20/20 Posts of the Week- Ecstatic about a $300 Car Repair
The last few months have not been great for our 2008 Altima. It broke down earlier this summer, and for the last month or so has been so loud that I feel like Jethro and Ellie May going down the road. You’ll have to excuse my ignorance in car jargon as you read the story.
We assumed it was something with the muffler, so we too it to a muffler shop. The muffler guy said it was more of an internal exhaust leak, and he only worked on external things. We let it go for a few more weeks, but it was really getting loud, and Jim started to smell exhaust when the car was idling.
Yesterday, I took the car in to a local mechanic shop, hoping for a easy fix. I did not get my wish. When I got the news, I had to call Jim and tell him we had a cracked cataclysmic corroborator, which he corrected to catalytic converter. (I like my word better)
Anyway, to order a new CC plus labor to install it, the cost was around $1000. The mechanic seemed pained to tell me this, but not as pained as it felt to think about dropping a grand for an unexpected car repair. He then told me that he was willing to try and weld it. He would have to take it apart to see how bad the crack was, but if the weld worked, the cost would be around $250.
Of course, I Googled the CC part to see if it would damage the car or if it driving with a crack was only going to ruin our hearing and give us a little carbon monoxide exposure. I got all kinds of mixed reports. Best case, it was just loud, and we were spewing pollution into the environment. Worst case was something about the O2 stats being off and it might destroy the engine. OK, let’s try the weld and hope for the best.
I must have done enough good deeds this week, because the mechanic was able to weld the cracked CC, and our car is gloriously quiet and odor free now. The cost was just under $300, and I was ecstatic to pay that. Maybe all repair shops should start out with a four figure worst case scenario, and then no one would complain about the bill.
Guest Posts
I had two fine guest posts this week.
Pauline at Make Money Your Way wrote How to Attract and Retain Advertisers for Your Blog.
Kyle from Rather Be Shopping offered 6 Ways to Be a Smarter Shopper
Carnivals
Carnival of Money Pros at Rather Be Shopping
Carnival of Financial Independence, 27th Edition at Bite the Bullet Investing.
Mentions
These wonderful bloggers were kind enough to share my posts this week. I hope your cataclysmic corroborators stay uncracked,
Mom and Dad Money, Stacking Benjamins, Young Adult Money, Monster Piggy Bank, and Student Debt Survivor
And it looks like I missed some pings from Money and Potatoes from month’s past. Sorry! Let me know if I missed anyone else.
Fun Search Terms
Dish network cancellation and satellite eye– Sounds very big brother like.
attitude changes everything with fries– Especially McDonald’s ones!
cost of er visit for bug bite– Way too much!
get farther in life by not caring- How would you know how far you are if you don’t care?
how to sneak dinner into a movie– Just eat before you go.
20/20 Posts of the Week
It Started With Lip Gloss. Go check out Tonya’s new blog to find out what started.
Should We Buy a Co-op? at Living Rich Cheaply. If you can get around the busy bodies, I would say yes.
I’m Poor and It’s All My Fault at The Broke and Beautiful Life. Is living your dream worth being poor? It can be if you avoid racking up debt along the way.
How to Find Freelance Jobs (My Best Tips) at Single Mom’s Income. Everything you need besides a thick skin, which you’ll have to develop on your own.
Ask the Readers: Is Downgrading to a Beater Car a Mistake? At A Young Pro. Not if the cataclysmic corroborator works well!
Have a great weekend! Any car repairs lately?
Image: Freedigitalphotos.net/Paul
Written By
Thanks for the great read! I loved it! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes I wish I were more handy so I could deal with car and house problems myself- imagine, no repair bills.