So anyway...

Let's see.. a little update...

In the realm of car drama, the folks finally got around to fixing my sat radio. So it works now, finally. Awesome! However, in the process, they cracked the wood paneling (again). Also... in my sheer stupidity I had them add in an iPod adapter, only to find out the adapter doesn't work with an iPod Touch, thus rendering it basically useless. (I guess I can use my old iPod, but that's a little ghetto). Also.. they drilled a bigger hold in the back of my glove compartment to run the wiring so it just looks like pure ass. I'll have to pick up my own plastic stopper thingie to just make it look right.

All in all, typical shoddy workmanship. Why am I not surprised? There's really no one to blame but myself.

Totally sucks.


Age of Conan has been released.

I played it on beta and couldn't get much past level 10. Mainly because I was so bored out of my friggin' skull and I thought the character animations/look were absolutely terrible. Frankly, I'll keep my abstract lookin' WoW to not even uncanny-valley, just straight up ooooglay avatars.

Yeah, I realize the gameplay is supposed to be different then WoW. And it is. Sort of. But not really to some revolutionary extent that I'm, pardon the pun, "WoW-ed" by it. And for another monthly subscription fee?

Meh.

I'd rather just finish getting my Vindicator set and getting my drood up to MT Kara-spec.

~ddd

The Car

Ok.

So my Sirrius radio hasn't been working since, what, January? Well, I finally go to the guys in Roseville to have them take a look. As it turns out, they claim it's a manufacturer problem and will be giving me a new device at the end of this month, or next, whenever that firmware update, or what not, comes out.

Cool.

So I point to the passenger-side window roll-down button, and how it's all foobared.. and they're like: oh, sure, we'll fix that too.


And an iPod adapter?

Well, you pay for the hardware, we'll cover labour.

Hm.

So, mental note, bring in all of my invoices from diagnosing the "battery" problem to have them cut me a check for that.


And then yesterday, my Cellphone's out of batteries.. so I whip out my car charger and put it in... and it doesn't light up, or start to charge. Odd... so I put in the cigarette thing.. but it never pops out, so I have to dig it out with my nails.. but it's not even warm -- even after 30 minutes of sitting in..

So now I'm like: WTF???!!!!


I'm assuming this part has to be under a one year warrantee, at least... so back to the dealership in Stockton..

Sigh.

And what's so weird, is that it was working a week ago. And I watched what the guys in Roseville did to check out my car radio and I didn't see them do anything whack, soo...


Double-sigh.

And with my whack travel schedule for the next week...

I guess it'll be another 3-4 weeks until I can get the time to get it fixed.

Donna D. Dead

My roller skates have arrived!!!!

They are the Reidell Wickeds.. white.. with blue wheels, of course!


Now to get home, try them on, and burn around the house to break them in. ;)


The team's looking to make me one of their Jammers, which is super cool. Now to pwn n00bs on wheels!


Speaking of wheels...

My car drama continues.

The Mercedes dealership has successfully resolved all outstanding issues. I now have a fantastic interior.. well, insofar as it involves them.

The Roseville sound people, on the other hand, still have things all sorts of F^$%#@ up. The satellite doesn't work (again). And I just noticed that the button that the passenger uses to lower the window is like... really low... that is, it's "sunk" down inside the wood trim that the sound people had to replace (because they broke the previous wood trim. Yes, the only thing that kept me from committing murder was Systema breathing.. and the fact blood would tarnish my car's interior leather).

So I'm conflicted.

Do I go back to them to have them fix things for free... or, do I just go to my Dealership and pay for them to do it? I'm even considering asking them to refer me to a sound person that they recommend, who specializes in Mercedes sound.

Why?

Well, because, I'm very tired of the Roseville people putzing around with my cars electronics and generally making a mess of things.

It's a radio for goodness sake.

A.


RADIO!!!!!!!!!


*breathe*

Ok. I need a massage.

My next car

Motortrend has a review on the Tesla Roadster.

MotorTrend on Tesla.

I love that car. It is so on my list of things to get.

Mercedes service people are d!cks

So I get to the dealership this morning and Christy heels her way outside. Wearing this lovely lamb-skin black trench-coat, shimmery, and with that dishwater brown hair-color I'm convinced she needs to change back to blonde.

"Hi! Do you have an appointment today..?" And then a quirked eyebrow, slight smile forming on her lips.

"Um.. no, actually." And then I uncontrollably giggle, "It's much more absurd then that."

