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On second thought, there are probably five parts.

Well, my brake-car conundrum did not turn out as I had expected. Not surprisingly, the gurgling sound my car was making pretty much stopped after I made the appointment with my mechanic, which is precisely what happened the last time my car was making funny noises. But since I needed an oil change anyway, and my new brakes do squeal, I went ahead with my appointment.

According to a guy at my mechanic's, my brakes are fine. He said a "different" material was used on the brakes, and I am probably just not used to the sound. Although I feel good (well, better) knowing that there does not appear to be a problem with my brakes, I don't feel great knowing that I can most likely expect to hear these various sounds again. One would think with the money I spent on my brakes in June, I could expect them to be noise-free. One (i.e., I), however, would be wrong.

Worth noting is my mechanic did not charge me to try to figure out what was the wrong this time, although let me tell you my oil change was not cheap. Still, I cannot bring myself to go back to Monro's for those free oil changes. And speaking of free oil changes...

My mechanic also replaced a missing oil plate or cap or gasket or something like that (I am not home to look at my receipt). Apparently, when I last had my oil changed, whoever did it neglected to put that piece back on, and my car has leaked oil (at times) ever since.

Sigh.

In case you were wondering, my last two oil changes were at the local (Cochran) dealership, for free. Last summer, GM sent me some coupons as a "peace offering" since Saturn no longer exists (I have a Saturn Vue). I guess they wanted us Saturn owners to think that even though Saturn has bailed, the local dealership would take care of us regardless.

Yep, I am surely feeling the love.

To sum it all up, I have now ruled out Jiffy Lube, Monro, and Cochran for car work. And there is no such thing as a free lunch.

If only I could fly myself places or teleportation existed...
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Comments

chris h. said…
Dripping after oil changes is my pet peeve -- yeah, they don't change the gasket and it leaks (particularly an issue on Subarus). Now I ask Mike to remind them to PLEASE change it whenever we take it somewhere. Oh yeah, my other Subaru pet peeve -- leaky tires around the rim as the car ages and the rim corrodes. Major PITA. (Otherwise, I love my Sub, but...little things can be so annoying.)
September 5, 2011 at 3:15 PM
Anonymous said…
I, too, own an orphan. A Pontiac. (moment of silence)

Mine is making strange noises, too, but I'm claiming victory since I recently got the check engine light to go off after being on for two years. She's turning nine this year. Where does the time go?
September 8, 2011 at 1:59 PM
Facie said…
For the record, it was my oil plug that was missing. But, Chris, your comment reminded me that I need to remember to tell my mechanic to do some pumping motion with the brake after he changes the oil. Otherwise, that stupid oil change icon flashes non-stop.

Bagger: I hope your victory continues. I like to keep a car a long time regardless, but knowing I will get pretty much nothing for my car means I pretty much HAVE to.
September 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM
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