Sep 01 2011
A lesson learned…the hard way
Having just spent nearly $600 to replace a hole in one of my AC hoses, I am going to take a moment to chronicle the sequence of events that led to this repair bill. Before you read on, I want you to think really hard if there is some way this can somehow NOT be my fault and somehow be blamed on someone else.
Ok, here’s the full story. Nine years ago, Lish and I purchased a 2002 Honda Civic and that car has been fantastically reliable…knock on wood. Two years ago, the battery died and I proceeded to Costco where I paid $72 for a new battery. Mistake #1: Looking at the reference guide at Costco I failed to realize the difference between the 2.0 Liter and 1.7 Liter 2002 Civic. The 2.0 required battery 51R and the 1.7 required 51. Really? There’s a difference? I had no clue which engine I have but in retrospect, I have the 1.7 but of course Costco only had 51R so that’s what I bought. Aren’t all 2002 Civics the same? No they aren’t.
I got home and proceeded to install my brand new battery. Mistake #2: I found that the terminals on the battery were in opposite order in comparison to my old battery. No problem, I’ll just turn the battery around. Sure it was a little difficult to fasten the cables on the terminals but I got it to work. The only problem was the arm that props the hood did not quite fit properly. No problem. I was able to bend it slightly to fit it in the holster. Great, apparently batteries can be slightly different and still fit. In retrospect I can hear my mom saying “Never force things!” That life lesson is applicable in so many situations.
A year or so later (I do get oil changes more frequently than that) my mechanic pointed out that I had the wrong battery. Of course mechanics are always trying to upsell things and I have conditioned myself to deflect any and all upselling attempts. Six months later, same story, same result. I honestly don’t remember him warning me about the battery but I checked my receipts and sure enough, it’s on the receipt. By the way, ignoring the mechanic was Mistake #3.
Fast forward to Wednesday, August 24 where my AC was no longer cold. Very distressing but the car has 140,000 miles so I stressed about it for a few days before a couple colleagues convinced me that recharging it was easy. I proceeded to O’Reilly’s (formerly Kragen) to buy the can of Freon and found that the process of recharging really was as easy as my friends described. The cold air lasted all of four days at which point it left and I knew I had a problem. I guess this could be considered a mistake. That was $30 I didn’t need to spend.
Wednesday, August 31 I proceeded to the mechanic to ask them to take a look at my AC. I suppressed the urge to tell them I thought rats had probably chewed through an AC hose. Good decision. The mechanic called me later that day and said “I told you this was going to happen.” The hood arm had finally rubbed against an AC hose long enough that it wore a hole in the hose. This is an aluminum hose not a rubber one. Total repair for this was $575!
The good news is that I have AC in my car again. I also learned that you can return a battery to Costco for any reason within three years and they will give you a complete refund. Of course they don’t carry the battery I need and I had to pay $50 more for the right battery at O’Reilly’s. At Costco, I was convinced they sold me the wrong battery and I needed to write a letter to the powers that be at Costco to let them know they are misleading their customers. I mentioned this to the returns people at Costco and they got all confrontational with me saying “Why did it take you two years to know you have a problem?” I then proceeded to take photo evidence and get the broken hose from the mechanic until I got home and reviewed my picture of Costco’s battery guide. Crud! I am totally to blame and had at least four opportunities to avoid this $575 bill. Anyone see a way I am not to blame here? I didn’t think so. Mom, I think I finally learned the lesson you tried to teach me 25 years ago and it only cost me $575 to accomplish that.




