The car saga continues

"A long long time ago (4 weeks) in a car shop far away my auto(the Jetta) went in the shop. "

Ok, now I will elaborate. 5 weeks ago, the Check Engine Light came on. 4 weeks ago, I dropped off the car at a well-know shop for european auto enthusiasts (that for now shall remain nameless). We will call this 'Shop A.' My Cam shaft and followers were shot. COMPLETELY shot. It was almost time for a new timing belt, so they changed that and the water pump as well. They also changed the oil cooler because it was possible that some metal shavings had made their way in there as well. $3800 and 1 week later, I pick up the car. I get about 7 miles from the shop, and with a big white cloud of smoke, the car looses all power and I pull to the side of I-295. FUN!

They tow the car back to the shop. They change 2 fuel injectors, all four fuel injector seals, and the car still isn't running right. Through this time, they never mentioned one price, and they often proceeded without talking to me first. After 3 more weeks, they call in a Diesel specialist from a VW Dealership (also to remain nameless at this time). We will call this 'Shop B.' He saw some strange things and wanted to look at it at the dealership. Shop A has it towed to Shop B at their expense.

Two days later, having not heard anything, and after talking to Shop A, I call Shop B. The Service Adviser at Shop B sounds pissed off at the world to begin with, gets an attitude with me, tells me he isn't the actual SA for my car, but that SA is gone, but reads off my old phone and address (I have been there since the new address, but ok...) and I tell him that is wrong and ask him if I can update it. He only lets me give him the phone number (1 phone number, not even home/work), and is done with me.

Yesterday, after work...Chrissy calls Shop B from the car since we never heard anything from them. Our SA is already gone for the day. Since it is a simple request to find out what the status of our car is, and they are open for 3 more hours, it shouldn't be difficult for this other SA to provide a simple answer as to the status of our car. He finally takes our number and says someone will call us tomorrow and Chrissy tells them she would like someone to call us that night at which point he hung up on her.

Today, I call Shop B and our SA is actually there (Wow, did I win the lotto?) and I am transferred to her. She pics up the phone and says "Can you hold please?" I say "Ok" and then the count begins. 30 minutes later, she finally takes me off hold (maybe she was hoping I would just hang up). When I finally talk to her, she says the car needs a new turbo, but that they aren't sure when they could get to it. (Grr...more waiting) Oh, and the turbo will cost $2000.00!!!!! Now, why Shop A couldn't figure out the Turbo was now blown, I don't know. But now, I have paid Shop A $3800, will be paying Shop B $2000, won't get the car back till at least late next week if not later, and consequently have driven the miles on the Rabbit to almost the end of it's bumper to bumper warranty (and will be beyond that soon enough).

Oh, and for some reason the owner of Shop A would like to talk to me on Monday. It will be interesting to see how that turns out. And Shop A said they could probably do the turbo replacement for less, but seriously, would YOU send your car back to Shop A for a new turbo when they couldn't even diagnose the problem?

I will try to post again once I have spoken to the owner of Shop A. Oh, and I submitted a complaint to VWOA regarding the level of customer service at Shop B.

Long time no post

I know, I know...I have become a blog slacker again. I update Facebook with small posts so often that I don't bother to come on here and write long posts. It is also a matter of convenience, I can write a quick Facebook post from my cellphone. When I am home, my time on the computer is usually consumed by Team Fortress 2 (At least it is a better addiction than WoW...."Hi, my name is Mike, and I have been WoW free for over 1 year now")

Anyway, where to begin. I guess with the Jetta...what a fucking fiasco that has been. So, back on June 19th, the Check Engine Light came on. I had taken it to the shop a few weeks prior because I knew it wasn't running right, but that shop said that everything looked fine. So, this time, I took it to a different shop, and their first comment to me about the engine was that the dipstick had shot most of the way out of the engine! Turns out that the camshaft wore down to the point that the exhaust valve didn't open enough and exhaust went backwards through the intake and down past the piston rings into the oil pan causing the dipstick to dislodge itself. Not only was the camshaft worn, but 2 of the followers had HOLES IN THEM.

So, camshaft + followers + oil cooler (because of metal flakes) + timing belt (it was about due) + water pump (came w/ timing belt kit) + oil change + labor = $3800 Fine...get it fixed, pick it up on Thursday and go to take the Rabbit to my sis in B-more so she can borrow it till she leaves for Fla. The shop is near BWI...by the time I get on 295 North-bound just inside the beltway, I am now broken down. Car lost all power, let out a huge cloud of smoke, and sounded awful. I got the car over to the shoulder and called the shop while they were still there. They towed it back and still have it (and never called/emailed this afternoon to give me the update like they were going to).

