The Vent and Rant Thread

[cc_in_oh]

Hopefully you'll get an appointment before tooth hurty...

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

Hopefully you'll get an appointment before tooth hurty...

It was busy at the dentist's practice. So I didn't get an appointment until 4.20pm. But my tooth didn't bother me all day. I just had a tight feeling in the muscles of my jaw.

I was lucky, no root canal needed. He fixed the cavity. Now the anesthetic has worn off it's sore, though less from the tooth ache and more from the treatment, I think. The dentist did say it my be painful for a couple of days.

I'm exhausted now, I'm going to take some painkillers, drink my tea and then have an early night.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I was lucky, no root canal needed. He fixed the cavity. Now the anesthetic has worn off it's sore, though less from the tooth ache and more from the treatment, I think. The dentist did say it my be painful for a couple of days.

I had to visit the dentist just the day before you. Thankfully there were a ridiculous number of COVID precautions. The procedure went about as well as expected. Still painful as hell.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I had to visit the dentist just the day before you. Thankfully there were a ridiculous number of COVID precautions. The procedure went about as well as expected. Still painful as hell.

I hope you already feel better.

My dentist's office also has a ton of COVID precautions.

My treatment was relatively painless. Except for the (metal?) band thingamajiggy they put around the tooth and then pushed down. The gums around that tooth are annoyed now.

As usual the area where the anesthetic was injected is a bit sore, as is my jaw. The tooth itself is not exactly painful, but I do feel it when I bite on something a bit harder. But that's to be expected.

[Rumpelteazer]

This is turning out to be a fun week. Yesterday, due to snow melting we had a leak. When it has snowed a lot, which isn't often, it'll leak in that place. My mother had told my father to clear the gutter to prevent it from happening, but he didn't. That kept us busy for a good portion of the day.

Today I had to go to the throat specialist in the hospital. With the 14 day course of over the counter medicine and avoiding certain foods my throat was doing a lot better. Until he took a look with a camera, which went up my nose and down my throat. At one point he asked me to swallow, but it felt like the camera was in the way and it scratched my throat. Which is now swollen and annoyed again.

And on Thursday morning I have an appointment with the dentist to get the last two cavities taken care of. One is in a tooth that has already had a root canal, so it doesn't need to be anesthetized, the other one does. And although the anesthetic they use doesn't make feel crappy it does take a lot longer to wear off that the says it should. So I can't work that day.

I'm looking forward to next week, which should be normal (normal in Corona time, at least). The week after I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned. It's on Monday at 8am, at least I get it over with right at the start of the week.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

This is turning out to be a fun week. Yesterday, due to snow melting we had a leak. When it has snowed a lot, which isn't often, it'll leak in that place. My mother had told my father to clear the gutter to prevent it from happening, but he didn't. That kept us busy for a good portion of the day.

Today I had to go to the throat specialist in the hospital. With the 14 day course of over the counter medicine and avoiding certain foods my throat was doing a lot better. Until he took a look with a camera, which went up my nose and down my throat. At one point he asked me to swallow, but it felt like the camera was in the way and it scratched my throat. Which is now swollen and annoyed again.

And on Thursday morning I have an appointment with the dentist to get the last two cavities taken care of. One is in a tooth that has already had a root canal, so it doesn't need to be anesthetized, the other one does. And although the anesthetic they use doesn't make feel crappy it does take a lot longer to wear off that the says it should. So I can't work that day.

I'm looking forward to next week, which should be normal (normal in Corona time, at least). The week after I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned. It's on Monday at 8am, at least I get it over with right at the start of the week.

Ugh I hope your next week is better. Mine has been hellacious too. I hate tooth problems - I have a lot of dental work to get done and save up for myself.

[Paperbackstash]

So we have a car disaster.

My parents 2014 Cruz was idling at stop signs but driving smoothly, was low on coolant (not out), and seemed like it needed a tune up and check up.

We bring to the mechanics Monday and they say it has some coolant leaks and that the water pump was starting to go bad. They said it needed to be replaced but that the engine was in great shape still and should be good to go for probably another 100,000 miles.

To replace the water pump, the leaks, a belt, and the relay switch, the cost was 1800. My parents told them Tuesday they'd pay it since the car still had a lot of life left in. The mechanic reassured them the car just needed maintenance and would likely to be good to go for maybe years after getting this work done.

Today three days later they hadn't reached out. My mother calls them and apparently they did the repairs and blew up the engine. They turned the car on, and the car starting shooting out blue and black smoke, spewing oil, had a horrible sound, horrible smell, engine completely gone. They claim that the engine must have been blown this whole time and we never noticed (????), and that they couldn't tell the difference between a blown engine and a perfectly healthy one because of low water pressure.

They are saying we now have to replace the engine and with the 1800 it will be over 8000.

I spoke to another mechanic for advice because I don't believe they didn't blow this engine. I was told by this mechanic at Pep Boys that a 2014 Chevy Cruz has an internal water pump instead of an external, and if a mechanic replaces it without having the timing belt exact, even off by 1 or 2, that when the car is turned on the valves will lift and the engine will blow. He said the mechanic is liable and he can't believe they aren't offering to be more assistance.

The mechanic shop is not accepting any liability. The car had a little over 50,000 miles on it. I called Corporate as this is a big chain and, even though I was polite, when I got to the words that they started the car and the engine then blew up, the woman hung up on me. I had to call back later and it has been put into an insurance adjuster by a customer agent who did not hang up on me.

