Who Really Needs a Car?
Well, apparently I do. I get a new car about every two to three years. For no good reason, really, other than that I want a new car. Recently, I purchased a new VW Passat Wagon (see last entry "Trousers" for more on the wagon).
I had a 2001 Passat Sedan that I really loved, but it gave me so many problems that I finally abandoned it for a more reliable Japanese car (Toyota Solara). I also had a new beetle, but that, too, was chronically plagued by issues. There was some ignition coil thing that was just never-ending. Anyway, after the Passat, I determined that I would only purchase reliable Japanese cars. Unfortunately, I was once again seduced by the driving experience offered by German automobile manufacturers. I have no will power.
On Thursday of last week, I got into my car in the morning and pushed in the ignition switch (new VWs have these nifty keys that look nothing like keys and are simply rectangular pieces that fit into a rectangular slot in dash and, when pushed in, start the car). A loud binging sound was immediately audible and I looked at the dashboard screen to see the following warning : Left front dynamic light inoperable!. Then, it simply displayed AFS inoperable - Check Owner's Manual and an orange light bulb icon started flashing incessantly. Guess what the owner's manual said -- yes, that's right, take it in for service. Like I really needed to spend time looking that up.
AFS stands for Advanced Front lighting System and describes a function that allows the bi-xenon headlights to automatically adjust according to driving conditions and to turn dynamically as you turn a corner. Pretty cool, right? Yeah, when they work. My car is a mere two months old with only 2000 miles on it. What's the number one reason for buying a new, expensive car? No mechanical problems (because it is NEW).
I called my VW dealer and spoke to a technicican who immediately questioned my report.
"AFS?" he asked. "There's no such thing as AFS. Are you sure you don't mean blah?" (He didn't actually say "blah" but I can't remember exactly what he said.)
"No," I replied with irritation, "it says AFS."
"There's no such thing as AFS," he stated.
"Well," I said, totally pissed off, "I am sitting in the car reading the message on the dash that the car is displaying and, unless I suddenly forgot the alphabet, that's what it says. A as in Apple, F as in Frank, and S as in Shithead."
"Hm," he said. "So, you wanna bring it in?"
"Uhh, yeah. That's why I'm calling."
"We can get you in on Tuesday."
Tuesday. Great. New car, broken headlight and no fix-y for days. I am reconsidering my decision to purchase the VW. I love driving it, but there is nothing worse than spending time at the VW dealership waiting for the car to be repaired. That's what I did this morning.
I got to the dealership bright and early, hoping to get it taken care of quickly and get myself off to work at a reasonable time. Yeah, right. That's the other thing about VW -- no repair can take less than two hours. In this case, I sat at the dealership for three hours only to be told that the part had been ordered. Ordered! So, now I will be forced to return when the part comes in so that I can sit for three more hours for them to replace the bad part.
This makes me angry.