Getting the oil changed in our van ended up costing double the amount that I had (guessed) budgeted for it. Whoops.
Sure I could have asked The Hubs how much it usually costs, but I forgot. And when I sat down to geeky-crunch the budget numbers I figured $30 would be pretty close. Even though this van requires pricey synthetic oil because we want only the best for our baby VW Eurovans think they are high royalty and deserve only the best that money can buy and really don’t care that they’re sucking you dry I was still bummed about the $61.63 total.
I don’t think I was paying this much attention the last time we got the oil changed.
It Even Requires a Special Filter
It would have helped, though not by much, had I taken in the filter that The Hubs had already bought for the van and left on the shelf in the garage. He bought a filter for his car as well (a Toyota 4Runner) and left it on the shelf, too. That’s the one I grabbed. Whoops.
Luckily, when I made the appointment, I didn’t tell the guy I was bringing my own filter, so he already had one that was on its way from another part of town. No, we don’t take the van to a dealer to get the oil changed (do you?) which would cost heavens I don’t know how much more. And Goodyear doesn’t exactly have a run of VW Eurovans coming in for oil changes to warrant keeping a surplus of their filters on the shelf. That’s only a minor inconvenience in the long line of inconveniences that come from owning this highfalutin vehicle that we love and adore and wouldn’t trade for anything.
Actually, I do love driving it. I just hate what it costs to maintain it.
I Know Nothing About Cars
Really. Nothing. Grabbing the wrong filter is but a small token of my woeful lack of know-how. I like to joke that I don’t need to know about these things because I’m married and that’s what husbands are for. Really, how pathetic. What if something happened to him? What if — just to throw something out there — he went away for several months and wasn’t available to help figure out a problem?
I know, I know… Lots of guys out there don’t know diddly squat about cars, either. But I have this theory about long-time married couples: the amount of knowledge that one of them has about a subject is inversely proportional to the amount of knowledge that the other one has on the same.
In other words, the more my husband knows about cars, the less I do. (The more I know about paying the bills, the less he does. The more I know about doing the laundry, the less he does. The more I know about mopping the floors… Oh, wait. I don’t do those, either.)
But I digress.
The thing is, I have absolutely no desire to improve my level of car knowledge and know-how, even when it comes to basic upkeep. I’m not proud of this, just being honest.
Important Life Skill
The Hubs takes it as his responsibility to impart (at least some) (and there’s a lot) of his car knowledge onto his children. I thank God for that. I know that, come the day when Conner so much as wants to back the car out of the driveway, he’ll already be getting tutored on the basic upkeep of the vehicle he’s driving. And Conner will be fine with that (whether he likes it or not) — he’s good with tinkering with things. His little brother, too, will be more than ready to learn all he can about cars from his dad, based on the amount of interest he already demonstrates by taking things apart because he’s trying to figure out how they work even though neither he nor anyone else is able to get most of these things back together again in wanting to know how things work.
As for Olivia… Well, the jury’s still out. I’m not trying to be sexist here; just being honest about my kids. I just hope she got more of her dad’s mechanical blood in her than mine. Regardless, I do hope that The Hubs imparts as much knowledge on to her as he does his boys (whether she likes it or not) — I really want her to have more of a hand-up in this area than I do: It can only benefit her in the future, and likely save her money. I see no reason why she couldn’t learn to change the oil herself… (although even The Hubs can’t change the oil in our Eurovan, I don’t remember the exact reason) (but it’s a sore spot). At the very least, I want her to learn enough so she knows she’s grabbing a filter for a 4Runner and not a Eurovan.
How about you ladies? Are any of you as pathetic as I am? Or do you knock about under the hood with the best of them?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
sahmcfo: I would! lol When I was growing up my mom (yes, my mom) taught me to change my oil and my flat tires etc. I got married at 19 and my now ex was a “car guy” seems in the 10 years we were together I forgot any and all pieces of knowledge I had lol. (so yes Jolyn I completely agree with your theory) Now my problem is my dh has no idea what to do beyond changing a tire. But he makes appointments really well
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It’s my dream to be a mechanic someday! Seriously. My husband thinks I’m crazy but I plan on going back to work when the kids are school age and I cannot sit in office ever again. So I’ve looked into the local community college and they offer many courses in Auto Tech. I might just end up an oil-jockey at the local walmart but to me it would be better than a desk!
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jolyn Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Wow.
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sahmCFO Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
TMI? LOL. It’s funny you posted this because I’ve even been able to barely convince my doubting husband that if my dream REALLY ever took off, women would bring their cars in droves to a women owned and operated garage…
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@Nicole, I don’t think there are too many people out there these days, including men, that can do a lot of their own car maintenance b/c of the computerized components.
Since I am the oldest child, I bonded w/my dad over cars & sports. So I can at least talk intelligently about those subjects – and know enough to know what the mechanics are talking about so they don’t think that they can take me for a ride (no pun intended). I have a great mechanic so I don’t have to worry about that, thankfully.
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Well…don’t tell my husband but I know more than I let on about cars! I am a Girl Scout at heart and I earned a couple badges about Car Care in my time as a badge winner. I can change the oil, change a tire…but when it comes down to it…I pretend I don’t know so that he can handle it all…I just tell myself I am letting him feel more manly!
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I know more than my husband, but still not a lot. Technically I could change the oil or a flat tire, but I have never actually done it. I can recognize some basic problems, but can’t fix it, that’s for sure. The biggest thing to know is to be on the lookout for someone taking advantage of you. I have certainly been lucky to have patient and trustworthy mechanics thus far.
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I also don’t know squat, but thankfully hubby does and I am more than happy to defer to him. Hey, he defer’s his stitching and stain removal and “need to bring a dish to the office tomorrow” to me. So I wanna play the defer game too
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jolyn Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Heh-heh… I totally get that.
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Don’t know a thing about cars – I just drive. So I am faithful about oil changes and scheduled maintenance. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my van will live a long and happy life so I can save up towards the next vehicle breaking that whole car payment cycle.
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I will sit shotgun in the “don’t know squat” category. I know enough to let G-man know when the car is making a sound or isn’t handling well. Beyond that…..clueless.
My rudimentary knowledge includes….1) the little light with the exclaimation point and the light bulb around it means a bulb is burnt out somewhere; 2) E doesn’t stand for ENOUGH; and 3) cars run better when they are clean and happy.
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