Cars and trucks – Susie Strauss

October 20, 2014

Whatever Happened to the Quick Oil Change?

Today I pulled into the Valvoline quick oil change place near my house. I deliberately waited until after the lunch hour so the the place would not be short handed due to their oil change technicians being off for lunch.

I though I had timed the trip well because there are 3 bays and each bay had 1 vehicle in it. One of the tech’s came up to my car and instructed me to pull in behind the pickup truck in the first bay. I don’t know what they were doing to that truck, but it sure seemed to be taking a long time. It was not just an oil change, that’s for sure.

Another car pulled in and was directed to the 3rd bay. About 5 minutes later the vehicle in bay 3 drove away and the car that arrived at least 10 minutes after me pulled into that bay for an oil. Another car pulled up and was directed to wait at bay 3. The car finished and drove off and the new car pulled in. All together, those were 3 cars got their oil changed while I was stuck sitting behind the truck being worked.

The car in the second bay had it’s hood up and no one seemed to be working on it at all. No cars were ever directed to that bay while I was there. Forty minutes after I had arrived I was STILL sitting behind the truck in bay 1. The Assistant Manager came up and apologized and asked me to move to bay 3. I pulled right in and he promised to give me a $10 credit on my bill.

They changed my oil but because I had a coupon for half price, they did not give me that $10 discount that I was promised. I asked if they would replace the burned out light bulb instead of the $10 credit, but they said they could not. WTF?

I totally feel ripped off and taken advantage of. I don’t think i will be going back to Valvoline again. I’d rather go to Firestone and sit inside their customer waiting area and drink free coffee and watch the TV or read a magazine instead of being held hostage in my car for 40 minutes waiting to pull into a Valvoline bay.

September 18, 2014

The Internet makes doing business so much easier

When Aunt Jackie told me that she had no idea where to even start to look for an agent to buy car insurance from in her new town, I offered to help her out as best I can. Aunt Jackie is a sweet lady who has never bothered to learn how to use the Internet for anything other than reading and sending emails. Fortunately, I was able to help her look for burlington nc car insurance from here without ever having to leave the house! Just a few minutes online and I was able to hook her up with several options. I sure do love the Internet!

May 17, 2014

Hello new car goodbye old car

My neighbor came over yesterday and told me that they wanted to buy a new car. They’ve been looking into sedans and suvs. She wants something that has plenty of space, good gas mileage and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. She told me they are going to send their old car on an auto transport to their son in California.

I asked her why she was going to ship it instead of driving it across the country. Apparently with the price of gasoline car shipping is actually cheaper than driving it yourself. If she were to drive it she would not only have gas fees, but also fees for hotel stays and food. These additional costs can add up quickly.

I bet her son is going to be thrilled when he goes to pick up the car from the car transport pick up location only 5 miles from his house. He’s been without reliable transportation ever since he got laid off last fall. My neighbor, Karen, is happy to help him and she gets a new car out of the deal too!

March 30, 2014

If Cars Could Talk

If cars could talk I’m sure they would have a lot to say about their owners. I bet each of the cars I’ve had will have something different to say about me. That’s probably because I was a different person with each of the cars I’ve owned.

The first car I owned as a teenager. I didn’t take care of it as best as I should have. There was wrappers from fast food places all over inside. I didn’t wash it nearly as much as it needed. That car would probably tell you I neglected it cosmetically. I always took it to get an oil change and tune ups as needed. I even bought new tires for it.

The next car I had in college would tell you that I loved to party. I would take it out to go dancing almost every night of the week. We drove up and down the coast to visit other dancers and go to different dance exchanges. That car would tell you I am a well traveled person.

Another car I had would tell you that I am a hard worker. I drove it to work every day. I also took pride in my car. It was the first car I owned with heated seats and I just couldn’t get enough of them. I washed this car weekly and even spent extra cash to get it detailed. I loved that car and wish I still had it today.

May 14, 2011

Think We Should Stop?

Found this photo on a church web site. I just had to share it here. I think they really want you to stop. But then again, people who like to go four-wheeling (not naming any names here!) would just see this as a challenge.

March 5, 2010

More troubles

After I got the brakes repaired on my truck a couple of days later I went out to get in my truck to head to work and it would not start. Things seem to go in threes and I do not see an end in sight. I have had to drive the little truck “Stubbie” to work the last few days and I can not wait to get my own truck back into service. I hope when I get it fixed this time it runs for a while with out breaking down, that would be a very good thing for sure.

July 1, 2009

Car search

The search for a new car has went on all summer and it seems I am in a lost circle. I can not find what I am looking for and, if I do find something close it is way more expensive than I can afford. I want a SUV that is big enough to haul my daughter, the dogs, the junk that I need to haul everyday and, at the same time it needs to be affordable. I guess that I will just have to keep my old Tahoe and keep looking for the right fit. I hope I can find a good car before school starts again this fall.

January 12, 2009

More truck issues

With the truck in the shop I had to get a rental van to deliver the Sunday papers and make a short business trip to Huntsville Alabama. I hope that they get my truck fixed this week and I am able to get back to my day to day routine. I hate when I am displaced in any way shape or form, I really do like my routine the way that I have it set up. Things run better when you follow a path you are familiar with. I know they will find more wrong with my truck once they get started with the repairs they always do it seems.

December 31, 2008

Why

Why on the last day of the year do my brakes go out in my truck? There is no way to get the truck to the shop in time to get the brakes repaired today, so I will be without my truck for at least two days and maybe three days. I will have to take my car to work tonight, I hate to do that to my car it is not made to haul all the junk I haul everyday like my Tahoe is. I carry a lot of books and crates of teacher gadgets to work. I guess I will have to do all of that after I get my truck back from the shop.