To say we are depressed is an understatement. My parents are both on retirement and limited funds and had bought this car with their 401K. The car should have had years left with some maintenance. I completely believe the mechanics blew up the engine with faulty work and are just trying to get out of accepting blame. The engine had NO signs of being blown before bringing it in, and they really think it was impossible for them to tell over 3 days that this was a blown engine versus a good one.

Anyway, just need to rant. This week has been one annoyance after another.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

Anyway, just need to rant. This week has been one annoyance after another.

Hope you can do more than just rant. Not sure what you meant by "it has been put into an insurance adjuster," I'm hoping you mean THEIR insurance is going to take care of you, but otherwise you're in the price range where calling a lawyer may be in order. If they really were at fault, make them pay through the nose.

ApK

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ApK

Hope you can do more than just rant. Not sure what you meant by "it has been put into an insurance adjuster," I'm hoping you mean THEIR insurance is going to take care of you, but otherwise you're in the price range where calling a lawyer may be in order. If they really were at fault, make them pay through the nose.

ApK

Yes, sorry. I called their corporate office and they said they are putting into their insurance claims to investigate and they will be getting back to me within 24-48 hours. I am livid and my parents don't have options. I am not dropping this without a fight. My parents can't afford much in attorney fees but we are hoping now that getting corporate involved, maybe they will offer to do the right thing and cover the engine. We do have the emailed estimate of all work that the car needed -- and of course nothing mentioned in there about engine problems since, according to mechanics before they did the work, the engine seemed fine to them before today.

[Paperbackstash]

And keep in mind they drove the car as part of their examination before "repairing it" - surely they could have told then with the engine. Today after it blew it was such an obvious disaster there's no way they couldn't have been able to tell if that was the case beforehand. We went from no oil issues to spewing oil, no smoke at all to blue and black smoke reaching almost all the way out into traffic. It's night and day difference from when we dropped it off.

My mother talked to someone at her church who's husband retired after working as an insurance adjuster for a car manufacturer. He said that's ridiculous and he may be able to go up there with us if they keep giving us issues.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

Ugh I hope your next week is better. Mine has been hellacious too. I hate tooth problems - I have a lot of dental work to get done and save up for myself.

It's my own fault for not going for regular check ups during the last couple of years. But today went smoothly. Although the anesthetic really numbed the left side of my face it wore of quickly for me. And there's no sore teeth, just annoyed gums and bruised feeling where the anesthetic was injected.

I'm insured for up to €250 a year in dental costs. With all the work done lately it means I have to pay for today's appointment and the dental hygienist myself. Today will cost around €200 I estimate, but I don't know how much cleaning my teeth will cost. But I got money set aside for this.

Good luck with your treatments!

[Paperbackstash]

Glad it went smoothly!

[PeterT]

Grrrrr.. I'm so STOOPID. Killing some time between clients in work, I went and parked in a community center parking lot. Cool outside (-4 C) but as usual I sit with the engine off and the radio playing. 45 minutes later I decide to start the engine. Slow crank / no cranking.

Blast. I'd left the headlights on, and because I had the ignition on no warning dings.

Of course due to COVID restrictions not many cars in this lot.

Luckily the mechanic we use is less than 5 minutes away, and he's already sent someone up to boost me!

Keep thinking I should pick up one of those self contained battery boosters and add it to my bag.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Keep thinking I should pick up one of those self contained battery boosters and add it to my bag.

Yup. My wife's previous car had a design flaw (widely-reported, but not acknowledged by the maker...subject for another rant...) that caused that problem frequently. Since then we've kept jumper packs in our cars. The bigger traditional ones with the big lead acid batteries work almost as well as jumping from another car. I also have one of the new small lithium jumpers, which also works, but not if the battery is really dead, and usually requires being left connected for several minutes before it works...still better than waiting for help.
The trick with both types is to routinely remember to keep them charged.

ApK

[Paperbackstash]

Well, the nightmare with our blown engine continues.

THeir insurance called us and said that we have to take it to a dealership to see whether it was mechanical error and pay the fee of diagnosis (over 500), and pay the towing charge. They will not let our car be towed without paying the full bill we are disputing, which is a little over 1800

I spoke to the dealership. They told me a diagnosis will not help us anyway -- he said that they have had days to fix whatever went wrong - if they put in the water pump wrong, if the timing was off, they have had the car to switch that out easily. The diagnosis will only show if something is in there wrong NOW.

He also said they cannot tell that the oil and engine was great Monday when we drove it in - they will be able to see it is blown and that NOW the oil is milky and spewing and all it's doing, but they can't tell it wasn't doing that before.

He said their excuse for telling us the engine was in great shape is ridiculous. He said if it was blown, they shouldn't have done work and unless they were neglectful in checking, in that they did not test drive the car or test it thoroughly enough.

Since they changed the oil (routine maintence, it had just come up to change), and the oil was fine, the engine diagnostic was fine (even though that won't show a head gasket blown it should have shown something), he does not understand how a mechanic cannot not tell an engine is bad before work - especially when it's THIS blown. He said that makes them culpable even if the issue existed before they drove and did work. He does agree with us - as does another place we talked to - that it sounds like they did something wrong and blew the engine.

He said though that this requirement to get a diagnosis isn't going to help us and may hurt us because they have had time to fix the problem. By paying the invoice now before this also would be saying we are satisfied with the repairs (which is the wording you are agreeing to on the invoice)

We are contacting 8 on your side just for legal advice and going to check into it legally now. I think this is a new way to try to wipe their hands clean of it with this check up -- as the dealership manager said, that won't prove anything by this point because they've kept the car all week.

And we can't even get the car now because they won't release it, even to tow somewhere else. It's all ridiculous and soooo frustrating.