it'...at this point, i'm at their mercy. i have no choice but to say, uhhh, okay and walk out the door. as i'm walking home, i start thinking about how much this repair is going to cost me and i start to get pissed. i have to pay you to just look at my car...aka, a diagnostics test?! i've never even heard of that before. UGH. i keep walking and i keep getting upset...i just know that if they're going to charge me $100 bucks just to look at it, then it definitely is going to cost me an arm, a leg, and my first born child. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat.
i get home and *TRY* to relax. i start watching the skins game, and i'm starting to get into a better mood, since the skins did SOOOOO WELL in the first quarter on McNabb's old stomping grounds :) sorry eagles fans...heh. anyways, as i'm beginning to feel better, i get the dreaded call from the mechanic. i brace myself for the news....here. we. go. he tells me....wait for it.....wait for it.....SIX TO SIXTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. at this time, common sense has DEFINITELY kicked in. i go, ummm, exactly what is wrong with the car?! he tells me that the distributor has gone bad. so, as he's talking, i decide to check auto zone to see how much a distributor costs....LESS THAN 300 DOLLARS PEOPLE...which means, he was going to charge me 300-1300 bucks in LABOR. i pretty much lose my shit at this point and not just because of the INSANE overly charged quote, but because it is situations like these, that make me HATE mechanics. now, i know there are some very honest ones out there...but in this particular situation, i feel like i'm getting taken advantage of. i call around to a few other shops monday morning and get quotes for $5-600 dollars. i IMMEDIATELY call goodyear and the convo goes like this:
me: okay, i've called around and have received another quote that is NOT as high as yours. i was told that for parts and labor, it'll only cost me $500 bucks. now, if you can meet their quote, i'll approve you doing the service. otherwise, don't touch my car and i'll have it towed to this other location.
mechanic: so, you were quoted $500 dollars for the parts and labor?
and i think to myself, isn't that what i JUST said?!
me: YES. parts and labor. the distributor, distributor cap, and the motha f*ckin rotor (okay, maybe i didn't add the motha f*ckin...but i was definitely pissed)
mechanic: okay, let me see what i can do and i'll call you back.
10 LONG minutes go by and i finally get a call back.
mechanic: okay, we can bring it down to $700 dollars for the estimate.
me: NOPE. that's still too high. especially since this other shop is only going to charge me $500. PLUS, i checked how much a distributor costs, and it's less than $300 dollars. i'll have the car towed and i'll pay for your stupid diagnostic fee, but DO NOT do anything else to my car.
i get my car towed to the other shop and luckily, i had vented to the shop lady and i believe she gave me an honest quote...probably because i told her that i did my research. now, at this point, i decide, i'm still pissed. if i HADN'T done all this research, goodyear would have TOTALLY taken advantage of me...of course, i equate this to the fact that i'm a GIRL and have NO FREAKIN CLUE about cars. i decide that i'm going to do the only thing i can to "vent"...i start a yelp account and do a review...LOL. I guess it was my way of 'stickin it to the man'. LOL. i don't know how many people actually use yelp, but i figured it'll make me feel better. total passive aggressive move, but i don't care. then, i get some cojones, and send an email to the shop. i basically tell them that they discriminate against women and that i'll never take my business to them EVER AGAIN. i didn't really expect them to do anything, but then i get a call from the shop manager. crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrap. i'm so much angrier via emails/texts/reviews than i am in person or on the phone.
i basically reiterate everything i said in the email, and he *trys* to assure me that it's NOT because i'm a female. and my response?! i say, can you see how i could think that though?! you were quoting me $600-1600 dollars. that is a HUGE window and it wasn't until AFTER i told you that i got another quote that was only $500, that you changed your tune and lowered the quote to $700. honestly, it makes you look bad. like, here is this stupid girl that knows nothing about cars, and it's a perfect opportunity to take advantage of her. his response, and i quote " 50% of our clients are women"...umm, i feel like anyone can say that. that shit doesn't make me feel better. what WOULD'VE made me feel better is if you didn't make me do this run around crap because you were going to overcharge me and if you gave me a refund for that stupid diagnostics test. then MAYBE i'll THINK of giving you my business again. until then, F-YOU, GOODYEAR GEMINI TIRE AND AUTO IN CENTREVILLE, F-YOU.
Point of the story is this...ladies, be careful who you trust. luckily, i'm a jaded bia, so i don't trust anyone. besides, family and friends, of course :)
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