So my master plan to have all of the bills paid off once the BMW was sold is now shot to hell because of car repairs. Oh, and the day after I found out how much the Jetta was going to cost to get repaired, we got a huge rock chip in the windshield of the Rabbit so now need to put in a new one. Also, the front tires on the Rabbit are down to the wear bars (when we were taking it to VW for service they didn't rotate the tires) so I am getting tires for the Hufs, putting the Hufs on the Jetta and the Biolines (Jetta's rims) on the Rabbit. Bills are now doing better, though, now that the BMW is sold (to Carmax unfortunately b/c in this economy, no one will pay that much for a used car...not even a BMW dealership). We don't have that monthly car payment anymore + we got a good chunk of money to put towards bills.

There are more stories to tell, such as the new desks, Chrissy's b-day party, and our day-trip to Cape May, but I actually need to "wake up" soon to go to work. Joy! Thanks for listening to me rant.

Where to begin

The last week has been...well...shitty. At least from Wednesday on. So, let's recount the story:

Wednesday: Chrissy is driving the BMW and I the Rabbit. We are taking the BMW to CarMax to get their offer to buy the car and if it is good enough, we will sell it right off. On the way to work, I have to swerve sharply on 213 TWICE to avoid hitting Possums. The first time, I swerved one way only to have the Possum go the other way and I had to swerve back. The second time it only took some sharp breaking and a slight swerve to the side. Then we take the car to CARMAX after work and their offer sucks ass! So we leave with both cars. On the way home, the check engine light on the Rabbit goes on AND the BMW starts losing tire pressure. Seriously? So, we stop at a Mr. Tire to get the BMW tire checked/patched and I took the Rabbit home (hoping I would make it home without the car dying). Turns out the BMW just needed one of it's valve stem/tire pressure monitors reseated. The Rabbit made it home, but the Check Engine Light went out before I could VAGCOM it.

Thursday: Huge ass bridge backup coming home b/c of Cruisin' OC weekend + Cross winds meaning they couldn't open up the extra Eastbound lane.

Friday: Driving the Rabbit to work (Jetta got tinted Thursday after work so I couldn't roll down the windows Friday for the Gate @ Work). In Chestertown, a black cat crossed our path...we both laughed..."ha ha we will have back luck today". Then I got pulled over for doing 62 in a 55 by a cop who had been going the other direction and whipped around to come get me. Got a written warning. Then I ran over a dear carcass that was in the road and it scraped along the bottom of the Rabbit.

Saturday: Chrissy and I went to work to get in some credit time. After being there 2 hours, Chrissy was basically kicked out because she was interfering with testing that no one said was going to be happening. We are supposed to go get the Rabbit tinted, @ 1200 but get there at 9:30ish because we got kicked out of work. They can't take us till 12:30, so we had to kill 3 hours. Finally get back there at 12:30..Rabbit is tinted...moving on. Later Saturday we are mowing the lawn. I was weedwacking and tripped on the uneven curb and went to the ground gashing up my leg, banging my wrist, and landing very close to the still running weedwacker. Check engine light on the Rabbit is back on as well, so that is going in on Monday for service.

So, that has been my last few days, how about yours?

Das Autos...HDR

The more I do it, the more I love doing photography, especially things like HDR images and panoramics. Here is an HDR image of the two VWs after the both got a bath. Chrissy and I spent several hours cleaning both cars, but they came out looking great. The Jetta really could use a respray just from the number of chips in the paint though, and I will have to go at some of those to abate the rust. Other than that, both cars are looking great. Hopefully the Rabbit doesn't get any more unexplainable dents this summer though...

Weekends go by WAAAY too fast

Why can't we be like the Germans and work 4 days a week? Weekends go by WAAY too fast. ARG. Well, I said I would get this post together, so off we go! Hmm, what to talk about first.

