Another Car Day in Lihue
Jan. 9th, 2023 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aHere's how communication goes with the only mechanics on island who deal with European cars:
OCTOBER:
Me: Hey, my AC is not working, can you take a look?
Them: Sure, bring it in first thing in the morning next Thursday, and we'll look at it sometime during the day.
THURSDAY MORNING:
Them: So, are you going home or staying in town?
Me: Staying in town.
Them: We'll give it priority then. You'll be next as soon as the previous car is done with the AC machine.
THURSDAY EVENING, 5.30PM:
Them: So sorry, we lost track of calling you after it was done because you dropped it off first thing. We've been done for a while.
Them: So, we looked up the problem and there's apparently a memo that says that the AC system needs a harness. We don't have it, but we can order it. But they're closed today because it's now so late. We'll order it first thing tomorrow.
A WEEK LATER:
Them: Sorry, we lost track of ordering that, we'll get right on it.
A WEEK LATER:
Them: We ordered it yesterday!
[two months pass]
DECEMBER:
Me: Hey, I've got an ABS light on, and has the part for my AC shown up yet?
Them: [answering machine]
A WEEK LATER:
Them: Hey, can we set up an appointment for your car?
Me: Great, next Monday would be awesome. Yes I'll bring it in first thing in the morning.
Me: But has my AC part arrived yet? I'd love to do that at the same time.
Them: ...
Them: We were calling about the AC repair.
Me: I called last week because I've got an ABS warning. Can you take a look at that too?
Them: Oh, someone else must have picked up that message. Sure, no problem.
THIS MORNING:
Me: Hey, I brought in my car. Can you do my regular maintenance while she's in?
Them: Sure, it'll just take an hour more.
Me: No problem. So you're going to do the AC repair, the ABS diagnosis, and the maintenance?
Them: ...
Them: ABS?
Me: [facepalm]
Me: [explanation]
Them: Sure, no problem.
Us: [discussion]
Them: The ABS problem might be a real easy flash reset or it could be no difficult, no one can guess.
Me: My guess is a wheel speed sensor.
Them: No, there'd be an additional light on for that, usually.
Me: Ah, OK. Well I guess it could be anything.
Them: So, are you going home or staying in town?
THIS AFTERNOON, 1pm:
Them: So we looked at the AC and it's the compressor. But we've got the part in stock, it's just expensive.
Me: [I don't even bother, I know almost exactly how expensive it was because we talked about the compressor *last* time the AC went out, either in 2020 or 2021. I also don't even bother asking why we ordered a harness when the problem is apparently something else entirely, nor why we waited months as a result.] Sure.
Me: And the ABS?
Them: That's next.
[they know about the ABS!]
THIS AFTERNOON, 4.15pm:
Text Message: Your car is ready, please pick it up by 5.15pm.
THIS AFTERNOON, 4.45pm:
Them: So we've got the AC fixed and the maintenance done, but we need to wait on a part to fix the ABS.
Them: It's a wheel speed sensor.
Me: Should I call you or will you call me
[Or do I wait for another three months?]
Them: Call us in a week and I'll know when it'll be here.
(And then we have a nice talk about books and writing and I learn about some of the interesting job training that the guy working the desk has had, and he's impressed that I finished a chapter of a book today, and we both got good work done. Really nice people at the mechanic, I like them, and the work seems fine, and the prices seem fair given they're getting Mercedes Benz parts and having them shipped to Hawaii, but oh the communication drives me crazy.)
So as far as I can tell from the report-out and discussions, they put in that harness that we ordered and waited three months for, and then the AC still wasn't blowing cold, and so the mechanic decided the compressor was dead.
I suspect that harness was entirely superfluous, though maybe it'll prevent some future problem, but so it goes I guess.
Overall, a much more pleasant stay in town than when I was there for the Julie AC diagnosis three months ago. That's largely because I found better places to hang out.
Kukui Grove: suck hangout. Loud, annoying people, uncomfortable chairs.
Aloha Craft Cafe: great hangout. Relatively nice outdoor seating, especially on a beautiful day like today. (I mean it's in a parking lot, but it's in a parking lot in Hawaii.) Pretty comfy chairs. Tasty sandwiches too, though like most people on island they use subpar (tasteless) bread, but at least that was partially hidden by toasting.
Lihue Library: pretty good hangout. Quiet, air conditioned. Pretty comfy chairs, but the super comfy ones are gone!! Wifi so I don't have to burn my phone battery hotspotting (as I did the rest of the day), but they censor Apple Messages!!
