NockerGeek (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nockergeek) wrote2007-03-31 03:47 pm
nockergeek) wrote2007-03-31 03:47 pm
*shudder shudder*
Over the last few months, the car (hereafter referred to by his name, Jubei) developed an occasional shudder in the steering wheel when approaching 60-70 miles per hour. Not too bad at first, but it's become more noticeable recently, to the point where it was giving my arms a not-so-good vibration. Fortunately, Jubei's still under warranty (for the next 1100 miles, anyway), so I decided to have it looked at this morning - early, early this morning - at the nearest Ford dealership. Could be an unbalanced tire, could be alignment, could be something more serious.
Official diagnosis: mis-alignment. Not surprising, given the number of potholes we had this winter. I know I hit one of them with my right front tire pretty solidly. However, because of the misalignment, the tires all have uneven wear to the point of needing replacement. Needless to say, replacing four tires and getting the alignment done is not going to be cheap. Final estimate - $440 plus tax for the tires, $80 for the alignment.
We have a baby on the way in two weeks. The hospital copay is not cheap, and must be paid. This is not good timing. It rarely is.
They do offer 90-day same-as-cash financing, so we take a flier for that, but otherwise we take Jubei home and plot what we're going to do. Z's mom suggests the local Firestone shop, as they have good tire deals. Z suggests shopping around and seeing who else does financing. In the end, it's a race between NTB, Firestone, and the Ford dealership. Firestone wins, because they're the first to offer to beat the other's quotes. And oh, the deal they made us. Equivalent tires for a lower price, lifetime alignment guarantee instead of the 6-month the others were offering, and a few extra dollars off just to be cool (plus an additional discount since we're taking the financing).
So, Jubei's in the shop, he'll be all better when he gets out this evening, and we'll be able to fit it into the budget around the delivery (which Z's mom has offered to help out with - she's been so good to us).
Crisis averted. This week's experiment.... success!
Official diagnosis: mis-alignment. Not surprising, given the number of potholes we had this winter. I know I hit one of them with my right front tire pretty solidly. However, because of the misalignment, the tires all have uneven wear to the point of needing replacement. Needless to say, replacing four tires and getting the alignment done is not going to be cheap. Final estimate - $440 plus tax for the tires, $80 for the alignment.
We have a baby on the way in two weeks. The hospital copay is not cheap, and must be paid. This is not good timing. It rarely is.
They do offer 90-day same-as-cash financing, so we take a flier for that, but otherwise we take Jubei home and plot what we're going to do. Z's mom suggests the local Firestone shop, as they have good tire deals. Z suggests shopping around and seeing who else does financing. In the end, it's a race between NTB, Firestone, and the Ford dealership. Firestone wins, because they're the first to offer to beat the other's quotes. And oh, the deal they made us. Equivalent tires for a lower price, lifetime alignment guarantee instead of the 6-month the others were offering, and a few extra dollars off just to be cool (plus an additional discount since we're taking the financing).
So, Jubei's in the shop, he'll be all better when he gets out this evening, and we'll be able to fit it into the budget around the delivery (which Z's mom has offered to help out with - she's been so good to us).
Crisis averted. This week's experiment.... success!