KirstenL4W

Remember back last fall when I got a new car? A lovely 2005 Ford Focus that looks like this:
Well, it’s still under warranty, since it’s only 2 years old and 29,500 miles. It still looks great. But go? Does it? Not so much.

About 2 weeks ago I brought it in for some warranty service. The air conditioner wasn’t cooling properly (which, when its 115°F outside, air conditioning is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity), and the radio was doing weird things when it played CDs. I also found out after Boyfriend brought it in that it had a transmission issue, which Boyfriend noticed but didn’t tell me. So, a week later I get the car back. The radio has been replaced, the transmission was completely rebuilt because it was so on its last legs, and the air conditioner was not fixed because of “previous work and aftermarket parts.” Well, a conversation with my dad told me that the fan was not cooling the condenser, and Boyfriend should be able to fix it easily.

So now, the transmission is still really not right, in fact it acts quite a bit worse than before I brought it in. And, when I was driving to work the other day, the battery light came on for a few seconds. I drove it just fine all week, got home from work Friday afternoon, parked the car and hung out with Boyfriend for a bit before heading out. Get in the car to go out, turn the key, and nothing. No response except the dash lights.

A quick side note about batteries and desert climates: Because living in the extreme heat of the desert and doing mostly city driving, all cars here are considered to be in an extremely harsh driving environment. It is well known here that even with a 5-year battery, the average life expectancy is only about 2 years. I was lucky to get 3 years out of the battery on my Kia.

If it is in fact the battery, it should be a quick fix and had better be covered under warranty. I don’t leave shit on in the car, but the fact that the dash lights came on tells me that the battery still has a bit of a charge. Research on the battery light indicator tells me that it could possibly be the alternator. I don’t know, but I do have a feeling I’ll be getting to know Bill down at Ford Country quite well.

Because of all this, Boyfriend and I have started discussing other transportation options for me. He has a vehicle that he drives for work, which they’re pretty strict on. He also has his own, older but in tip-top shape huge beast of a truck that I hate driving because I like little cars. (No big car is better commentary please). His truck also sucks on gas, as most trucks do. So, the options are:

1. Get to know Bill at Ford Country very well and invite the wife and kids out for dinner in hopes that I’ll get top priority service.
2. Purchase the extended warranty. Dad can get it for me at cost, which will save several hundred dollars over buying it here from Bill at Ford Country.
3. Trade the damn thing in for something with a very well know reputation for reliability, like a Toyota.

Personally, I’m sick of this car thing. If it had a 100,000 miles more on it, then I could understand having so many issues with it. But this is still under factory warranty. It’s still just a baby. And because it’s so new, I have a hard time with #3. I do have a car payment on this car, but because Dad worked his magic I have a very low car payment, and I’m nowhere near upside down, so money-wise, it doesn’t make sense to get a new car. Which leads to #2. This is what we will most likely end up doing. The $700 for the warranty will probably pay for itself in the first month (if I had to pay for that transmission repair, it would have been roughly $2,100 according to the paperwork I got back). I still have a year or 6,000 more miles to purchase that, but it’s looking like the best choice.

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