Make the Call!

So I learned a big lesson today: making a phone call does not hurt. If you think it might help- do it! This seems obvious, but I think a lot of times we avoid simple tasks for silly reasons. . . and then answer the consequences.

For example, over a year ago, I was driving home from my Christmas vacation to California when the back light on the faceplate of my car's sound system went out. I looked up the problem online and read a message board with lots of posts from people with my same car (year, make, and model) who had the same problem. A lot of posts were years old, but they wrote about how they had to pay $400 + to get their systems replaced. I figured it wasn't worth it to me to pay that much to fix a luxury feature my car. I could still listen to music; I just couldn't see my clock or radio stations unless the afternoon sun hit it just right.

My dad said I should call the dealership, but I really don't like dealerships (or at least I had unfriendly feelings at that time) and didn't think it would do any good. So I didn't call. Instead I had a friend check my fuses just in case-- and no problem was found. So since then I have just dealt with the problem and figured I wouldn't worry about it.

Then, last week my battery died--completely died. Luckily, my good friend Bryce not only tested it for me, but also bought a new battery at a discount AND installed it for me! Yay! However, a few days later when I tried to turn on my radio, it didn't work and I could see that it showed "CODE" on the screen. It turns out my sound system has an anti-theft mechanism that is enabled if it is disconnected from the battery.

Long story short, I called the dealership to get the code, which they gladly gave me (not what I was expecting-- ha ha!). I then took the opportunity to ask about my backlight problem. And voila! the guy on the phone told me that the problem is under warranty because there is a factory recall on the part!!

Now I have an appointment on Monday to get it fixed for FREE. No money to end a problem I've been dealing with for over a year! I wonder what other problems I've been avoiding in my life that have easy solutions? Really, it's not worth it to deal with something when it can be fixed!