Finally, My Car is "Fixed"...Maybe

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In the article http://markshathaway.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-local-car-dealership-dead-battery.html I wrote about my car troubles. It wouldn't start and I took it to the dealership garage.

At first their computer analysis made a profound discovery: "the battery is dead" and they just wanted to replace it. Fortunately I bumped into the mechanic and mentioned I'd been having this trouble for years and there was very likely something else happening. His first reaction was "All I can do is deal with what's in front of me." But, then he added that after replacing the battery he would do another analysis. A ray of hope...

I think he and another mechanic looked around quite a bit and discovered something really amazing: when you open the passenger door the dome light wouldn't turn on. Wow! They said the switch in the door was broken. So, I said, "That can't be very expensive. Go ahead and fix it." It was over $ 100 for that switch. They also cleared out some leaves blocking drainage holes in the car door. It had been collecting water when it rained and that may have had an impact on the electrical system. Was the switch somehow affecting the electrical system and draining the battery (presumably overnight while the car sat unused)?


So, I told them to fix the broken things.

All-in all they replaced a dead battery and fixed the door switch.

Afterward, they said, "We can't guarantee this will solve your problems."

Cost of two garage visits for the car: greater than $ 800.


This is the state of affairs in America today: we pay and they refuse to give us assurance we're really getting anything. Doctors do the same. they say we must pay because they're god-like and then when asked to explain problems they say, "What can you expect? We're just human and medicine is more art than science." No era of personal responsibility here.

So, I have the car back and it's started so far. But, there's no guarantee it ever will again. Think of that. How many trips more than 10 miles would you make not knowing your car would start if you ever had to stop and turn it off?

Next, the transmission seems to be slow-shifting. How much could a little thing like a transmission cost?    :-(