Bye-bye Pontiac, bye-bye Saturn, hello Fiat? Ok...let's look at GM's business. They can't get rid of Caddy. The CTS and XLR are the only two cars that I would personally consider, because they are both RWD (or optionally AWD with the CTS) and they are both amazing cars. The XLR is significantly different enough from the Corvette for them to both exist, and the CTS will be the only sporty rear-wheel drive sedan in the GM lineup once the G8 is gone. The CTS is the ONLY vehicle that can honestly compete with BMW. Don't get me started on the Escalade though. Buick still has an old man image (even if they have some nicer models now and Tiger pimping their wares) Pontiac has some unique models in it's price range for GM and some "Badge engineered" models. GM should find a way to keep the G6 line, the G8 platform (RWD Impala, Caprice, Chevelle?) And either the Pontiac Solstice or the Saturn Sky (since it is shared with Opel as the GT, the Sky would be more likely here). Ditch the Cobalt and move the Astra to Chevy to again keep that cost down by sharing the platform with Opel. The G5, G3 and the rest of the Pontiac line can go though. Same with the rest of Saturn.

Shut down GMC and merge the line with Chevy OR migrate chevy trucks to GMC. While there are some features that are unique to one or the other, does sales volume at this point really dictate a differentiation anymore. Stop pretending to be environmentally concious with things like the Tahoe hybrid. Bring some of the Euro diesels state-side and phase in working hybrid technology in lower-level models where it makes sense. You tried to put the cart before the horse by skipping straight to the Volt.

Fiat....well....that one we will have to wait and see for. I am on the fence about that one (assuming the merger goes through). Oh, and Chrysler....what small cars do you have? The Avenger, and Caliber and....umm......Bueller....Bueller? Even investors are told to diversify. Can't wait to see the 2010 Golf with a TDI in dealers though. Maybe they will finally bring a Tiguan TDI in a couple of years too. *I HOPE*

Well, lets see...what else. We went to IKEA Saturday in College Park....damn how things have changed there (and we only went to the IKEA and saw the area directly around that). We bought a new entertainment center and spent Saturday night and Sunday morning getting that swapped out and everything re-connected. We continue to hang more photos around the house too.

Dad & Cyndi dropped by today to see us out here in bumfuck. We went to lunch at the really good Italian place (which is actually in a strip-mall, but it is REALLY good) and then came back to the house for a few more hours and just chatted. They are going to meet us for lunch in Tampa when we are on our way down to Bradenton, Fl.

Hmm....that's all for now.

A full post is coming...honest

I am going to do a full-size feature length post this weekend if not sooner. In the mean time, enjoy the new design of MikeCrutchfield.com. I still have to do the 'Trips' page and I am going to add some more info to the Garage eventually, but for now, it replaces what used to be there.

In other news, I still hate my job.

Why the hell am I awake? Ramblings of a crazy person @ 1:30AM

Why am I awake? I can't sleep right now. This sucks....I am tired all f-ing day and can barely stay awake, and then night comes, I sleep for a couple of hours then I wake up...WHY????

Work is miserable. I am fighting against the "Not invented here" syndrome even though it means I will have one less project to work on, because, even if I work on it, it won't be used. Normally, it is the other way around, with the programmer saying "I can do this much better...see" but when the programmer is the voice of sanity...that's just not right. Add to that the constant stupid computer questions I get because I am the "computer guy" my cube quad, the lack of meaningful work, and the constant feeling that I chose the wrong job, and work is just downright depressing right now. That doesn't help my desire to stay awake, or even my desire to even go there.

I have complained about jobs in the past, but usually, I still felt like I was doing something worth-while. I may not of liked it, but at least I could get SOME job satisfaction out of it. Well, now, I don't even have a performance plan under our new system (even though the cycle ENDS at the end of July) and our pay increases will be directly tied to the score you receive on said performance plans if pay-banding actually goes though. FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! (Where's an exploding head smiley when you need one, I will just have to settle for this one:)

I keep joking that we need to win the Mega-Millions jackpot so I can call in rich. I love the stability of being a govie, but I want to be able to work on my terms, money be damned. I would probably have more fun selling PCs at BestBuy than I would at my current job, I just can't afford to take the pay-cut.

All of this stress/depression caused by work makes it really hard to work on losing weight, because I am an emotional eater. I eat when I am bored (which is CONSTANTLY at work), I eat when I am depressed (which is CONSTANTLY at work AND follows me home) and my eating/weight contributes to that depression. I just can't win.

Once the alarm clock goes off this morning, I will check our Mega-Millions ticket (even though we didn't win, I'm sure) and then trudge off to work just as miserable as ever.

Oh, and I am going to start re-upping my meds..when they were perscribed, I was told I could ramp up to 4xday (2 morning, 2 night) as needed. Well, I had been doing fine on 1 for a while, but that just ain't cuttin' it no mo'. Yesterday, I added the first night pill (which might explain why I am awake since insomnia is a side-effect) and next week, I will ramp up to 2 in the morning and one at night.

Here's to hoping for better living through chemistry.