My 3 cent rant

I try to keep this blog fairly positive, but I must take a moment and rant.

1. Took my Accord in today for service because it's having trouble shifting. Oh, it only needs a new transmission! It's a 2003. I bought it used in June 2006. I honestly feel so BETRAYED by my car! By Honda! I thought Hondas were reliable! Smart! That's why I chose my first car purchase as a cookie-cutter, no-nonsense, everyone-else-owns Accord. I could have had a sexy 2-door sportscar, but no. I chose practicality. And it bit me in the rear.

2. Stupid dealer doesn't look up my VIN # to realize my car is still under warranty. Calls Mustang to say it will cost $3,000 to repair! Thankfully a coworker overheard this and recommended we call a small mechanic shop called Hondura. They were wise enough to think, huh, a 2003 certified car with 93,000 miles and a dead transmission......that should still be under warranty! They kindly gave Mustang the 1-800 number to Honda Corporate so he can inquire if we indeed qualify. And we do. So Mustang calls dealer back with this news & asks why they didn't offer this. Dealer says it's because they looked up my car warranty under my married name, and my warranty is actually under my maiden name, so they didn't see it. But still. They should make some magical system to identify by the car, rather than by the owner. Oh, yeah, like a Vehicle Identification Number!

3. This leads me to my last cent (phew). Stupid social tradition/norm/expectation that women change their last names at marriage. I've never been a girl that swore she'd keep her maiden name, but seriously, it is such a pain in the rear! Sure, I thought of changing my SSN, my driver's license, my pay stubs, but seriously, my car warranty? Really? And it's oh-so-difficult for Honda to believe that Jane Dawn X has changed to Jane Dawn Z, and both Janes happen to live in Oklahoma and have the same VIN? Really?

Okay. That's all. I feel better now.

And if you own a Honda, get it serviced at Hondura off N. Villa Ave in OKC. They are good people. Dealers, not so much.

And if any guy out there is reading this, and your wife changed her last name when you got married, please take a moment tonight and tell her how much you appreciated her doing that.

And don't buy a 2003 Accord. Apparently they have transmission failures.

Now I'm really done.