I motion her over, "Come take a look. It's really quite bizarre." and then I spin around to the passenger seat so she can get a real good look. I point to my license plate.

She blinks, "What the-."

And then I go and describe that I think when the service guy installed it, he must not've seen it.. Then I point out the chipped part of my car near the ignition and how it was cheaply painted over. Copious notes are taken on her clipboard but I can see the once welcoming expression turn to a deep seated fear and apprehension.

"I'll need to go bring the Service Director over."

I nod, with a bigger grin, "Oh, please do."

She click-clacks off and I follow her inside, scoring myself a complimentary cup of decaf Flavia House Blend. Something is on the news but I forgot what.

Mark eventually stalks outside and I motion him to the license plate. He's all, "Oh, we'll easily fix that for you. That's not a problem." Then I point to the damage near the ignition. He clumps down into the driver's seat and eyes it irritably.

"I don't know about that. We'd never do something like that."

"So you think I did it? Where would I even get that paint? It's not a nail polish color."

"Well, maybe not you, but someone else."

My stare leveled on him, a slight quirk to my lips, "I don't know. I think you guys did it. I mean, you can even see black spots peeking out from underneath. It's even shimmery. Like, the rest of the plastic is matte, but this one has a sheen. And, heck, there's even hair stuck to it. Like, the hair dropped on it while it was drying. Maybe I need to call Mercedes corporate with this matter."

Without looking at me, "They won't do anything about it." then to me, "You don't think maybe you chipped it with your key when you were trying to put it in the ignition?"

"No. I do think you guys chipped it and tried to paint it over with this white paint."

"I think you chipped it with your key. It's not paint. It's just that the plastic is half-chipped off so it's whiter. The top coat is gone."

Now I just paused. Breathed a little. Sat back in the passenger chair.

"Would you like me to bring in a third-party Mediator to help us come to agreement on this matter?"

Mark sighed, furrowed his brow, "No."

"Hm, I see. Well, I want the part replaced and I want my license plate back."

"I can't sit here and run your car over with a fine tooth comb every time you come in looking for chips and dings that weren't there before you came in. We were very careful this time."

"I understand that. However, are you saying its up to me to inspect the car with great detail every time I come here for a service? Am I supposed to take before and after photos?"

He growls a bit and gets out of the car, muttering, "We'll fix it."

And inside he goes, up to Christy, ordering her to order the parts. I wander up behind him and he looks at me, "We're taking care of it." and so I turn to Christy, "Are you guys ordering the part?" Before she can answer, looking to her clipboard, Mark interjects, "Yes. We'll call you when the part is in to schedule an appointment to have it replaced." and he walks away. Probably back to that Service Director cave he crawled out of.

I nod to Christy then, "Alright, well, thank you!" and smile my way out the door.


I need to call Mercedes Corporate.

But wait, there's more!

It seems that the memories of my life will involve an entire section about my car. My beloved SLK 320. So today, I was feeling a bit lonely and ho-hum, what with the stress of work weighing down on my shoulders. What could be better then an afternoon pick-me-up with some quality time spent driving in my awesome car?

So I get in, and ponder to myself, idly, "I wonder where my front license plate is. ..."

But it was just a stray thought, something to occupy the time in-between what I'll be getting for lunch, or where I'm going for coffee, or if I should change my radio station even though it's really good but couldn't it get that much better, and work blah-blah. Besides, it's probably in the trunk.

Lunch... coffee... computers...

Back in the ride and this time, parked at work, doing that last moment of meditation before I face "the office" once more. It's then that I find my front license plate.

Half of it peeking out from underneath the center console because the top half is...

wait for it

...

.

.

UNDERNEATH the center console.





Oh yes, that fabulous install job? Well, yeah.. the mechanic obviously didn't see the license plate there when he installed the console because he covered it up almost completely.

So there I am, trying to remember to breathe, as I'm desperately trying to pull the plate out from underneath the plastic. It's not budging. It can't go any further down, though, because it's already on the floor of the car. And, well, I obviously can't pull it up and out.

Heavy...

Sigh.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, reality proved you wrong.

They got me -- for a day or so

That is, those Mercedes people.

I'm taking an afternoon break from work because, well, it's work and I was stressed and I wanted a gingerbread latte and some mixed nuts. So there I am, in the parking lot of Starbuck's basquing as some snake on a warm rock...

