Of cars and complaints
I just returned from the car repair place--a lot poorer and feeling, as I usually do after dealing with such places, vaguely used.
Car repair places just do that to me. I always leave them suspecting that I have just been ripped off, although the rational part of my mind knows that to be a product of my own insecurity. I have a very limited knowledge about vehicles and engines, and am thus aware of exactly how easy it would be for an unscrupulous repairperson to completely hoodwink me regarding car repairs. I always feel so vulnerable when my car needs repairing: I must essentially trust that their diagnoses are correct, and since the car is usually having mechanical problems, I don't really have the luxury (like I would for other business transactions) of shopping around at competitors'. It's really only car repair places that leave me feeling so insecure; I wonder if others have similarly irrational suspicions regarding other types of businesses (such as computer sales/repair) about which they know little.
After dropping my car off to be repaired and giving the go-ahead for them to do the necessary fixes, I spent a few minutes on Google and the Chevrolet site looking for some information on the type of damage sustained by my car. It only took me a few moments to find a notice issued for my specific type of car announcing an open recall of an obscure car part which happens to cause the precise, exact type of damage sustained by my vehicle. Armed with this information, I navigated the Chevrolet telephone bureaucracy to see if Chevy would cover the cost of the repair and recall. Alas, stupid me. Although the mechanics were unsure exactly what had caused all the wiring in the steering column to melt and fuse together, they were very sorry to inform me that it had absolutely nothing to do with the recalled part (which they verified did need to be replaced--I get to make another appointment for that). Apparently there are just all sorts of things in 1997 Chevy Cavaliers that cause the wiring in the steering column to melt and fuse together in that precise fashion.
So here I am a few hundred dollars poorer and feeling like I've just been ripped off. Most likely they were being honest with me and I'm just the victim of an unlucky coincidence. I am genuinely happy that the car is repaired. So why do I once again feel like I've just been screwed over by the Man?
At any rate, a quiet evening with a good book should suit me quite well tonight.