Saturday, June 21, 2008

Car update....

I finally got my car back this morning! I told them yesterday that I had to have it today to get to work at Wal-Mart. Well, I ended up not going to work because my mom was not feeling well so the plan was to get the car, try it out a bit and run by CVS to pick up some milk and ice. The car ran much better! :) Then I got to CVS and went to shut the car off.....but it wouldn't shut off. :( This had nothing to do with the new mechanics or the work I'd had done. I've been through this before....three other times...the ignition switch again!! AAARRGG! I just had it replaced in October and my regular mechanic said if it did it again they'd have to check in the steering column to see why it was failing. So off I go to find Roger at the KY shop.

I'd never been to this garage..just driven by it. It's big! I drive up and get out. I can hear guys in the bays working on cars. I go into the front door and no one is around so I head to the door that connects to the bays. I stick my head in and see Roger changing tires on a truck. I yell to him, "I think I need another ignition switch!" He follows me outside and tries to shut it off...no luck at first. Then he pulls the key out and finally it shuts off. He calls another mechanic out and discuss whether or not it could be something in the steering column.

Sometime during all this Roger asks me if the shop in IN (where he used to be) sent me over. I told him no and that I'd just came from getting my carburator rebuilt. He asks if I know that they aren't afiliated with the IN shop anymore. I tells him yes and that's why I'm there, I want my car worked on by people who are familiar with it. I also mention that my pastor had just come to them to fix something that was done incorrectly over at the IN shop. He says they have enough people working there (at his shop) that if one of them can't figure it out another one will. He also tells me that I've had the car forever and need a new one.....I respond with "well, my birthday was last month!" After he shows me how to shut it off with the key, he pops the hood to show me what to do if that doesn't work. Then I see a wire stretching from one side of the car to the other. I point it out to Roger and tell him that it wasn't there before the IN shop had worked on it. He said it went to the fan and it was "rigged". The other guy mentions that it would cause my fan to run all and could ruin the fan. They did agree that at least the carburator looked clean. Roger advised me to go ask them why they rigged the wire. I made arrangements to bring the car back later this week to get the steering column checked out.

Next, I go to the shop where the car was all week. When I asked them about the purpose of the wire, they made it sound harmless. I was told that it was a secondary wire. They said that when my radiator was put in last October the fan wasn't connected which was why my car was overheating. Hmmmm.....I didn't agree or disagree simply because I don't want to have them keep my car another week to fix anything else. But I was thinking......if the fan wasn't hooked up wouldn't I have had problems in November when I went on a trip that was 100 miles each direction? I know that it wasnt' HOT in November, but it wasn't cold yet either. I never had trouble with it until a few weeks ago and although it was very hot out, it was less than a ten mile drive.

Oh well, I'll just ask Roger later this week if it needs to be redone immediately or if I can wait on it. They must have just done a quick fix since I needed it early Saturday.

2 comments:

Jenny Rottinger said...

I'd be worried if they rigged your car so it would break down shortly so they can get more work in a shop. It's just too fishy. Hope it's not the case and that your car is going to run just fine for a long time to come.

Shelly said...

Jenny,

I don't know if that's what the IN shop (owned by the ex-wife) did or if the young mechanics simply don't know what they are doing. I took it to the KY shop (owned by the man) and had it fixed correctly. I've never had any trouble with his mechanics. They know my brothers, knew my dad...they are like family. I won't go back to the IN shop for anything!