60k

We brought the (old) car in to the dealership for service last weekend, it was only supposed to be an oil change but we realized the night before that it was due for its 60k service.

The service manager told us that it would take a few hours at least for the 60k service, initial estimate was $650. That blows this month's budget, I thought, but we agreed anyway. After all, it wasn't really optional. Thankfully, they had a loaner car available so we didn't have to wait around for a few hours.

Then we remembered some symptoms that hubby had noticed recently:

- first there was that clanging noise, we've had this before and was charged $50 to fix a loose heat shield (we figured that if it were the heat shield again this time, we'll pass)

- and then there was that chirping noice that hubby hears when the airconditioner is turned on

So with that, we left the dealership and went home. Sometime around 2pm, the service manager calls us:

- the clanging noise was due to the heatshield again, they'll fix it but won't charge us again (whew!)

- the chirping noise was due to the belts, they had to be replaced for $190. So that blows next month's budget. Teka, what budget ? *sniff*

We were also told that the car would be ready for pickup by 2:30 and hubby tells them that we'll pick it up between 2:30 to 3p.

At around 2:45p, halfway to the dealership, we get a call from the service manager again. This time, she tells us that the gasket was leaking! She tells us that the tech flushed the coolants and when he was testing, the coolant he put in started bubbling - this pointed to a leaking gasket which they were able to confirm.

Fortunately, the service rep tells us that even though this isn't covered by warranty anymore, they will fix / replace this under goodwill and won't charge us anymore (after all, she did mention that the leak happened after they flushed the fluids anyway). The snag is that fixing a leaky gasket is a huge job and it will take a few more days.

So last Saturday, it rained and poured - out of our wallets, that is.

All this kinda makes me think if keeping a car beyond 5 years is worth it. But then again, after spending this much right now, we better use it for a few more years to get our money's worth.

Also, I'm quite glad that it's just in the shop for regular servicing and not for any other damages - in which case, we'll probably have to bring it to auto body buena park instead of the car dealership's service center which would surely cost us a whole lot more.