While doing some errands yesterday, found my car wouldn't start. It was, unfortunately, too late in the day to look into auto shops or tows, which meant I had to take care of all that this morning. Which I did, meaning I didn't get to sleep until 10:30 AM or so. Guh, that sucked.
On the good side, the problem was relatively simple: bad ignition coil. All told, it cost $400 or so (including the $70 I spent on a new battery, since the one I had was old and going bad, and we were hoping it was simple), but $100 of that will be reimbursed by my insurance since they cover towing.
On the bad side, there was no way I could get the car to the shop, get some sleep, and pick it up, all before leaving town at 5 PM, which I'd need to do in order to go to work. In fact, I'd need to know by 2 PM whether the car would be fixed and available, since work requires a 4-hour advance notice of call-offs to avoid a written reprimand. So I'm out $300 and a day's pay.
Back to silver linings, it's only one day's pay. The car was available today, so I can go in tomorrow. Also, I took it not to the dealership's repair bays but to an independent shop, which probably cut my costs in half. Even though the dealership does have a loaner car, so I could have gone to work, I still would have been out more money, there. And this way I have an unexpected day off to relax.
Still. Ow.
On the good side, the problem was relatively simple: bad ignition coil. All told, it cost $400 or so (including the $70 I spent on a new battery, since the one I had was old and going bad, and we were hoping it was simple), but $100 of that will be reimbursed by my insurance since they cover towing.
On the bad side, there was no way I could get the car to the shop, get some sleep, and pick it up, all before leaving town at 5 PM, which I'd need to do in order to go to work. In fact, I'd need to know by 2 PM whether the car would be fixed and available, since work requires a 4-hour advance notice of call-offs to avoid a written reprimand. So I'm out $300 and a day's pay.
Back to silver linings, it's only one day's pay. The car was available today, so I can go in tomorrow. Also, I took it not to the dealership's repair bays but to an independent shop, which probably cut my costs in half. Even though the dealership does have a loaner car, so I could have gone to work, I still would have been out more money, there. And this way I have an unexpected day off to relax.
Still. Ow.