(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both. If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)
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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.
So now, about the Jalopy.
Last year, in May, she got a new transmission and two new motor mounts, at least, we were told she did.
We began to notice something was wrong, and our regular mechanics at Kevin and Lenny’s (where they don’t do body work or transmissions) said that if the motor mounts were new, they would eat their baseball caps. They were broken, and they looked old and still broken not new and broken already.
Also the new transmission was making noises. A call was put in to the transmission place, where they swore they did put in new motor mounts, and they told us the warranty on the transmission was through a local dealership which would have to fix the transmission problems.
It’s a dealership that is known for being less than honest, especially about repairs you need.
Our first hint that they would try to mess us over was a call, over two weeks after we brought it to them, in which they said that they could not guarantee the van would shift correctly if we didn’t fix the ABS.
For any who don’t know, the ABS is the anti-lock brake system, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the transmission and shifting, and it hasn’t worked in the Jalopy in over 5 years.
Just fix the transmission, we told them. Warranty work only.
Right before Christmas came the clincher. The Jalopy has mysteriously developed a leak in the cooling system, every hose was leaking, it needed a new water pump, it needed all new hoses, it was overheating and they couldn’t test drive it to assure the transmission was properly fixed. Cost on everything they want to fix was about $2,000.
When i told the manager that there was no leak when we dropped it off and we were going to come get it ourselves, he very generously offered to have it towed to our house at no charge. Very generous indeed, as when we took it to Kevin and Lenny, they noted that every hose was leaking now — they’d all been “damaged” when removed to fix the transmission. We are still paying for new hoses. The water pump is fine.
Once that is paid, we have to get brakes, and take it back to the original transmission place. The motor mounts have a one year warranty, so while they swear they put in new ones, they also said if the new ones are broken already, they will replace them. We will see.
In good news, Dr. Dee has her old van back, so she now has the truck and the van. Yesterday i dropped off a payment for her to get insurance on the van again (it’s been in the shop for so long she took the tag off and let the insurance go) so she can get another tag for it.
She bought herself three Christmas gifts, a small exercise peddler thing so she can try to strengthen her legs, a steam mop, and an electric broom. We had fun putting them together and trying them out yesterday, and for once everything works!
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| Hooray! Nothing to pack up and ship back! |
And we turned in some scam documents to the Credit
Union. She got a letter, in a USPS Priority Envelope no less, with one of those “cash this check and buy gift cards and you can keep the extra money” deals where if you do as they say, it turns out the check is bogus and you are in debt to your bank. The bank was happy to have it to turn over to their fraud department, envelope and all, so they can keep track of addresses these thieves are using.
Union. She got a letter, in a USPS Priority Envelope no less, with one of those “cash this check and buy gift cards and you can keep the extra money” deals where if you do as they say, it turns out the check is bogus and you are in debt to your bank. The bank was happy to have it to turn over to their fraud department, envelope and all, so they can keep track of addresses these thieves are using.
Ms. G is out of town Wednesday, so my Tuesday client has agreed i can go there on Wednesday, that means today i have Ladies Circle and no work, an unexpected day off.
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| And i don't have to get up this morning, so i won't! |
Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!
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Today is:
Bubble Bath Day -- remember how much fun it was as a kid? enjoy that again today
Day Sacred to Justicia -- Ancient Roman Empire (personification of justice)
Emperor Norton Day -- E. Clampus Vitus Society puts on a party in San Francisco's Chinatown in honor of the passing on this day of Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico
Feast of Hathor and Sekhmet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Feast of St. Gudula (Patron of single laywomen; Brussels, Belgium)
Grandmothers/Midwives Day -- Bulgaria (a/k/a Babin Den; celebrating Grandmothers as midwives of their grandchildren, for the role they play in the traditional family.)
Haloa -- Ancient Greek Calendar (fertility festival of Demeter and Dionysos called after the halos, or threshing floor; date approximate)
Rural Dionysia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the fertility festival of the countryside)
It All Adds Up Day -- anniversary of Hollerith's tabulating machine patent
International Consumer Electronics Show -- Las Vegas, NV, US (the world's largest annual trade show for consumers, and the largest annual trade show of any kind in the US; through the 11th)
Kim Jong-un's Birthday -- North Korea
Male Watcher's Day -- often listed as a day for the females to get even and do a little guy ogling, but no site gives any reason behind why this day was chosen
Midwife's Day / Women's Day -- Greece (women get out and go to a cafe or shopping, and the men must stay home and do the chores and care for the children, and in some areas, men caught shirking will be stripped and drenched in cold water; on the approximate date of an ancient Greek celebration of midwives)
Gynaecocratia -- Macedonia
Milk Carton Day -- Sheffield Farms began packaging milk in parafin lined paper cartons on this day in 1929
National Eat Something Raw Day
National English Toffee Day
National Joygerm Day -- a day to infect others with joy; begun by Joygerm Joan, whose motto is "The only thing Joygerms allow to get depressed are their tongues!"