... fresh new interior... (a bit on the dirty side from the mechanic's fingerprints but I can ignore that)
... fresh music from sat ... (The Beat, specifically)

and some fabulous Lancome products I purchased the day before. So, yeah, a little make-up doll work for fun. Then something catches my eye.. So closer I peer, next to the key ignition.

GASP.

A scratch, but not just any scratch, a repaired scratch.

Those mother f*kers didn't think I'd notice that they scratched another part of my car by "touching it up" with some off-white paint. Little do they realize, I'm obviously color neurotic. So, instead of my "Safari tan" interior, I see eggshell.

THEY TRIED TO COVER IT UP









Now I'm just offended. I mean, before, I was looking for the black scratch. That is, the underlying black plastic being exposed. Instead, I'm presented with this off-off-white color "touch up". Oops. Moreover, I don't even think they put the piece together right because on closer inspection, it doesn't line up smoothly with the rest of the pieces.

As such, I'll be visiting the Dealership tomorrow.


Again.


And to think, they pulled the wool over my eyes for, say, a day or so. B!tches.

My car is actually fixed!

But the real test will be if, tomorrow, it starts up for work.

To recap:

I showed up at the dealership this Friday at around mid afternoon sometime. I figured, having a nice lunch with my dad over at Romano's Macaroni Grill would start my day off right. This way, at least the Mercedes people wouldn't ruin a perfectly good lunch.

So, we sashay into the dealership and Andrew is all, "It's done!!" huge smile and reclining back in his chair, further growing his sh!t-eating grin, "It's finished!"

"O RLY? Was there an electrical problem you saw? Was it the radio?"

"Your alternator and the electrical system is a-ok, we checked that out top to bottom. That radio is what's been giving us all the delays though. Since we had to replace your center console piece, we had to take all of that apart. Since the radio's after market... we had to call in a specialist to make sure we took it out and put it back together again properly."

Me, now with a smile, "O RLY??? So you even fixed the radio too?? I am impressed!"

He blinked, "The radio was broken?"

"Well sort of. I was going to take it in to that crappy Roseville place where I got it installed but apparently you people didn't ruin it further to cause me even more heart burn over that."

He blinked again, "Well, I am happy to hear that.. . . ."

And so, our hero and her dad went and paid some more money, because apparently diagnosing an electrical problem that doesn't exist costs money, got the car.. did a walk around... adjusted the seats.. the mirrors... and drove off into the sunset with the soft, serenading sounds of a lecture still echoing in her ears.. "remember -- slow down!!!"




Epilogue:

Yes, they did fix the satellite radio, too. Bliss!

My car is ready!!

Mark just called.

The car is ready!!

Apparently, he was "able" to "push aside" a couple of jobs to get it done today.

I'll be picking it up first thing in the morning.

Wee!

Mercedes drama continues

So I show up to the dealership today expecting that my car'll be fixed.

It's not.

Instead, the service people were like:

Nervous look, "Did you get your voicemail message?"

"No. What voicemail message?"

"Anthony said he left it.. um.. er.. well... you're going to need some gaskets replaced."

"Gaskets? What does this have to do with my battery and electrical system?"

"Nothing. See, we just noticed it when we were diagnosing that problem."

"Oh. hm..."

My dad is there with me because I've decided to pull the man-card now when dealing with service people. I asked, "What's a gasket? Apparently, I need to get them replaced."

He blinks, stands up, "You don't need to get your engine head gaskets replaced, do you? That's like $10,000. It's not even worth it!"

I blinked, "Um.. I don't think so?"

So we go and ask Mark this and he's all, "Oh, no, it's like [technical-mumjo-jumbo I tuned out, translation: some other valve thing] it'll be $500."

My dad then freaks out and turns to me, agitated, "You have been driving too fast. Pushing that car too hard. I keep telling you to slow down. But you don't listen. Now look."

"$500??? For the part?"

"No. The part is $60."

Mental note: Anything you need to get done by Mercedes will always cost $500. It'll either be a $450 part and $50 labor. Or a $50 part and $450 in labor. That's just how it goes. Accept it and move on.

"See???" My dad begins, "It's not the part that's a big deal. It's the labor. Slow down when you drive. This car is just 6-cylinders. If it was 8-cylinders, then fine push it. Remember my old mercedes? That was 8. Yours is not 8. Going faster then 70 is going to push this 6-cylinders too hard and you're going to break things. Look at my truck -- if you push that one faster then 70 the same thing is going to happen. I can't sit in the dealership all day waiting for them to fix it. You must have been speeding up that hill on your way to work. Or passing people. Or driving I don't know how fast. The fact is, you shouldn't drive it faster then 70, 75 if you don't want this problem again. It's only 6 cylinders! Are you racing those trucks on the road? Those are 8 cylinders, they can push it. You're only 6!!" This is the price of the man-card. The lecture.

