In my world, a car is not a status symbol. It is a financial drain that is someday going to end up in the junk yard either to be crushed into a cube or dissected for its parts. Its main purpose is transportation back and forth to work, the grocery store, and an occasional side trip. It is a money pit that consumes endless dollars for car payments, gas, insurance, maintenance, and repairs! If it were sweet and I could eat it, maybe I’d feel better about having one! But as it is, it’s just one of life’s necessary evils!
For reasons mentioned above, I hang onto my cars for as long as possible. I drove my Chevy Chevette for eleven years and two hundred and thirteen thousand miles before we parted! What a great car which often doubled as my “little truck!” What I couldn’t stuff in it, got carried on the roof. It wasn’t until the air conditioning went, that I finally decided it was time to look for her replacement. Her heart was still pumping, but the rest of her was tired and worn.
My current car is now nearing the end of the road too. I’ve maintained her as I did all those who came before her—regular oil changes, tune-ups, tire rotations, etc. Recently, her rear view mirror fell off the windshield as I was backing out of my driveway. The piece that broke was mounted to the back of the mirror. It’s designed to slide into its “other half” which is mounted on the windshield. Together they unite to hold the mirror snugly in place.
I called the dealership thinking it was going to be a simple fix. After all, how much could a little piece of plastic cost? How about seventy-nine dollars plus tax! I was told that I couldn’t buy just the piece I needed, I would have to buy the entire assembly. No way! I wasn’t going to pay for more than what I needed! I called several auto part stores and explained my dilemma. Unfortunately, they all referred me back to the dealership. So, that little tiny piece of plastic, about one fourth the size of my pinky nail, sent me on a mission in a direction unknown to even me—the salvage yard’s graveyard!
When I got there, the gentleman at the counter told me that there were only two vehicles that matched the make and model I needed and they would be somewhere in the first three rows. They shouldn’t be too difficult to find, I thought. Wrong again! There were all makes and models of mangled vehicles! Some were missing doors, wheels, and radiators, while others were missing hoods, bumpers, and windshields. Worse, it had been raining for several days so the ground was muddy and slippery.
I searched for some time, praying all the while that I would be able to reach the car once I spotted it. Many of the cars were up to their door frames in water! Finally, I found one of the two and it still had its windshield with mirror in tact! I sat down in the seat and struggled to remove the mirror. But no matter how hard I tried to pry it loose, I was unsuccessful. Frustrated and empty handed, I walked all the way back to the office with hopes of finding someone to help me. I had come all this way—I was not going home empty handed!
Normally, the yard charged twenty-five dollars for any part they pulled for a customer. However, after explaining all that I had gone through trying to remove the mirror, the man sent one of his guys to fetch it for me—no charge! Five minutes later, the gentleman handed me the mirror and I handed him my ten bucks!
So, the next time you need a part for your car, don’t be held hostage to the dealership’s parts department—look up your local salvage yard. They’re not pretty, but they can save you a lot of money—money that can be spent on car payments, gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and car parts!
