Okay, never mind the droning noise for now, I told the friendly, helpful customer service agent at Georgian Pontiac-Buick-GMC the next day. I need to get the locks and lights problem fixed before I get stranded with a dead battery again! No problem, she said, we'll get on it right away and let you know what we find.
I headed back to the nice customer lounge, found a seat near an electrical outlet, and powered up my laptop to do some work while I waited (I read all the newspapers and magazines of interest the day before). Almost two hours later, a technician came looking for me.
Well, he began, we hooked our diagnostic equipment up and took your car out on the road 3 times trying to get the "Door Ajar" light to come on and the locks to start cycling. It didn't happen. And unless it does while we've got the equipment hooked up, we can't tell what the problem is. Terrific! I replied. It does it virtually every single time I get behind the wheel! In fact, it did it while I was on my way over here to see you! (Remember I told you what a tricky beggar this car is? I rest my case.)
So what does that mean, I asked? It means you may need to just get the entire door locking mechanism replaced, probably in the driver's door, he said. It comes as all one unit, so it won't be cheap and we'll have to tear the whole door apart to install it. I could feel the credit card in my wallet begin to vibrate in anticipation...
Okay, what about the airbag warning light? Well, he said, there seems to be a problem with the airbag control module. It's access code seems to have been erased, so when the car's main computer tries to talk to it, it's not talking back. So the computer turns on the warning light to tell you there's a problem. Will the airbags work if I have an accident, I asked? No, he said, but hey, we didn't have airbags back in the 70s and we're still here! Ooookkkaaaaaayyyyy...
I thought I'd better start looking elsewhere for help to solve my problems! So I called Jim Wilson Chev-Olds in Orillia, the place where the car was originally bought, and made an appointment. Driving in, I poured out my woes to an equally friendly and helpful customer service agent, who assured me they would see what they could do and pointed me to the nearby customer lounge.
An hour later he came to see me. Your airbag control module seems to have lost it's access code, he began. What can we do about that, I asked? Oh, we just reprogrammed it, he replied. It's fixed now. Wow, I exclaimed! What about the "Door Ajar" business? Well, he went on, we couldn't get that light to come on, or the door locks to cycle like you said. But it's probably just a bit of corrosion in one of the locking mechanisms so that the lock sensor isn't making contact like it should. I looked at him nervously... Does that mean I'll need to get the mechanism replaced? Oh no, he smiled. We just applied some lubricant to them all. You shouldn't have any more problems.
And you know what? I didn't. Now why couldn't Georgian just have done all that? I'll give you three guesses as to who I got to diagnose and repair the droning noise I was still hearing from the front end. And the first two won't count :)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
What's That Sound? Car Repairs - Round 1
Our 2000 Chev Impala had been a great car so far, but it was now starting to give us some grief. First there were the warning lights: airbag and ABS to begin with. Well, you can ignore those for a while :)
Then began the droning noise in the front end, low at first, kind of like a tire slightly out of balance. So I got the tires balanced. No change. I kept driving.
Then the "Door Ajar" light came on while I'm going down the highway, and all the door locks began cycling like crazy. Sometimes a good doorslam would solve the problem. Other times, we'd try to find a tune on the radio that had the same rythm as the locks opening and closing so we could at least sing along with the beat!
But what finally provoked me to action was the interior lights. Sometimes they wouldn't go out (I guess the car figured the doors were still unlocked). Or if they did, they'd come on later after I'd gone in the house (tricky beggars!). After twice having the battery drained and waiting hours for a boost, I'd had enough.
Thinking that I'd better have a real GM dealer look at the car, I began phoning around Barrie to see who could take it as soon as possible. Georgian Pontiac-Buick-GMC, a large, well-known operation in the city said they could take it right away. Great! So off I went and in no time I was pouring out my woes to a top-notch service agent. As a demanding consumer, I was really impressed with Georgian's customer service. Friendly, knowledgable, and helpful. Now this was service the way I liked it! I sat back in the customer lounge, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines to my heart's delight while the mechanics went to work on my sick machine.
An hour later, the verdict was in. That droning noise and the ABS light? A wheel hub & bearing unit. That's what the test equipment indicated. By the way, they said, it looks like it's been replaced before, along with a bunch of other parts in that area. Has the car been in an accident? Yes, a couple of years ago, I replied. It was an insurance repair. Well, it needs to be done again because the part has given out, they said. Total replacement cost? $700. Ouch! But they had the part and could do it the same day, so I decided to bite the bullet.
Several hours later, bleary-eyed from watching too much TV and reading too many magazines and newspapers, along with a nice little addition to my credit card bill, I waved goodbye to the friendly folks at Georgian and headed home. Guess what? That noise was still there! Didn't anybody take this thing for a test drive after the repair? Only a totally deaf man could have missed that annoying droning sound! I did a U-turn and went back to see my friendly customer service agent. Well, she said, it must be another wheel. Why don't you bring it in tomorrow and we'll have another look at it? But, I replied, your test equipment said it was that one wheel hub and bearing, and that the others were okay! Well, we must have missed something, she rejoined. Besides, we still need to look at your other electronic problems: the locks, the lights, and the airbag warning light.
It was with a slightly diminishing sense of confidence that I made another appointment for my car the following day. When I got home, I checked the insurance repair bill. Such enough, the right front wheel hub & bearing unit was on there. And it looked like it was under warranty! I called the dealership that had done the work. No problem, they said, just bring us in the old part and we'll see what we can do. I called Georgian again. Oh, sorry, they said, we've already thrown the part out. Not a chance of finding it again.
