Getting the car fixed

Ohhhh what drama in regards to the car alarm clicker. Monday after work I went down to the car alarm shop only to find much to my annoyance that it is no longer there!!! Either it was a recent more or they haven't bothered updating their website. But then neither the yellowpages.com.au nor google earth have been updated either, so much have been in the last few months, or whenever the yellow pages gets updated. So I would have to call them afterall, something I don't like doing. I thought they may have gone out of business which would have left me totally stuck cos I wasn't sure if another company with different brands would be able to fix it!! panic! panic! panic! Such changes not good for a Virgo!! It would explain why they ignored my email!! Well it was too late to call them that night....

So the next evening after work I called them.... and finally was able to get hold of someone, but as per usual had a hard time getting through to them what I was trying to say!!!! When they finally understood what I was trying to say, they turn around and tell me that they can't fix it cos the remote control actually belonged to Nissan, and all the car alarm company did was "upgrade" it from a locking device to an alarm device. So I  would have to contact Nissan!! Hmmmmm....... confused but anyway...... in hindsight I do vaguely remember that the remote control did come with the car when we bought it, and it was just a central locking device.... so the alarm installation was just an "upgrade".... and all this time I thought the clicker belonged to the car alarm company!!

I found the nearest Nissan dealer and called them, and they were far more helpful. After giving the model details of the car the guy looked it up on the computer and assured me that they do have the item in stock!! Then he told me how much it is going to cost to have the clicker replaced!! The clicker itself, just a little device with perhaps $10 worth of electronic.... well perhaps $20 now with inflation, but akin to what you can get from Dick's Smith, plus a bit of plastic with four buttons.... that tiny little device is gonna cost me approx $150!!!!!!! Now at Dick Smiths you can get far more complex remote controls for TVs etc with far more buttons and more electronics for only $30-$50 - I checked online!! So WHY would this little remote control device with only four buttons cost me $150!!!????..... well no other reason but that it is car related, and anything to do with cars they can get away with charging you an arm and a leg cos people expect to pay a lot for things to do with cars!!! The technology between car remotes and TV remotes are virtually identical, but one costs $150 while the other costs only $30-$50 depending on the particular model !!!!!!

And that is not all.... next is the device needs to be synchronised or tuned-in to the car, it is exactly the same as tuning the radio to a particular station - setting the device to receive the same frequency of radiation as the car. It's a procedure that should take no longer than 5-10 minutes. And for this privilege they will charge another approx $150!!! This makes a total outlay of $300 just to get my door controls and alarm back!! However it is a necessity given that if I have to move out there is a 99.9% chance that the car will be in less secure settings, that is, no secure garage. Furthermore my insurance policy states that the car is alarmed, so if anything happens to my car and the alarm wasn't working then I may not get the insurance payout!! Now just imagine someone had a radio and wanted it tuned to 96FM but you need a special screwdriver to work the tuner and I have the screwdriver while the person does not. So I charge him $150 to tune his radio to 96FM, something that takes me only a minute or two!!!! I'd be accused of highway robbery for such a high price!! Well that is akin to having the new remote tuned in to my car, but again because it is to do with cars, they can get away with such high charges - people expects to pay high prices for anything to do with cars!!!!

Anyway.... all whinging aside..... I have the car booked in for this Friday at the Nissan workshop to have my remote control replaced and installed, so hopefully if all goes well, I will finally have my car alarm back in working order!!!! Just in time for this weekend!!!

The weather.... well this is turning out to be a wet ole start to August.... not complaining at all.... I love it when it rains, especially at night. Prior to August we were in the 2nd driest winter on record, but now we are currently in only the 4th driest winter on record!! And according to the forecast it looks like rain, ranging from "showers" to "rain periods" until early next week. So will have to wait and see if I will go for my walk this Saturday, I will probably go unless it rains all day. Just "a few showers" won't stop me. The rain seems to be bringing warmer temperatures especially at night, indeed it has been almost balmy. That I definitely not complaining about!!!!

Hmmm..... I think that is all for now......

Let's see if I can find a car related music vid...... oooh yes this is one of my all time fav songs, the stuff of my teen fantasy..... still a teen at heart heheheeh....... hahaha........ if it was Julie asking me the question at the last part of the song I would immediately say... YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!.... and I wouldn't regret it ever...... *sigh*.....