Look at Me – I Did It!

I hurt my pretty green car the week of Christmas. I love my car and it is with a sad heart that I describe its damage. I recently moved things around in my garage so the roommate could park her car inside in the winter. Not two days after she started parking in the garage did I hit (my head is hanging down in shame as this was the second time I have done this in three years) the recycle bin and I broke off the passenger mirror.

I drove to work in a bit of a panic because the next day I needed to drive to Ohio for Christmas and I knew I needed to have a resolution to this problem. After I calmed down I decided to take my car to the Nissan dealership and get an estimate on the repair. $320! Seriously! They said the part would cost $217 and the labor would run about $100. This did not include the green cap that matches my car. They though this part could be salvaged.

I drove away in the depths of despair because I knew I didn’t have $300+ to fix my car. I called my brother to complain about this recent problem in my life and he tried to calm me down. We talked about the possibility of purchasing the part online. A light bulb started to flash with this new bright idea. Lou and I together could fix the car.

While we were discussing the problem I explained to him that I had requested that the guy at the dealership remove the old mirror so it would not chip the paint, and I discovered it was held together by three bolts. That appeared to be simple enough to repair. I made plans to stop by his house on my way home so he could look over the car and decided if we had enough skills as a team to fix the car. Let me explain to you that Lou and I are not car repair people. We don’t fix things ourselves…we outsource.

When he looked at the parts he was optimistic at our ability to repair the car. We decided to go for it and order the part online. Thanks to the nice people at the dealership for giving me the part number. Including shipping the new part cost $70. The dealership was going to charge me $217 and we purchased it for $70. I cannot explain to you my joy at saving all of the money.

The part finally arrived on Saturday and I went to Lou’s house so we could attempt the repair. When we had assembled the necessary tools it only took us five minutes to make the repair. By us, I mean Lou as I acted as the Sous Chef in this situation and only held things.

Five minutes and $70! I was so ecstatic! I this just goes to show how a lack of money can increase ingenuity.