Stereotyping...how. annoying?!

The most prominent and stressful thing going on in my life right now is the fact that I don't have a car. Yes, I am CARLESS (or less of a car...whichever you prefer). You would think I would have my panties in a wad over some wedding photographer or not being able to find a florist...not over my stupid Mazda CX-7. Why am I carless? Glad you asked!

Basically, to make a REALLY long story short, on Easter Sunday my check engine light came on. I don't know why they call it a "check" engine light. It should say "You're car is going to explode if you keep driving it in this condition". Anyways, so since my "check" engine light was on, I took it to Mazda first thing Monday morning only to find out that the oil that was in the car was over 8,000 miles old. WHAT?!

Go back in time a little bit...I have had this car since last March...a little over a year...and I have only put 18,000 miles in it. Last time I had the oil changed was in January (3,000 miles ago) at NTB (which I have now nicknamed Never Take it Back). It should have plenty of oil in it but no...it doesn't. Not only does it just conveniently have less than a quart of oil in it but because NTB failed to change the oil at all, I now have to have an entire engine replacement. As if that's not already going to cost an arm and a leg, I have to have the turbo and some gaskets replaced as well...totally $8,500! AWESOME! Just what I want to hear! My car is only worth $11,000 at best...no one in their RIGHT mind would ever pay $8,500 to fix a car that's only worth $11,000...unless it's a classic. It may come to a suprise to you but a Mazda CX-7 is far from a classic...therefore I absolutely refuse to pay for this.

The main reason I am absolutely refusing to pay for this ridiculous damage is because of the principle of the whole thing. I take care of my car. I took it in for a service that was never provided. I paid someone to change the oil and trusted that he did it and now I have to deal with all this. I have made a claim with some company that call themselves "claims adjusters" only to never hear from anyone at the company in almost a week. Last I heard something was last Wednesday, which still was pointless information. I'm pretty relentless when it comes to stuff like this so little Ms. Shayla at Gallagher Bassett "claims adjustors" is going to get to know me REAL well, REAL soon.

You might be wondering why I have titled this post as "Stereotyping...how annoying?!". Well, I'm sure you get the picture now. Basically, before I ever step foot in the door of a "car" place, I have these things against me:

1. I am a female
2. I am young
3. I have blonde hair (well, ok, blonde highlights)

Every time I walk into ANY car business, I am automatically stereotyped as someone who knows nothing about cars, which is somewhat true but I would never admit that to NTB. Throughout this entire process, I have felt taken advantage of, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. If I were that ignorant I wouldn't even know where to take my car in to be serviced or how often. The way I feel is that when I took my car into NTB in January, they charged me for "changing" my oil but never did it because they "thought" I would never find out. Well, well, well...of COURSE I am going to find out when my engine is ripped to shreds because you are bad at your job!

Moral of the story: Be good at your job. Someone is relying on YOU to be good at your job. Someone is trusting YOU to do what they have asked YOU to do...so DO IT!

Frustrated to the max,

Stephanie