I finished up my edit (and a final map) for chapter 7 of my Traveller history, and almost finished up my compendium of 2022 histories. I'm running behind this month because of all the finalization I'm doing for 2022 projects, but I still got 60-75% of a workday in.
And I walked about 6 miles to and fro in Lihue.
So the score card at my mechanic was: AC fixed (def. very cold again!), ABS diagnosed and the fix sounds easy, yearly maintenance done. The cost was way too much because the Mercedes Benz compressor was expensive, but we can afford it. At least at the moment Julie seems worth keeping, assuming this set of problems is averaged over a three-year period, but I'd be concerned if there was this much break-down again in the next calendar year.
I have one other bit of deferred maintenance for Julie, which is to replace the tires. At my safety check last March they required replacing the back tires before this year's safety check. This time they recommended replacing all four, but definitely the back two.
So I went over to Costco to order my tires, and their tire clerk was super helpful and found me two types of tires that would be fine, one of which was cheaper for a set of four by a few hundred dollars.
Except it was only available via phone. And it was past 5pm by this point (meaning I'd been in town for about 9 hours by now) and the phone-in center was on the East Coast, which means, as anyone living in Hawaii knows, it wasn't open any more.
And Costco requires you to be physically in-store to make that phone order. (What!!!??)
So this prompted me to get off my butt and schedule my other shingles shot for Friday. (I'd been putting it off because the first one HURT, but my six-month window ends at the end of February, so it was on my list to do this month.) I'll try to get the cheaper tires phone-ordered then, and if they're not actually available, then I apparently need to go and order the others online myself, which seems bizarre.
I've also got a dentist appointment scheduled for next Monday, so it should be a nice set of weekend-adjacent days of getting stabbed, feeling bad, and then getting my teeth and gums tortured. Yay.
But that should clear my current health obligations, just as I'm closing in on clearing the car obligations.
But, man, January is not going to be a return to normal productivity like I'd hoped (after September, October, November, *AND* December each lost me a few days to a week from my normal schedule due to RWOT in the first two months and holidays in the second two). I mean, I haven't even started work on the research for my next company history yet, which should be my major January project.
Maybe February will be more productive. Nope, short month, and that matters when you're working to a monthly schedule.
I guess I just keep being pleased with what I can do on a monthly schedule, and all my projects *are* progressing, albeit a little slower than I might love.
OCTOBER:
Me: Hey, my AC is not working, can you take a look?
Them: Sure, bring it in first thing in the morning next Thursday, and we'll look at it sometime during the day.
THURSDAY MORNING:
Them: So, are you going home or staying in town?
Me: Staying in town.
Them: We'll give it priority then. You'll be next as soon as the previous car is done with the AC machine.
THURSDAY EVENING, 5.30PM:
Them: So sorry, we lost track of calling you after it was done because you dropped it off first thing. We've been done for a while.
Them: So, we looked up the problem and there's apparently a memo that says that the AC system needs a harness. We don't have it, but we can order it. But they're closed today because it's now so late. We'll order it first thing tomorrow.
A WEEK LATER:
Them: Sorry, we lost track of ordering that, we'll get right on it.
A WEEK LATER:
Them: We ordered it yesterday!
[two months pass]
DECEMBER:
Me: Hey, I've got an ABS light on, and has the part for my AC shown up yet?
Them: [answering machine]
A WEEK LATER:
Them: Hey, can we set up an appointment for your car?
Me: Great, next Monday would be awesome. Yes I'll bring it in first thing in the morning.
Me: But has my AC part arrived yet? I'd love to do that at the same time.
Them: ...
Them: We were calling about the AC repair.
Me: I called last week because I've got an ABS warning. Can you take a look at that too?
Them: Oh, someone else must have picked up that message. Sure, no problem.
THIS MORNING:
Me: Hey, I brought in my car. Can you do my regular maintenance while she's in?
Them: Sure, it'll just take an hour more.
Me: No problem. So you're going to do the AC repair, the ABS diagnosis, and the maintenance?
Them: ...
Them: ABS?
Me: [facepalm]
Me: [explanation]
Them: Sure, no problem.
Us: [discussion]
Them: The ABS problem might be a real easy flash reset or it could be no difficult, no one can guess.
Me: My guess is a wheel speed sensor.
Them: No, there'd be an additional light on for that, usually.
Me: Ah, OK. Well I guess it could be anything.
Them: So, are you going home or staying in town?
THIS AFTERNOON, 1pm:
Them: So we looked at the AC and it's the compressor. But we've got the part in stock, it's just expensive.
