P
Polish Meg
Guest
I'm a woman who drives an older car and when I call around to most junkyards I end up being told that I don't know what I'm talking about and/or given an outrageously high quote for the part I'm looking for. In one case the quote on a used part was $10 HIGHER than buying the same part NEW at Advance Auto. My husband went to the same yard and they quoted him a much lower price on the same part.
I get really frustrated by this because before my husband got his engineering degree he worked as an ASE certified auto mechanic and all of my information comes from him and my official General Motors shop manual for my 1992 Pontiac Bonneville. I'm the one who handles most of the purchases due to my husband's work schedule and it gets annoying when he has to waste his time doing something that I could have done myself if people had been honest with me.
Its gotten worse since we moved down south. Back in Delaware I'd get the occasional sexist junkyard jerk but I'd at least be able to get my part from someone for a reasonable price. Down here it seems like the jerks are a little more prevalent. On Friday, I had some bone head argue with me that I could only pull a bracket I needed from a 3800 V6 that was in the exact make, model and year car I needed it for. Any mechanic will tell you that the vast majority of components on GM 3800 V6 engines are compatible with other GM 3800 V6 engines of the same time period regardless of the make or model they were installed in. My husband talked to the same bone head who told me I was wrong and he told my husband it would be completely OK to pull it from the 1994 Buick LeSabre they had on their lot.
Any ideas on how to prevent issues like this from happening again? I don't get any issue from guys at retail parts stores; in fact, most of them are impressed by my breadth of knowledge about cars. At one store the commercial services manager even set me up with a permanent business discount because I bought $200 in parts at once.
As my car gets older, I foresee this happening more and more if I start needing obscure parts to upgrade/change systems.
Don't tell me to buy a new car either. This one isn't eligible for the CARS program due to its wonderful gas mileage. Plus, the hubby and I can't comfortably swing the payments on anything brand new or even late model on one income while trying to pay student loans and a mortgage while also saving for retirement. Its cheaper to fix this one than it is to buy a new one.
Can't we all be gender neutral when it comes to car knowledge?
I get really frustrated by this because before my husband got his engineering degree he worked as an ASE certified auto mechanic and all of my information comes from him and my official General Motors shop manual for my 1992 Pontiac Bonneville. I'm the one who handles most of the purchases due to my husband's work schedule and it gets annoying when he has to waste his time doing something that I could have done myself if people had been honest with me.
Its gotten worse since we moved down south. Back in Delaware I'd get the occasional sexist junkyard jerk but I'd at least be able to get my part from someone for a reasonable price. Down here it seems like the jerks are a little more prevalent. On Friday, I had some bone head argue with me that I could only pull a bracket I needed from a 3800 V6 that was in the exact make, model and year car I needed it for. Any mechanic will tell you that the vast majority of components on GM 3800 V6 engines are compatible with other GM 3800 V6 engines of the same time period regardless of the make or model they were installed in. My husband talked to the same bone head who told me I was wrong and he told my husband it would be completely OK to pull it from the 1994 Buick LeSabre they had on their lot.
Any ideas on how to prevent issues like this from happening again? I don't get any issue from guys at retail parts stores; in fact, most of them are impressed by my breadth of knowledge about cars. At one store the commercial services manager even set me up with a permanent business discount because I bought $200 in parts at once.
As my car gets older, I foresee this happening more and more if I start needing obscure parts to upgrade/change systems.
Don't tell me to buy a new car either. This one isn't eligible for the CARS program due to its wonderful gas mileage. Plus, the hubby and I can't comfortably swing the payments on anything brand new or even late model on one income while trying to pay student loans and a mortgage while also saving for retirement. Its cheaper to fix this one than it is to buy a new one.
Can't we all be gender neutral when it comes to car knowledge?