Deep breath. Mental note: Next car is 8 cylinders.

"Well, how long is it going to take for my car to get fixed? Is the mirror replaced? The interior? Have you even diagnosed the electrical problem yet?"

"Uh.. Well the mirror will be replaced by the time you pick it up [translation: we didn't start on it yet], the center console is totally ripped out but we're trying to be careful because you have an after market radio and we don't want to damage that - also, we had to order another part so we had to wait for that to arrive [translation: we damaged something else], the mechanic is starting the electrical diagnosis today [translation: we got distracted by that gasket problem], and... did you want us to replace those gaskets?"

"Yes. I don't like to have damaged parts in my car - if you haven't been able to figure that one out."

"Ok, great." Mark, the service director, relieved sigh and a wary smile, "We'll give you a call with some status updates.. what's the best number to reach you at..?"

And that's where we left our hero.

My car stopped working

So, I wake up early today to go to Mercedes because some parts are in so I can fix my driver's side mirror and the center console. But I sleep in because my bed's warm.

When I finally get to my car, it won't start.

Key in the ignition, park, position 2... nothing. Nadda. Nishta.

Key in the ignition, park, position 1. ... no lights, nothing.. nadda.. nishta..

WTF.

I do this a few more times. Sigh.

So I call my Stockton area service people and they're like, "Oh, we could send a tow out but it'll cost you."

So I call Mercedes roadside assistance, corporate, "We'll have a mechanic out there in 20 minutes."

I head to work, the guy shows up and replaces the battery.. it was free, covered under warrantee (as I got one last year).

Now I have this issue: Since my car was sitting around for 1.5 weeks doing thing, is my busted up radio wearing the battery down? Did the alternator screw up? Was the battery already on the fritz?

Let's sum up my car problems:
1) Driver's side mirror has this crazy "fog" on it. Water got behind the mirror so the auto-tinting film is all effed up
2) Center console is damage because of shoddy repair men
3) Satellite radio is busted/won't work
4) Car won't start (is it the alternator??)


And I even got my car serviced like 2 weeks ago. Don't they check for things like this?


Heavy sigh.

~ddd

Sattelite Radio broke, again...

So, I took it to my car people to fix this last weekend. It was fixed for, let's say, about one day. Then, it broke again.

Very frustrating.

Apparently, the text on the flat panel screen would get "stuck" on a channel even though I would be changing them. The sound would change but the display? Nope. Eventually, the device just spit out an error code and decided to stop broadcasting the radio.

Alas.

Now I have to yell at them to replace everything.

3rd time's a charm...

Why I love Mercedes, again

Badge out the window, listening to some Halcyon + On + On. And the guard eyes the car then me. Tapping the badge, he smiles as we make eye-contact, "Nice car." So I let him get a good look at its backside.

Why I love Mercedes

I'm buying gas on my way home from work. No big deal, watching dollars just pour into the gas tank.. $10.. $20... $40... knowing that in two days this ritual will be repeated. My wallet, the lamb. My car, the slaughter.

Turning, I slide into the driver's seat only to catch a glimpse of some old(er) man shuffling by and checking out my rims, and shimmery freshly-washed paint. Then we make eye-contact. He smiles, then points at me, then himself, then his open mouth.