National No-Tillage Conference -- Indianapolis, IN, US (conference to encourage ecologically sound farming; through the 11th)
Old Hickory Day -- Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson leads the victory in the Battle of New Orleans
Rock 'n' Roll Day -- on Elvis' birth anniversary, of course
Show and Tell at Work Day -- another Wellcat Holiday to observe carefully if at all
St. Severinus' Day (Patron of Austria and of San Severo, Italy)
Toka Ebisu Matsuri -- Osaka, Japan (Festival of Ebisu, god of business and prosperity; through the 11th)
Birthdays Today:
Ami Dolenz, 1969
Vladimir Feltsman, 1952
Don Bendell, 1947
David Bowie, 1947
Robbie Krieger, 1946
Kathleen Noone, 1946
Stephen Hawking, 1942
Yvette Mimieux, 1939
Bob Eubanks, 1938
Shirley Bassey, 1937
Elvis Presley, 1935
Charles Osgood, 1933
Soupy Sales, 1926
Ron Moody, 1924
Larry Storch, 1923
Jose Ferrer, 1912
Galina Ulanova, 1910
Wilkie Collins, 1824
James Longstreet, 1821
Nicholas Biddle, 1786
Debuting/Premiering Today:
Symphony No. 15 in A major (Opus 141, Dmitri Shostakovich), 1972
"Almira"(Handel's first opera), 1705
Today in History:
Monaco gains its independence, 1297
Genoa, Italy expels Jews, 1598
The oldest surviving commerial newspaper begins in Haarlem, Netherlands, 1675
The New York Fishing Company is the first American commercial corporation chartered, 1675
Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1734
US President George Washington delivers the first "State of the Union" address, 1790
Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, emerges voluntarily from the wild in southern France (he had been captured and escaped before), 1800
The Battle of New Orleans, 1815
The first US music school, the Boston Academy of Music, is established, 1833
The US national debt hits $0 for the first and only time, 1835
Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code), 1836
French physicist Jean Foucault proves, using his "Foucault's pendulum," that the Earth rotates on its axis, 1851
Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the US Cavalry at Wolf Mountain in Montana Territory, 1877
Dr. Herman Hollerith receives the first US patent for a tabulating machine, considered by some to be the earliest computer, 1889
The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system, 1904
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., 1963
Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched, 1973
The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, 2004
Some scientists claim 2012 weather as the hottest year ever recorded, 2013
The previous year, 2017, is declared a record year for cost of natural disasters, coming in at $306 billion, 2018
What on earth is an electric broom?
ReplyDeleteI think that motor company is very shonky and you should inform your version of whoever investigates and blows the whistle on national television. We have "A Current Affair" in Australia and if any company has bad business practices and too many complaints we can contact this TV show and they'll investigate and the company will be known to all as one to avoid. In several cases they have managed to get full refunds of any monies paid for poor repair works.
A good honest mechanic is like gold. Years ago my tranmission was not working. The dealer put in a new one (they claim) for $600. Ine year later it was acting up again...since the dealer was not waranteeing it I took it to my regular mechanic. He added trans. fluid and charged me nothing. I think I was ripped off. A year later that dealer ship burned to the ground, I suspect for the insurance...Arrggghhh!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that you had to deal with a very, very shonky business. And would report them. Hooray for getting a day off.
ReplyDeleteCar repair shops frustrate me to no end. Luckily, my husband used to be a Master Mechanic. He works on my vehicles and I don't feel like I'm getting the run-around.
ReplyDeleteHow perfect that your unexpected day off happened on Bubble Bath Day!!
ReplyDeleteDang, that's a mess of a heck! We take our cars to a certain garage and a few times they said what we brought it in for didn't need done...no charge. We like them.
ReplyDelete" It's your tires! They need to be on a new car." I love it. LOL I told you that you needed a new car. My wife's car has 135,000 and I think she heeds a new car but she won't change. Maybe I should tell her that funny comment.
ReplyDeleteScams are a pain in the butt. I almost got scammed from my computer but thanks to my good geek computer whiz, he saved me.
You also have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday my friend. See ya Mimi.
Cruisin Paul
Oh my on your vehicle. I so remember those days. Never even trusting my vehicle to make it to work and back. I hope this gets straightened out and soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Happy Tuesday, my friend. ♥
Mimi,
ReplyDeleteOh, no CAR WOES! That place is awful! I hope you get all of this resolved soon. I sure do sympathize with you. Last month wasn't our best for old car problems especially when part of it is one's fault.
Bubble Bath Day...now that sounds like a good one. I just wished I had one of those old fashion deep tube like my parents had when I was little. I loved that thing!
Happy Tuesday, dearie!
Boy, what a crock...
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was in college, I wasn't allowed to change the oil where I was living, so I made the mistake of going to an oil change place. They proceeded to tell me that I had transmission fluid leaking and it was rusty (!), and and and... I told them just bring the car out, and I would take it home. Oh, no, Ma'am, it will leave you sitting... I pointed to my (Amateur, "Ham") radio, and said, no, I can contact my Dad, so I am not too worried. They still were going to not give me my vehicle. I proceeded to get out my big clunky cell phone, given me by my parents, only to be used for emergencies. I proceeded to dial.
They asked who I was calling. I told them, 2 calls, one to my parents to come pick me up, the other to the police for grand theft auto.
My car was driven out promptly.
Went DIRECTLY to my Mom and Dad's. We checked the oil, and commented about the "rusty" transmission fluid. We both thought it was interesting, because we'd changed the fluid the weekend before, I'd just not had time to get to the ding dong oil!
I sure hope you can get the nonsense taken care of. And enjoy your day!
Cat
Do hope your car problems will be solved soon ~ Fun post and jokes too ~
ReplyDeleteHappy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
A trustworthy mechanic is hard to find.
ReplyDeleteOMG! That whole car/transmission/leaky hoses fiasco sounds so frustrating!! Here's hoping they didn't do damage to other stuff that will end up costing you money. Man oh man! It's like they're the stereotypical bogus mechanics. :(
ReplyDeleteDr. Dee's self-purchased Christmas gifts crack me up - but I love that you two had fun with them! ;)
An unexpected day off is always welcome! :) And who knew it was Bubble Bath Day?! I better put it on my calendar for next year... ;)