planetdan

Wednesday, December 08, 2004 :::

Imparted Wisdom

I have a Hyundai. It's an economy car. I thought I was being budget-wise and environmentally friendly when I bought it, because I would get a great warranty, free oil changes for life, and it's not one of those gas-guzzling SUVs. But this week at the gas pump, I did the math and realized than I am only getting 19 miles to the gallon. So all that preachy "SUVs are evil" talk you've heard me spewing for years? Total hypocrisy.

Worse even, that free oil change business that the dealership calls "The VIP Treatment"? Total bunk. Sure, you get four free oil changes a year. But in order to "qualify" for the "VIP Treatment" you need to keep up with their adjusted maintenance schedule, which means you need a special check-up every 15,000 miles, which for most people is once per year. The 15,000 mile check-up costs $159.00 and consists of changing the oil, rotating the tires, testing the blinkers, and lubing the door latches. Oil changes are normally $30 max. That's $120 per year. Rotating tires can run you up to $20 twice per year. You can test the blinkers in your driveway for free. That equals $160. No wonder they can afford to give me free oil changes for life: because I am already paying for them.

My Hyundai is a good car and has served me well, but for $159.00 a year, I can lube my own latches, thank you very much.

::: posted by dan at 1:24 PM :: [ link ] :: (22) comments

Comments are Closed On this Post

22 previous comments:

I love that you call them "blinkers".

By

Will, at 3:07 PM

I've heard you like to 'lube your latches' on a regular basis. (Is that what the kids are calling it these days?)

By

Maggie, at 3:49 PM

What do you call "blinkers" Will? I love the other words people use for things. Like "soda" instead of pop.

By

Colleen, at 5:09 PM

directional signals.

By

Anonymous, at 5:11 PM

Are you really supposed to do that to your car once/year?? I never do that stuff - I just get oil changes.

"Pop" is such a Minnesota word...What about that Sunny D commercial? That kid said "we've got soda, OJ, purple stuff...Sunny D!" I think soda is probably more universal than pop...or is it??

By

Kiddo78, at 5:13 PM

That's true as far as I know. When I moved here I had said "pop" all my life, and out here it's all about "soda." Plus when you're from the midwest you throw a killer "O" in pop which everyone will immediately pick up on and mock. A little more embarrassing than that for me was the term "flip flop," referring to shoes you wear in the summer. In SD I grew up saying "thongs." Was that just me? I made a reference to my thongs when I first moved to Denver and I think I made milk come out someone's nose. Plus there's the continual controversy of "Duck, Duck, Goose" versus "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck." Duck, duck, gray duck? What in the hell?
ps-I say blinkers too...

By

denverboy, at 5:56 PM

In Virginia they call it all Coke. Yup. Coke. What sort of Coke do you have? RC & Mr. Pibb. Fantastic, I’ll have a Mr. Pibb Coke.

By

Kristina, at 5:47 AM

Environmentally friendly? Try a Prius.

Love the site, btw.

And for your fans who aren't up on your personal life, who is Kristina? Roommate? Gf? Sister? Evil twin?

By

Anonymous, at 8:13 AM

I call them "turn signals".

All forms of soft drinks = Coke
Thongs = Flops

I don't understand the grey goose thing either, unless you're talking about a killer martini.

By

Will, at 8:57 AM

For details on Soda vs. pop checkout
www.popvssoda.com Also, for more regional word stuff
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/
My dad says sack, my mom says bag. My dad says hot dish, my mom says casserole.
When I was in Boston for a semester, they called jeans dungarees - and it wasn't soda OR pop - it was tonic?!

Hey Denverboy - where in sd are you from? I grew up in SFSD.

By

elsimom, at 8:59 AM

P.S. I can't believe that anyone would say directional signal. It takes too long.
Hey - that guy has had his directional signal on for a mile.
Are you deaf- turn off your directional signal.
Nope - blinkers is much easier.

(Also, parking structure, parking ramp, parking garage?)

By

elsimom, at 9:00 AM

Kristina = K-Mack
K-Mack = Roommate

Parking Garage = Parking Ramp

By

dan, at 9:18 AM

England = turn signals
The South = Coke...and SUVs ;)

By

Raine, at 9:19 AM

Here's another good one: Parking space, spot or stall?

I say space, but that's just me.

By

Will, at 9:20 AM

Here in WI they say soda but I'm originally from MI so I get away with pop even though I get made fun of....and we say turn signals or blinkers. But by far the worst is Bubbler -- in MI grew up with plenty of drinking fountains but when I heard Bubbler I decided then and there all cheeseheads were all mental. And don't even get me started on the whole "cheeseheads" thing - have they no pride?

By

annie, at 9:33 AM

Turn signal = blinker
Remote control = clicker
refrigerator = ice box (when talking to my dad)
Deli meat = cold cuts
Supermarket - grocerystore

Jersey all the way.

By

Biglug, at 10:52 AM

I just love it when a liberal sees the light. By the way, in the south, it's all Coke. And we love our SUVs. I personally drive a Venture mommy van which gets about a gazillion miles per gallon and I love it, but next year I will be purchasing a Tahoe and look forward to that, too.

By

Anonymous, at 8:00 AM

I had a Hyundai. It was an Accent and it was purple and hilarious. It would awesomely die on my way to work, require constant trips to the dealership for things that should not be wrong at 20,000 miles. I now have an Alero and am in love.

By

Dr. Cookie, at 1:58 PM

In the south it's not a parking garage or a parking ramp, it's a parking deck.

By

Anonymous, at 5:24 PM

What does being liberal have to do with it? I still think SUVs are evil. I'll just have to be a little more diligent in my research next time I buy a car is all.

By

dan, at 7:18 PM

Oh man I am glad I read your post before buying a Hyundai. I thought I would be getting a sweet deal, especially after getting them down to $13800 for the Elantra GT - with roof and ABS. You must be talking about Metro, but they forgot to mention the required 15,000 mile check-up to me! I agree with you...for $160/year, I would also 'lube my own latches."

By

Anonymous, at 7:20 PM

we call them indicators or indicator lights. (here in the UK anyway)

By

Anonymous, at 11:57 AM

< Back to Blog