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 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:24 am
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Oh boy have I had a terribly stressful couple of days. This might be kind of long, I need to vent.
Okay so my evangelism course got cancelled on me so I've been looking for work in a city called Brisbane, an hour and a half away from my home town. One of my friends has a spare room I can move in to straight away, so all I need is a job to afford rent. Convenient, right?
I have applied to like 30 jobs, and only heard back from 3. I had interviews for 2 of them on the same day, before I got the third offer, so I drove to Brisbane for both of them, only to be knocked back pretty much straight away. Not that it mattered too much, they were waitressing jobs which is obviously not a career path for me, and upon reading my resume and what I do, they didn't want me based on the fact that I'd leave them if I got offered a job more in line with my career path (duh, of course I would).
2 days later, I get a call about this third job - it is perfect for me and exactly what I want to be doing with my life and career. They tell me they have more people to interview, but they want to see me first. I arrange to meet them the next week on Monday.
So I drive down Sunday night and stay with my friend (where I will be living) so I can go to my interview Monday (yesterday) morning. I get up early yesterday and get ready, making sure I have my portfolio in order and look presentable, and am on my way to my interview.
I had just gotten through the city and was on my way to the south side, when my car starts losing power, making a tapping noise in the engine and the temperature was going up. I was lucky enough to find an emergency stopping bay when my car just about died. I would usually be freaking out at this point - I was in a city away from home with no close family or friends to help me out, broken down on the way to an interview for a job I REALLY want. I'm so proud of myself, I think I handled the situation very calmly given the circumstances.
First I called RACQ (roadside assist) and explained my situation. Luckily I upgraded my membership to one of the best ones just a few months ago, so they put me on priority. The lady was so helpful, she got a tow truck to me asap, got my car taken to a mechanic, and ordered a taxi for me to take me to my job interview - all for free, as part of their service. So I call the company and let them know what's happened and ask if it's okay if I'm a bit late. They said that's fine, so I turn up there an hour late and have my interview.
Good news: I got the job and it is amazing and exactly what I want and I think I'm going to be really happy there! If I didn't get the job after all of this, I think I'd be about ready to curl up and die.
One of my friends comes to pick me up and we get lunch then go to the mechanic to get my car, thinking it would be fixed. The mechanic tells me my car is COMPLETELY screwed, and that I need a whole new engine and radiator. He gives me a quote of $2600. I just about died. I called my dad who is a mechanic and explained the break down of the quote to him, and dad tells me he's ripping me off for parts that I don't need (such as a water pump - which would already come on a brand new engine that he already quoted me for), and tells me not to accept the quote, and that he will fix it himself.
So I call the mechanic, reject the quote, told him my dad could do the job for me for much less, and tell him I will arrange for someone to pick up the car hopefully the next day.
I was left then with the issue of getting my car back to my parent's place, an hour and a half north. Dad told me to call RACQ and see if they could take it, but I said I only had 50km of towing included in my membership. He told me to at least use that to get it to the north side of the city to make it quicker if he had to come pick it up. So I ring RACQ and the lady tells me that because it will have been more than 24 hours that my car has been at the mechanic, that RACQ can take it back to anywhere I want. I say that's amazing and makes it much easier for me, so I arrange for that to be done. She says they'll just have to ring the mechanic to confirm with him that it would take longer than 24 hours to fix, and they they'd take it back for me.
I rang the mechanic the next morning to let him know this was happening and the conditions of it, and he says that's fine. Half an hour later I got a call from RACQ telling me they spoke to him and unfortunately can't take my car back for me because he said I rejected his quote, and if I went ahead with it he could have it fixed by midday - which was a total lie, you can't replace an engine and radiator in 3 hours. I explain this to the lady and she says unfortunately they have to go on his word. I explained to her that he was trying to rip me off over $1000 and was lying to her to make it difficult for me, and that even if he could have it fixed by midday, that was still longer than 24 hours, since it had been at his garage since 10am the previous day. She told me she'd have to check with her supervisor and get back to me. She calls me back, says it's authorised and they went to pick it up and take it back straight away, thank God.
So I have just gotten home (my broken car beat me back, lol), and to top it all off, listen to this - I didn't even NEED a whole new engine, or radiator. He lied. It only needed a new head gasket. But my dad had already ordered a new engine for me, and said it's easier to just change the engine than to change the head gasket, so they will do it tomorrow or Thursday.
Overall, even though I'm still paying for a new engine, I'm feeling much better now that I know I didn't screw my engine as much as the arsehole mechanic made out. Though I am furious with him and am going to see if there is someone I can report him to. That is downright dishonest, and he has only done it because I am a girl, not thinking that I would find out how much he was trying to rip me off.
The end. Phew. I move this weekend!
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:11 am
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:35 am
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:54 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:13 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:21 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:11 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:47 am
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Biohazardous Lollipop I wish I knew someone who was a proper mechanic. Both my brothers in law can work on cars and change out basic s**t, but they wouldn't know stuff like that. Glad things worked out in the end Licibear! Congrats on the new job! It's so good to hear your life is flourishing. :] <3
It's handy to know someone mechanical, even if it's with basic stuff. I like to do small maintenance myself, like changing oil, radiator coolant, fan belts, checking break pads, spark plugs... Stuff like that will save you being ripped off with a "service".
Then again, new cars today you kind of have to take them to a dealership you bought it off for servicing, because everything is electronic and computerised. I know on news cars in Australia now you can't even change the oil in the gearbox, because it's a whole sealed compartment now. You need oil in your gearbox? You get a new gearbox.
Thanks dear (: <3 I am glad my life is off on another tangent, a new adventure. I move in 3 days and I start my new job on Monday. Scary and exciting! |
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:28 am
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:51 pm
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