Always get a second opinion

Yesterday, I was driving home from Colchester and I realised that my odometer wasn't working.

This morning, after Jazzercise and collecting some apples for various people from one of the congregation, I headed to the place where I brought my car and asked them to fix it for me. Initially the receptionist said that they couldn't fix it because they didn't have the right tools. I kicked up a little bit of a fuss, because I'd brought it from them, and the guy (who was in the showroom but kept well away) said that if I had any problems I should bring it back and they would fix it. I was also told that because they didn't have the right equipment I would have to go to Dunton to get it fixed. So I insisted that they should at least have a look, but they wouldn't unless I had a warranty. I said I wasn't sure if I did and the receptionist asked me to go home and check my paperwork.

(Now I realise that they took a copy of everything and could easily have checked instead of me driving two miles, urgh! I've only just started)

I do have what I thought was a warranty, but I was told that it didn't cover the problem I had. They had a mechanic look at it for me, who simply hit the top of the dashboard and the display reappeared. The problem was a bulb apparently, and yo replace it would cost money and take time. So I would have to pay for the labour, an hours work to replace a bulb at a cost of £85. I told them that I would be seeing my own mechanic to get a quote from him before I went ahead with anything.

So I headed off to Phil's at Gooseberry Green to see what they could do for me, and if what I was being told was right.

Car + regular Jo(sephine) = Always get a second opinion

Malcolm at Phil's was great, he discussed the issue with me and said that he would ring the Vauxhall help centre to get a proper idea of what needed to be done. He also said that warranty's are useless unless the car blows up whilst being carefully driven and even then the company who sell the warranty can dispute the claim. So there really is no point in having one, but chin up and he would give me a ring when he'd discussed it with the right people. He did, very promptly and explained that it was the bulbs filaments that cause the problem, a bulb is £1 and the labour for an hour is £48 (potential saving of £36). It doesn't have to be done now, so I will give them a ring when the bulb eventually dies.

Always get a second opinion.

Especially if you feel like you're being treated unfairly or being pressured into something. Especially if you know nothing about cars and don't like dealerships who try to charge you too much money.