SERIOUSLY?! Automotive Fail
Sep. 17th, 2010 04:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stSigh! So, I understand planned obsolescence but this is getting ridiculous.
You will all remember that a few donations helped me replace my car's serpentine belt a couple of months ago. The belt just failed with age. It was cracked and dry and would ruin my car if it wasn't replaced. My car is a 10 year old Toyota Corolla. Or about 85 in human years. And perhaps an occasional knee replacement is to be expected.
But lots of the parts and pieces are falling off of it. For example, the headliner is frayed and full of holes like an old stocking, but until it falls down, I can deal with that. And the decorative door panels, the quilted fabric parts, are wobbly like loose teeth, but I can deal with them, too. And apparently, it is killing batteries. I bought a new battery two years ago.
But the car has decided not to start in the mornings.
I sympathize. But we can't have that. I need to get to 100 doctor's appointments a week. So I took it to the garage I know about where they don't charge you to tell you what's wrong and where they give me very nice discounts.
And the battery had a dead cell. Even though it should be good for another 3 years. Luckily, they prorated because the battery was under warranty. All settled, right?
HA! When the mechanic opened the driver's side door...the door handle snapped off in his hand. It didn't fall off. It snapped in two. So, that means...wait for it...there's a $248 dollar charge to fix it.
I want to blame the mechanic, but I can't. Considering the state of the car...and the fact that I was standing right next to him and saw that all he did was open it up normally...and the handle snapped...there is no chance of me getting all righteous and indignant. So, I have come here, again, asking if some kind person among you could help a sister out with her door handle. It's not what you would call an emergency, of course, since I can get in through the other doors and I might just be able to rig something with the handle stub. But it is on the driver's side, so I would love to fix it, but as you all know...money is just not available for the non-emergency repairs at this time.
What is up with building a car that falls apart in 10 years? I mean, these aren't parts I've neglected. Unless I'm supposed to use some kind of special lubricant on the plastic parts or something. Am I failing as a car owner? Or is this just planned obsolescence? Or is there something about Florida heat and humidity that takes the starch out of Toyota plastic parts?
Le Sigh!
Rae
You will all remember that a few donations helped me replace my car's serpentine belt a couple of months ago. The belt just failed with age. It was cracked and dry and would ruin my car if it wasn't replaced. My car is a 10 year old Toyota Corolla. Or about 85 in human years. And perhaps an occasional knee replacement is to be expected.
But lots of the parts and pieces are falling off of it. For example, the headliner is frayed and full of holes like an old stocking, but until it falls down, I can deal with that. And the decorative door panels, the quilted fabric parts, are wobbly like loose teeth, but I can deal with them, too. And apparently, it is killing batteries. I bought a new battery two years ago.
But the car has decided not to start in the mornings.
I sympathize. But we can't have that. I need to get to 100 doctor's appointments a week. So I took it to the garage I know about where they don't charge you to tell you what's wrong and where they give me very nice discounts.
And the battery had a dead cell. Even though it should be good for another 3 years. Luckily, they prorated because the battery was under warranty. All settled, right?
HA! When the mechanic opened the driver's side door...the door handle snapped off in his hand. It didn't fall off. It snapped in two. So, that means...wait for it...there's a $248 dollar charge to fix it.
I want to blame the mechanic, but I can't. Considering the state of the car...and the fact that I was standing right next to him and saw that all he did was open it up normally...and the handle snapped...there is no chance of me getting all righteous and indignant. So, I have come here, again, asking if some kind person among you could help a sister out with her door handle. It's not what you would call an emergency, of course, since I can get in through the other doors and I might just be able to rig something with the handle stub. But it is on the driver's side, so I would love to fix it, but as you all know...money is just not available for the non-emergency repairs at this time.
What is up with building a car that falls apart in 10 years? I mean, these aren't parts I've neglected. Unless I'm supposed to use some kind of special lubricant on the plastic parts or something. Am I failing as a car owner? Or is this just planned obsolescence? Or is there something about Florida heat and humidity that takes the starch out of Toyota plastic parts?
Le Sigh!
Rae