Suddenly, questions began coming to my mind. They knew it had been an insurance repair, so why didn't they recommend that I check the warranty on it with the dealer that had done the repair? Why were they so quick to throw the old part out? Had the old part actually been thrown out or were they just saying it had been so no one else would see it? My confidence in Georgian began to drop even further. Did I really want to take my car back there again...? (to be continued!)
Then began the droning noise in the front end, low at first, kind of like a tire slightly out of balance. So I got the tires balanced. No change. I kept driving.
Then the "Door Ajar" light came on while I'm going down the highway, and all the door locks began cycling like crazy. Sometimes a good doorslam would solve the problem. Other times, we'd try to find a tune on the radio that had the same rythm as the locks opening and closing so we could at least sing along with the beat!
But what finally provoked me to action was the interior lights. Sometimes they wouldn't go out (I guess the car figured the doors were still unlocked). Or if they did, they'd come on later after I'd gone in the house (tricky beggars!). After twice having the battery drained and waiting hours for a boost, I'd had enough.
Thinking that I'd better have a real GM dealer look at the car, I began phoning around Barrie to see who could take it as soon as possible. Georgian Pontiac-Buick-GMC, a large, well-known operation in the city said they could take it right away. Great! So off I went and in no time I was pouring out my woes to a top-notch service agent. As a demanding consumer, I was really impressed with Georgian's customer service. Friendly, knowledgable, and helpful. Now this was service the way I liked it! I sat back in the customer lounge, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines to my heart's delight while the mechanics went to work on my sick machine.
An hour later, the verdict was in. That droning noise and the ABS light? A wheel hub & bearing unit. That's what the test equipment indicated. By the way, they said, it looks like it's been replaced before, along with a bunch of other parts in that area. Has the car been in an accident? Yes, a couple of years ago, I replied. It was an insurance repair. Well, it needs to be done again because the part has given out, they said. Total replacement cost? $700. Ouch! But they had the part and could do it the same day, so I decided to bite the bullet.
Several hours later, bleary-eyed from watching too much TV and reading too many magazines and newspapers, along with a nice little addition to my credit card bill, I waved goodbye to the friendly folks at Georgian and headed home. Guess what? That noise was still there! Didn't anybody take this thing for a test drive after the repair? Only a totally deaf man could have missed that annoying droning sound! I did a U-turn and went back to see my friendly customer service agent. Well, she said, it must be another wheel. Why don't you bring it in tomorrow and we'll have another look at it? But, I replied, your test equipment said it was that one wheel hub and bearing, and that the others were okay! Well, we must have missed something, she rejoined. Besides, we still need to look at your other electronic problems: the locks, the lights, and the airbag warning light.
It was with a slightly diminishing sense of confidence that I made another appointment for my car the following day. When I got home, I checked the insurance repair bill. Such enough, the right front wheel hub & bearing unit was on there. And it looked like it was under warranty! I called the dealership that had done the work. No problem, they said, just bring us in the old part and we'll see what we can do. I called Georgian again. Oh, sorry, they said, we've already thrown the part out. Not a chance of finding it again.
Suddenly, questions began coming to my mind. They knew it had been an insurance repair, so why didn't they recommend that I check the warranty on it with the dealer that had done the repair? Why were they so quick to throw the old part out? Had the old part actually been thrown out or were they just saying it had been so no one else would see it? My confidence in Georgian began to drop even further. Did I really want to take my car back there again...? (to be continued!)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sorry, You Don't Qualify!
What is it with these credit card companies? Almost every week, my wife or I get credit card applications in the mail offering high credit limits, low introductory interest rates on balance transfers, and (usually) no annual fees. All you have to do is provide every possible form of contact information, some personal information for security purposes, employment information, and financial information. Then sign it, attach the special sticker, and send it off. Sounds like a shoe-in, right?
Guess again! Invariably you will receive a letter telling you, sorry, but you do not qualify for their credit card offer. If you follow this up with a phone call to find out why, you will be told that you already have too many credit cards, or that your combined available credit exceeds your current income, etc., etc., etc. In fact, it soon becomes clear that the credit card company has more information about your financial history and situation than you do! (and you've just given them a whole lot more personal information for their database, free of charge!)
So tell me, why do they bother to send you an application in the first place?!!! Credit card companies, do your homework first and quit wasting our valuable time! Only once did I get an application that was pre-approved. That company had obviously done it's homework and wrote to tell me that I qualified for their offer. All I had to do was sign and send in my acceptance form. Do that, and you've got a customer. Everything else will be going straight into the shredder!
What is it with these credit card companies? Almost every week, my wife or I get credit card applications in the mail offering high credit limits, low introductory interest rates on balance transfers, and (usually) no annual fees. All you have to do is provide every possible form of contact information, some personal information for security purposes, employment information, and financial information. Then sign it, attach the special sticker, and send it off. Sounds like a shoe-in, right?
Guess again! Invariably you will receive a letter telling you, sorry, but you do not qualify for their credit card offer. If you follow this up with a phone call to find out why, you will be told that you already have too many credit cards, or that your combined available credit exceeds your current income, etc., etc., etc. In fact, it soon becomes clear that the credit card company has more information about your financial history and situation than you do! (and you've just given them a whole lot more personal information for their database, free of charge!)
So tell me, why do they bother to send you an application in the first place?!!! Credit card companies, do your homework first and quit wasting our valuable time! Only once did I get an application that was pre-approved. That company had obviously done it's homework and wrote to tell me that I qualified for their offer. All I had to do was sign and send in my acceptance form. Do that, and you've got a customer. Everything else will be going straight into the shredder!
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