April 10, 2006

April 10, 2006

Knoxville, Tennessee

YEAR 2 DAY 297

 

Today was a lovely, sunny, warm day.

This morning after regular morning chores and routines, I phoned MTS Mobility to pay my cell phone bill, but this month's bill wasn't available yet. That's odd ... it's usually available on the tenth of each month. We took Bo for an obedience training walk. He did very well. Good dog, Bo. I took the computer and went to the laundry room to get online. I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, and went to the Bank Of Canada website to find out the 2005 annual average exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar. I need that number to use on my personal income tax return. Some of our investments are in the United States, and earnings are paid in U.S. dollars. I phoned Budget Transmission just before noon to find out the status of the truck's transmission repair. They said they would phone back in an hour with a diagnosis and quote.

We had lunch. Budget Transmission phoned. The transmission was trashed, and the repair bill was going to be U.S.$3100 ! ! ! That's a pretty bitter pill to swallow, in light of the U.S.$2400 transmission repair bill a year ago in Oregon. We had a discussion, I instructed them to phone the shop in Oregon and discuss it with them. A few minutes later I phoned the shop in Oregon and discussed it with them. The Oregon shop phoned the Knoxville shop, and so on and so on it went all afternoon, all of us playing telephone merry go round. Neither the Knoxville shop nor the Oregon shop can explain how a $2400 transmission rebuild job can be trash in 1 year ! ! ! With some discussion, and substitution of used and / or remanufactured parts for new parts, I managed to get the bill reduced to U.S.$2800. Small consolation. In disgust I went for a long nap.

When I woke, we went for a long walk with Bo, to attempt to alleviate some of the stress I'm feeling. The long walk turned into a hike around the loop A hiking trail. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon. We discussed various options relating to the purchase of a new truck. Should we try to buy one in Ottawa when we are there for medical tests the first week of May ? What are the ramifications of Manitoba "residents" purchasing a new vehicle in Ontario ? Or should it wait until we drive from Ottawa to Winnipeg ? I feel as if every day we keep the truck, and every mile we drive, carries a horrendous risk of further huge repair costs. I feel desperate to get rid of it !

By the time I am typing this at 6:00 P.M., neither the Knoxville transmission shop nor the Oregon transmission shop has phoned me since our last round of discussions a few hours ago, despite my instructions to both, that I wanted to hear back from them today with answers ! I prepared some outgoing e-mail. Joanne went to do a load of laundry.

I phoned Mechtronics in Oregon. The owner, Ed, continues to sound professional, knowledgeable, reasonable, and fair, as he did a year ago. He has had ongoing discussions with John, the manager of Budget Transmission here in Knoxville, but still hasn't got an answer as to why the transmission has failed again. He has researched Budget Transmission with the Better Business Bureau, and an association of independent transmission repair shops that they both belong to. He is satisfied that Budget Transmission here in Knoxville is a reputable shop. I'm impressed with his efforts, and his attitude. I phoned Budget Transmission again. The manager, John, had gone home for the day. I spoke to Jerry, the owner, who seemed like a jerk. His attitude seems to be "we just fix 'em, we don't explain why they broke !" I'm not particularly satisfied with that. I've had better discussions with his manager, John, whom I'll speak to again tomorrow morning.

We had supper. We watched TV, including back to back episodes of The Apprentice. I fretted a lot about the truck, and the repair costs. Joanne played cheerleader, trying to convince me of what's really important in life. I did a bit more work on our personal income taxes.

DSK