October 15, 2008 | Life in General, The 4-1-1 on Me
I want to trade in my Bug for something else.
Preferably something American. I’ve had this car for over a year. A month or so after I got it, I was back at the dealership getting the left front headlight fixed. A week later, I had to go back and get the front right headlight fixed. “Faulty socket” they said. For real? You didn’t think to test the other one when I’d brought it in the week before?
Then came the turn signals. They were clicking too fast. I had to go in twice to have those fixed because they didn’t do it right the first time.
Then came the inside driver-side door handle. It was peeling and there was a recall on it. What.Ever.
Then came the airbag light on my dashboard. If no one is sitting in my passenger seat, the “Off” should be lighted. Really? I had no idea.
Then came the airbag recall letter. Fab.u.lous. I got that taken care of last month.
Last Friday we spent close to $400. Actually, the exact amount was $398.36. Replacement of battery that had yet to crap out on me but was going to sooner or later because of a slow-turning crank and no, I couldn’t just go to Checker Auto because they apparently have to reprogram the radio, the one-touch windows, the key fob, and a whole bunch of other crap: $180. Replacing the left front tire due to a nail in the tire well that couldn’t be fixed with just a sticky plug: $180. And wouldn’t you know it, smack dab in the middle of downtown Sedona we encountered MAJOR construction. I can just imagine all the damn nails we picked up driving thru that shit.
And the final straw that makes me want to drive my VW Bug off a cliff? Over the weekend, the latch on my glove compartment broke off. I now cannot get into my glove compartment (Here’s to hoping I don’t get pulled over between now and Saturday. Knock on wood). I called the dealership earlier this week and they told me they would have to replace the whole lid: $300. Unless it was covered under warranty. I’ll find out this weekend.
THANK GOD WE BOUGHT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WHEN WE BOUGHT THE CAR. You know why? Because everything before that whopping $400 beatdown, I didn’t have to pay a cent. It was all under warranty. And despite the fact that I’ve only had to shell out that much, so far, I AM GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF HAVING TO GO DOWN THERE! I’m going to be down there so friggin’ much, they’re going to know my damn name.
It’s really and truly irritating. I can’t help but think “I didn’t have this much trouble with my Hyundai. Or my Nissan’s. Or my Neon. Or my mother’s station wagon.”
As cute as my Bug is, all these friggin’ repairs are making me want to give it up.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Technorati Tags: VW Bug
just a girl says:
Aw! Not that I own a car or anything, but that sounds reallyyyyyyyyy annoying. Just, you know, to state the obvious.
A Bug though? I really want a yellow VW beetle or convertible (well, actually, probably any convertible would make me happy) when I can afford one…which probably won’t be for, like, decades.
My family has driven a Ford as long as I’ve been alive, because that’s (one of) the closest dealership(s) to us, and they’ve been pretty good family cars (station wagon).
Good luck in finding a better car! Go hybrid. =)
x
JAG