Me: [I don't even bother, I know almost exactly how expensive it was because we talked about the compressor *last* time the AC went out, either in 2020 or 2021. I also don't even bother asking why we ordered a harness when the problem is apparently something else entirely, nor why we waited months as a result.] Sure.
Me: And the ABS?
Them: That's next.
[they know about the ABS!]
THIS AFTERNOON, 4.15pm:
Text Message: Your car is ready, please pick it up by 5.15pm.
THIS AFTERNOON, 4.45pm:
Them: So we've got the AC fixed and the maintenance done, but we need to wait on a part to fix the ABS.
Them: It's a wheel speed sensor.
Me: Should I call you or will you call me
[Or do I wait for another three months?]
Them: Call us in a week and I'll know when it'll be here.
(And then we have a nice talk about books and writing and I learn about some of the interesting job training that the guy working the desk has had, and he's impressed that I finished a chapter of a book today, and we both got good work done. Really nice people at the mechanic, I like them, and the work seems fine, and the prices seem fair given they're getting Mercedes Benz parts and having them shipped to Hawaii, but oh the communication drives me crazy.)
So as far as I can tell from the report-out and discussions, they put in that harness that we ordered and waited three months for, and then the AC still wasn't blowing cold, and so the mechanic decided the compressor was dead.
I suspect that harness was entirely superfluous, though maybe it'll prevent some future problem, but so it goes I guess.
Overall, a much more pleasant stay in town than when I was there for the Julie AC diagnosis three months ago. That's largely because I found better places to hang out.
Kukui Grove: suck hangout. Loud, annoying people, uncomfortable chairs.
Aloha Craft Cafe: great hangout. Relatively nice outdoor seating, especially on a beautiful day like today. (I mean it's in a parking lot, but it's in a parking lot in Hawaii.) Pretty comfy chairs. Tasty sandwiches too, though like most people on island they use subpar (tasteless) bread, but at least that was partially hidden by toasting.
Lihue Library: pretty good hangout. Quiet, air conditioned. Pretty comfy chairs, but the super comfy ones are gone!! Wifi so I don't have to burn my phone battery hotspotting (as I did the rest of the day), but they censor Apple Messages!!
I finished up my edit (and a final map) for chapter 7 of my Traveller history, and almost finished up my compendium of 2022 histories. I'm running behind this month because of all the finalization I'm doing for 2022 projects, but I still got 60-75% of a workday in.
And I walked about 6 miles to and fro in Lihue.
So the score card at my mechanic was: AC fixed (def. very cold again!), ABS diagnosed and the fix sounds easy, yearly maintenance done. The cost was way too much because the Mercedes Benz compressor was expensive, but we can afford it. At least at the moment Julie seems worth keeping, assuming this set of problems is averaged over a three-year period, but I'd be concerned if there was this much break-down again in the next calendar year.
I have one other bit of deferred maintenance for Julie, which is to replace the tires. At my safety check last March they required replacing the back tires before this year's safety check. This time they recommended replacing all four, but definitely the back two.
So I went over to Costco to order my tires, and their tire clerk was super helpful and found me two types of tires that would be fine, one of which was cheaper for a set of four by a few hundred dollars.
Except it was only available via phone. And it was past 5pm by this point (meaning I'd been in town for about 9 hours by now) and the phone-in center was on the East Coast, which means, as anyone living in Hawaii knows, it wasn't open any more.
And Costco requires you to be physically in-store to make that phone order. (What!!!??)
So this prompted me to get off my butt and schedule my other shingles shot for Friday. (I'd been putting it off because the first one HURT, but my six-month window ends at the end of February, so it was on my list to do this month.) I'll try to get the cheaper tires phone-ordered then, and if they're not actually available, then I apparently need to go and order the others online myself, which seems bizarre.
I've also got a dentist appointment scheduled for next Monday, so it should be a nice set of weekend-adjacent days of getting stabbed, feeling bad, and then getting my teeth and gums tortured. Yay.
But that should clear my current health obligations, just as I'm closing in on clearing the car obligations.
But, man, January is not going to be a return to normal productivity like I'd hoped (after September, October, November, *AND* December each lost me a few days to a week from my normal schedule due to RWOT in the first two months and holidays in the second two). I mean, I haven't even started work on the research for my next company history yet, which should be my major January project.
Maybe February will be more productive. Nope, short month, and that matters when you're working to a monthly schedule.
I guess I just keep being pleased with what I can do on a monthly schedule, and all my projects *are* progressing, albeit a little slower than I might love.