Rant #2-Car Repairs

This is an unplanned rant, but after my trip to get an a simple oil change, I was presented a new challenge…how not to throttle the mechanic when he decided that I needed $1700 in repairs!

Why is it that no matter where I take my car I always have to make a special effort to prove that I am not “car care ignorant”? I mean really, do they think all women are clueless when it comes to maintaining their automobile? Geez!

Let’s be clear, I am not a mechanic, nor am I an expert on car care, but I have been driving for over 30 years and have had my fair share of car repairs so I am not a complete moron! I have also been blessed with jobs that provided company cars where I have had oversight to make sure that unnecessary repairs were not done.

I digress…

It was a simple task…bring car in and get oil changed. Sounds easy enough. I parked and walked in to the front desk. I was greeted with a smile and asked for an oil change and new wipers. No problem. Then I made a mistake…I mentioned that I would like them to re-balance my tires because my steering wheel was vibrating heavily when I drove over 65mph. Am I some sort of car genius? No, I have had this occur on a previous vehicle and thought it was a simple request.

They must of have seen “sucker” written all over me or flashing dollar signs dancing around…because immediately they went into sales mode. “Oh, it might be the alignment, the rack and pinion steering, the tires might be old…let us look at it and we can let you know”…They didn’t charge me to look at it, so I humored them and let them look for their “big payday” from me.

After 45 minutes the manager came walking toward me with a piece of paper in his hand. He had a bit of a giddy strut to his step and a smile on his face. I thought just maybe he was happy to give me good news…that I was correct and that I only needed my tires balanced. Wow! Was I way off! He was giddy because he presented me a list of repairs totaling $1690.97 (which didn’t even include my oil change or my wipers-the items I came in for.)

He said that yes, the steering wheel vibrated when driving over 65mph. Didn’t even know they took the car for a drive. Said that as my vehicle is older (2010 Toyota Sienna) that it “could be my rack and pinion steering”. The word “could” stood out. What do you mean could? Do you not know? Why would I make a repair that may or may not correct the problem? That was just the beginning…

Rack and Pinion (part) – $659.99 Labor for it $485.96. Oh, and then he proceeded to let me know that it is required to have an alignment after the repair which is not included in the price. That was another $99.00. Let’s review: He wanted me to spend $1244.95 on something that “could” be the problem…

He continued: looks like I needed Automatic Transmission Service. Said he found a leak. Let’s be clear…this car has not been driven in several months since I had a company car and has been garage kept with no evidence of any leaking. This he said, would only cost an additional $163.49. Only? (Yes, $163 doesn’t sound like a lot when you are trying to get me to spend $1200 on another repair, but it is still a lot of money for something I definitely do not need).

After thinking that this would most likely not have been a situation that he would have had with a man, I bit my tongue (not wanting to throttle this guy) and kindly told him to proceed only with the oil change, the wipers and the re-balancing of my tires. (In case you are curious, it is $10/tire to re-balance…a far cry from $1244.95). To be fair, he didn’t push and only provided services that I wanted.

I spent a total of $90. My car has new wipers, an oil change, and the balancing of my tires fixed the problem! I keep wondering if I simply asked for my tires to be re-balanced and not provided a reason why I wanted this service, if I would have simply gotten what I asked for without a huge “sales pitch”.

I also began to wonder how many people get “suckered” into repairs that they do not need or aren’t warranted. How can I help people without sending everyone to a mechanic’s school?

So I “Googled” it…the following are suggestions I found. Let me know if you have others…

  1. Always get an estimate in writing.
  2. When having new parts put on your car (even an air filter during an oil change) ask to see the parts before and after the service. This will ensure not only that you have a part that needs to be replaced but also that they actually have replaced it.
  3. If you are skeptical at all…don’t do it. Your intuition is good. Seek a second opinion. But keep that written estimate to compare.
  4. Use Google. It’s super easy to look up information about car repairs.
  5. Unsure of reputable places to go? Use social media…Facebook and Next Door are my go to’s to find local credible places and recommendations.

Here are some reputable sites to check out as well:

http://www.aaa.com

https://www.ase.com/Landing-Pages/Car-Owners/Find-a-Repair-Shop.aspx

https://www.bbb.org/

Let Me Explain

First of all-thank you for reading my inaugural blog.

My name is Amy and I invite you to rant with me.

I have found over my 48 years that there are things that people do or don’t do that just drive me nuts!  Kind of like reading signs on doors…you know the ones where people pull when the door says push.  However, these are a bit more life changing, money-saving, or even less frustrating ways to get things done.

My reason for ranting:

  1. Sharing what I have learned along the way…in hopes of supplying even one person with an “Ah-Ha” moment
  2. It is therapeutic to write it down and get it off my chest…
  3. If you have something to rant about…I hope I can learn from it too.

So, let’s get to it…

Rant #1

Prescription Medication Cost

It drives me absolutely nuts that people will drive 5 miles out of their way to say a penny on a gallon of gas, but won’t take action to save money on their medications.  Did you know that not all pharmacies charge the same price?  Did you know that sometimes the cost of your medication is less than your co-pay through insurance?  Of course, not.  These are things that no one explains.

I spent 10 years of my career working in pharmaceutical sales and the biggest complaint I always had from physicians and patients is cost.

First-call your pharmacies and compare prices.  Just like your weekly grocery ads, prices fluctuate.  Always ask what the price is if you “didn’t have insurance”.  Most pharmacies have a tech that reads from a computer screen.  The systems are not set up to let you know if the cash price is less than your copay.  However, you need to specify what the cost is if you “don’t have insurance”.

I found this out the hard way…I asked a pharmacy tech what I thought was a simple question…”What is the cash price of my medication?”…I was stunned when this tech responded without looking at her computer screen, “it’s the same price if you pay cash or credit”.  I am sure I had the most perplexed look on my face at that point.

Second-Ask your physician if they have any coupons for the medication.  If not, look on the manufacturer’s website.  Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money trying to reduce prices through rebates and coupons.  Unfortunately, if they reduce the price at the pharmacy level, the only one who benefits is the pharmacy.  Many times over, pharmaceutical companies have lowered their prices only to find that those reductions do not get passed on to patients.  It’s not always the Pharmaceutical companies that increase pricing (not that you would ever know by watching our politicians consistently blame the pharmaceutical manufacturers about the cost of medications-that’s a rant for later).

Third-Did you know that you do not need a membership to get your prescription from Costco?  They are also one of the best priced pharmacies around.  (I even used them to get medication for my dog).

In later posts I will follow-up with my rants about generics versus branded medications, why politicians like to blame pharmaceutical companies for all skyrocketing medical costs, and why trying to buy your medication outside of the US might be your worst nightmare.

Until next time – Rant with me!