Free Car Inspection

Several times a year, AAA has a special offer for a free 40 point car inspection at any of their approved auto repair shops and I finally made use of the service last Thursday.  I took the car to the nearest shop at 8 in the morning and the service person said it should be done by 11:30 a.m. Since I was off from work that day, I had no problem being carless for a few hours. In the meantime, I did my run/walk workout around the area which lasted for an hour which also brought be back home. 11:30 passed and no call from the mechanic, so I had lunch and watched a movie. The call came at about 1:30 p.m.  and I was given a breakdown of needed repairs: oil leak in the engine, hoses and belts replacement, window adjustment, resurface rotors and new brake pads. Well, they weren’t so much repairs but more like maintenance work. After the mechanic enumerated everything, the total quoted to me was an astounding $2574.63! I tried to stay calm over the phone and told the guy that I would have to save some money before I could have the work done, and to please let me know when I can pick up my car. He said that he would call again when it’s ready. While waiting for that next call, my uncle called for computer technical support. A few days prior, I had installed Teamviewer on his computer just so it would make it easier for me to assist him with his computer problems. Anyway, that’s another story for some other time. I’m just showing how much time I had to kill while my car was being inspected.

         After assisting my uncle, but not yet getting the second call from the mechanic, I started walking and hoped that by the time I got there, my car was ready. I guesstimated that it would take me about 25 minutes of easy walking to cover the mile and a half distance. It was 15 minutes into the walk when I got the call. The inspection was finally finished at 3 p.m. When I got there, the mechanic reassured me that my car was basically in good working order other than the maintenance work. But $2574.63 for a 14 year old car?! Um, I’ll have to think long and hard about that. Wait…thanks, but no, thanks. It may make more sense to sell it and buy a second hand or new economy car. Not that I have that kind of cash lying around to get another car. But anyhow, just a thought.

          Wait, did I mention a run at the start of this post? Hey! I did manage another run so that means another pair of running shorts in my laundry basket. I ran/walked for an hour at a pace of 11:03 per mile.

          By the way, thanks for the free car inspection AAA and Orozco’s Auto Repair. I have to commend Orozco’s for their excellent customer service even though I didn’t have my car repaired there. I’m glad I was able to avail of the AAA offer because by next month I won’t be renewing my membership due to a similar service offered by my car insurance company for a cheaper price.

          Has anyone used this free inspection offer before? What was your experience like?

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