Car drama

Okay, so I want to rant about my car drama.  A few weeks ago, I brought my car in to get the check engine light fixed.  Now you get to hear the rest of the story.

It wasn't the transmission.  It was the battery.  They charged me $105 for the diagnostic fee and $100 for the battery (which I knew only cost $50 or $70 at the auto parts store, but by Thursday evening, I just wanted to have my car back.)  I was just a little bit mad, because when Butch (the car repair guy) called me, he said, "Well, it looked like it was a transmission error, but it also could have just been a low voltage problem." which made me tell him that, yes, we've been having problems with our car battery lately.

But the thing is, we brought our battery in TWICE and got both the battery and the alternator "tested" and they told us it was "just fine."  I guess there are a few tests you can run on a battery, and ours passed the basic test but quickly failed the real "load test".

My check engine light came on again 2 days ago so I called the same old guys again to let them know I needed to bring my car back in.  Butch told me if my light came on again in less than 30 days they'd fix it and I wouldn't have to pay another diagnostic fee.  (GOOD, because your fee is $20 more than the other expensive dealerships!  I was trying to avoid going to you.)  Do any Google searches on check engine light scans and they'll tell you it's pretty much a scam.  You can get your check engine light scanned for free at Auto Zone ... but they won't do any of the repairs for you and it's not a "real" diagnosis because error messages can mean any of a number of things.  Google is your friend.

Anyway.  I've been trying to remain positive about this whole experience but too many things are rubbing me the wrong way.

I'll back up and try to tell the whole story.

Two or three months ago, I went to Auto Zone to have them pull the error code. The first guy said, "It's your right O2 sensor." and went back inside. No print-out. We called the Subaru dealership here in AF (aka "the place where I have a service coupon for half an hour of free labor") to ask how much it would cost to replace our Nissan Sentra's "right O2 sensor" and they said it was a $100ish part and about 30 minutes of labor. I went online to look up the price of the part and the cheapest I could find was like $96. Okay. Whatever. The Subaru place also had the part in stock, and we had an appointment scheduled for Monday.

When I bought Les Mis tickets, I killed my car battery and the check engine light did not turn on again. So I called the dealership and cancelled my appointment, figuring I was saving myself $100 in case the O2 sensor did NOT actually need to be replaced and the error was a fluke.  Our car battery had died a few times before and we'd brought it in to get it checked and that's how I know how much our battery costs.  We brought it in AGAIN and they AGAIN said it was fine.  (argh?)

The check engine light came on again after I got back from Washington, so we took another trip to Auto Zone to have them pull the code. I wanted to see if it was the same error message. This time, some girl came and read off the error code and she did NOT say "it's the right O2 sensor" but gave me a printout of the four things it could possibly be, the most expensive of which was replacing the O2 sensor. The part was also $105ish (maybe it was $120?) and I was like, okay, now we'll take it to the Subaru place and have them "officially" diagnose the O2 sensor and replace it.

But it wasn't that easy. The Subaru place is NOT a Nissan place and apparently this O2 sensor thing is special and needs to be handled by a Nissan dealership because my car's computer won't talk to their computers. (BUTTFACES.) So a few months ago they were more than happy to replace my "right O2 sensor" for $100 plus labor, and now they're telling me I have to go to the Nissan dealership because they can actually test things and determine which sensor it is and whatever garbldeygook.

Here's what makes me most uncomfortable:

I took my car in to the Nissan place 2 weeks ago after the Subaru guys told me they couldn't diagnose my error message.  The Nissan guys ignored the "O2 sensor" message and jumped on the transmission thing, even though the car was also telling them it might be a battery thing.  These are all issues I was aware of.  So at the end of the day, they merely replaced my bad battery and ignored the O2 sensor thing.  Yesterday, I brought my car back to the Nissan place (free re-diagnosis of the "check engine" light) and Butch came out and told me it was the O2 sensor ... and it would cost $500 to repair.

I had to get home to take Sadie to school and didn't have time to deal with this discrepancy.  $500 to replace a $100 part, where the Subaru guys said it would only be half an hour of labor?  To me, this only adds up to $150.  I'll ask you about this later, Butch.

I only know this: There is no way you're getting $500 from me.

I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that a few months ago, the Subaru guys said they would replace my O2 sensor, and now that I've asked them to do it again they're reluctant.  I called Butch and asked him to break down the cost and he said the part costs $200.  Which I think is total crap because THREE PLACES say the part costs $100.  He said his $500 estimate was wrong because he included a second diagnosis fee, but that still means he's charging me $200 for labor.  The only explanation I can get is that they have the special computers that will calibrate the stuff in my car.  BUT STILL.


I feel like I'm being fleeced, and I'm angry.  I feel helpless.  I also hate making phone calls.  They give me panic attacks.  I wish they didn't make me so nervous, because they have no REASON to make me nervous.  I call this one of my "mind/body disconnects".

I'm sorry this was so long.  I don't know what to do. : /  Supposedly these Nissan guys are the "only" ones who can help me, but I absolutely do not trust them.