Money

Don't worry, learning about cars is a lifetime job. I am lucky because my stepfather is a mechanic. He can fix anything from lawn mowers to giant harvesting combines, but usually works on cars and trucks. Whenever I have a problem, I call him first. I can do most basic stuff (oil change, tune up, belts, radiators, etc, plus all the regular maintenance stuff like windshield wipers or headlights), but if I have a problem and I can't identify it, I call him before I go to the garage, then again when I have an estimate on the work to make sure that I am not being taken advantage of. But the best advice I can give is to find a mechanic you trust and stick with them.

I found our current mechanic when I was having a problem with a car about 12 years ago, and took it to a local garage. They wanted something like $2400 for the repair. I said I would have to think about that. I went to another place, and they came back with an estimate of $700. WHAT! Why the price difference? Well, apparently, after showing garage #2 the estimate from garage #1, they said that I didn't need more than half the repairs that the first garage recommended! So shop around the next time you need car repairs, and take the estimates around to each garage with you to compare. Find the place you trust, and do some research about what they tell you to make sure you are being treated fairly. Plus, if you sound like you have a clue what you are talking about, they tend to take you more seriously.

Now since I have been going to my regular garage for so long, all the guys there know me, and joke with me, and treat me like I am not a nitwit lady who doesn't know any better. It also helps that the place has been in business since 1917, and you don't stay open for 93 years by treating your customers like jerks.

Wow I told something like that to my father since he gave something li 700euro for the repair of something that turned out not to be broken at all. I wanted to go and rip the sh** out of them, but he just said no no it's ok. It's not ok, it's like you have been robbed and been made an idiot at the same time.
Thanks so much for the advice, I really don't want to go by bus all my life :woohoo:

millkins wrote:

Thanks so much for the advice, I really don't want to go by bus all my life :woohoo:

Is anyone else bothered by public transport? At the moment, I can only go by bus/train generally, if I want to get somewhere on my own..I know it's cheaper (sort of, in recent years, bus fares have doubled/tripled)..But I feel really uncomfortable using public transport alone. :dry: Even though I know most buses and trains have small cameras etc..I fear getting mugged/followed or something.

Well I am using it daily for 10 years now and believe me it doesn't matter if it is a intern (city transportation) or between cities it is still unpleasant especially if you are alone. It's loads of fun here, you can be mugged, snorked at by the homeless who live there, attacked by the drunken fans of a football club or just annoyed by the guy next to ya that is spitting on the window...and guess what if something happens noone wants to help you or anyone else...I mean there are a few who do, but it is amazing what kind of things people can live with and choose not to see.

millkins wrote:

Well I am using it daily for 10 years now and believe me it doesn't matter if it is a intern (city transportation) or between cities it is still unpleasant especially if you are alone. It's loads of fun here, you can be mugged, snorked at by the homeless who live there, attacked by the drunken fans of a football club or just annoyed by the guy next to ya that is spitting on the window...and guess what if something happens noone wants to help you or anyone else...I mean there are a few who do, but it is amazing what kind of things people can live with and choose not to see.

Ahh that's the problem..No one's ever willing to get involved if they see 'crime' happening..They just turn a blind eye towards it and pretend nothing happened. It adds to my fears of going outside alone - Especially as people drive around kidnapping kids, stabbing people..etc. I'm too easily misaken for a child and there were 5+ abduction attempts last year within a few roads of my house.

It's almost impossible to get a parking space around my work so I've been busing there for the past five years. In the long run it's a lot cheaper what with not having to pay for parking or the cost of gas which of course goes up in winter because of having to let the car warm up before you go anywhere. I haven't really had any problems since I moved to a morning shift but when I was working night shifts going to catch the bus felt like running a gauntlet. Every shadow was a possible attacker, any person I passed had to be watched. Of course it doesn't help that I'm not a very trusting person to begin with and someone tried to mug me on three different occassions. So I suppose my trepidation is somewhat valid . . .