Routine maintenance

So this won't really be about when to change your oil or what products to use. I just wanted to share an interesting experience my wife and I had this past week. On Tuesday, I took my car to the dealership to get my oil changed and fix a nail I got in my rear tire. Thankfully, it was far enough from the enge that it could be patched. I really didn't feel like paying $250 for a new Pirelli tire. Since that was going to take  2 hours or so, I had my wife pick me up as we live just down the block from the dealership. A few hours later, I got the call my car was ready. We go out and try to start my wife's car: nothing. It won't turn over. I figured it was the battery so we tried to jump it with the neighbors truck, no go. I even left it connected for 2-3 minutes trying to charge it but it still wouldn't start. So I called the dealership and requested a shuttle pick up but it was already out and would be 45 to an hour. No problem, I wasn't in a rush. In the mean time; I took to google to try and figure out what else could be the problem if it wasn't the battery. Apparently, her model of Dodge had issues with the neutral safety switch which doesn't let you start the car if it's not in park or neutral. It was about $70 for the part but I didn't want to bother taking her car apart when we have a warranty with $100 deductible. I called the towing service, had it towed to the nearest Dodge dealership and left it overnight. Next day I get a call: it was the battery. I audibly sighed because I knew that wouldn't be covered under the warranty. Sure enough, I get to the dealership and had to pay $150 for their "1 hour diagnostic" fee. We went straight over to Sam's Club to get a new battery. Bought it, left the keys and walked around a bit in the store. We got a call and went back to the counter. Apparently the battery is in the wheel well and they aren't allowed to "disassemble" the car when they aren't working on it. So we took it home and I jacked up the car, took off the front driver tire, popped out the old and put in the new. Took all of 15 minutes. It can't be the first time a car has come in to Sam's that has the battery in the wheel well.

Anyway, lesson learned. Always test the battery first!