June 20, 2006

  • When I bought my 2004 Honda Accord over two years ago, the one rule I gave myself was that I was going to "baby" it. I wanted it to last as long as it possibly can, so I decided that money wasn't going to be an object, as long as my car is taken cared of. One of the results of that decision was that I was actually going to do all my car service needs with the dealership I bought it from. I know, they are expensive, but once again I told myself that money will not be an issue when it comes to my car.

    As time went by, laziness and convenience started creeping in. I got a flat tire last year, and instead of going with the dealership, I just opted for Wal-mart. It's just tires right, no big deal? Then most recently my air conditioning system wasn't working anymore. I did not know why, and I figured that it can't be a cheap fix. The dealership all of a sudden wasn't an option and I started browsing through the local mechanics. I ended up taking it to a local AC/radiator specialist, where I found out that it's my AC condenser that is damaged, which caused all my freon to leak. I think I damaged it by something on the freeway that I must have hit. They were going to fix it at a reasonable price, and that's even after comparing it to the other local mechanics.

    The morning I was going to pick my car up, I get a call saying that they can only accept cash. If that isn't a red flag, I don't know what is. So now I have my doubts as to whether I made the right decision. I wasn't willing to withdraw that amount of money from my bank, so I was really hoping to use my credit card. Luckily I still have one of those checks that I can use for my credit card, so I opted for that. I paid them, my car seems to be working fine, and they say that every part fixed are genuine Honda parts. All fine and dandy I guess, but this experience reminded me that I should never break my rule again. From now on, it's going to be nothing but the dealership when it comes to my car services. Unlike local mechanics who don't owe me anything if they screw up, the dealership has more of a guarantee with their work.