I leave him with a smirk, cruising back onto the freeway lamenting the loss of Sirius.

~~~

Who needs a boob job, when after 6 years with the same car, men still hit on you / make in-appropriate gestures?

Sirius Sattelite radio broke - again

So, I have Sirius radio for the car. Attached to my super-[]D [] []\/[] []D car stereo.

Except, for the second time, the cable has apparently detached from my stereo, thus preventing me from listening to the Sat-radio.

WTF.

Are my installers just total morons (what is with mechanics these days?). Now I also have to drive my car an hour north just to have them fix it again.

What I wouldn't give to just have things WORK.

Is the economy really that bad?


Good thing I've got free installation fixes for life. Too bad that doesn't cover time, gas, mileage. Sigh.

Mercedes-Benz service sux, part 3

So, I got a call on my cellphone from the Mercedes lady.

She was very pleasant, "We've decided to go ahead and do a full replacement of the part. We'll call you when it arrives."

Good.

Now that occurs to me.. does that include the wood trim? Are they going to order the correct one? (Black birds-eye maplewood) Dang-it. Now I need to drive my not-so-happy-arse there and double-check. And also remind them that there's a mirror that needs to be replaced, while they're at it.

Mercedes-Benz service sux, part 2

So I get to the dealership early this morning so I can yell at the service people and not the poor lady at the counter who's just responsible for taking my money and giving me my keys.

Breathe.

I pull up to the service lot and the hot little rep in a power-suit heels her way over to me. A smile then a blink, "Weren't you here yesterday? Is everything ok?"

I sigh heavily, "No. I have a complaint about my service. Apparently, when the center console was installed, another part was damaged." And I point it out to her

Her eyes widen, "Oh, I see. I'll get your service guy... please have a seat inside.." and she stamers away apprehensively.

So I stalk inside, grab myself some of my favorite coffee - Flavia House Blend Decaf and grab a seat near my car, clutching my keys, protectively hovering over it.

Eventually, "Andrew" calls me into his office. So I growl under my breath, get up, walk into his office, re-seat myself and explain the situation. He doesn't seem to get it. So I take him outside to show him the damage. (Yes, I need the Psycho reaper music cued right about now)

He takes a seat on the passenger seat, sitting on my Glock logo printed hat_{(number 8)}. Teeth clench.

Breathe.

"Well, I'll have to call our upholstery guy and he'll touch it up for you."

Pause, squint, and a slow turn of my head meeting his gaze levely, "Your upholstery guy?"

"Yes. Replacing the whole piece is going to cost us, like, $1,800 at least. I have to go with the cheaper solution, which is the upholstery guy at like $150. If it doesn't look good, then we can replace the whole unit."

"Who decides if it looks good or not?"

"Well, within reason, it's a decision made between the two of us."

I narrowed my gaze, voice deepening, knuckles whitening, "So let me see if I understand you correctly. When I showed up to this service department complaining of peeling of the center console. Your solution was to have me pay $600 to replace the whole unit. You didn't even tell me there was this mythical upholster guy who could do it for the cheap. So what did I do? I had the part ordered brought the car in and had you people replace it. In progress, you people damaged it. And now you're telling me that you can fix your damages cheaply but I have to pay for a full replacement?"

He blinked, sighed, "Listen, I need to go with the cheapest option first... ."

"I need to speak with your manager. Perhaps I can convince him of the correct action that you seem to be unable to figure out."


So Andrew shuffles off and about 10 minutes later, here comes Mark. In fact, he didn't even realize I was the owner of the vehicle as he walked right by me first. Maybe he was looking for the man-in-charge, like my Dad, or some sexist bullshit like that.

I re-explain the situation to Mark. This time, while breathing. This time expressing how, "I realize that you're all about the most cost-effective solution for your business. And I guess I'm supposed to understand that as the customer it's OK for me to pay full price. While, for you guys, you're supposed to be as cheap as possible. So, yeah, let's all just screw our customers for all their cash because they're the customer, and they can afford it, so it's OK."

"Well, you see.."

"Listen. I'm not here to nickle and dime you people. I've been a customer here for 6 years and have paid, full, IN CASH every single time I'm here. The problem is your service people damaged my car and now you basically have admitted to over-costing the repair for me. How am I supposed to take this?"

He winces, slumps, "Well, what can we do to make you happy." I stare at him, "... listen. We'll make this right and I'll look into crediting your account for the replacement you had done.. let me get your contact information and I'll get back to you with this.."

And that is where we have left our hero. Next up -- does he actually call? Am I happy? I'd be really surprised at this point.


You know, Mercdes has been my dream car since childhood. Why is it turning into a nightmare?


Sigh.

Mercedes-Benz service sux

What is up with Mercedes these days? I go in for a Flexible A service, which they do fine, ok, whatever. But I also wanted my driver's side mirror replaced because it was busted when I was living in LA. While they're at it, they should replace my center peeling console.

What happens?

They order the wrong part, so the mirror doesn't arrive.

When they replaced the center console, they damaged another part.


This is why I need to buy a BMW as my next car. Either a 6-series or a Z4 that has a hardtop convertible (please come out soon).


This sh*t is such a waste of time and emotional stress.

Seriously. I get to work late. I have to leave work early. And the work isn't done or it's done incorrectly. WTF do I pay them large sums of money for???? Argh. So irritating.