Clunk. Clunk, clunk. You hear a nasty noise in the front of your Buick and make an appointment with the car-fix. When you get there, naturally, you find the noise has skedaddled faster than Huck Finn on the first day of school.
Whether it’s a weird noise in the front or a hesitation in the gas pedal, the good news is that there are established techniques for dealing with them. The bad news is that these techniques don’t always work.
As you deliver your clunk-mobile to the shop with that intermittent problem, you play a critical role in the unfolding detective story.
Intermittent problems start for a reason, and they stop for a reason, and those reasons are clues to the nature of the problem that can give mechanics a head start.
Details include whether the problem arises:
- Right away or after half-an-hour of driving?
- In the city or on the highway?
- At a certain time of day, or in certain weather?
- Only when you turn right?
- Only when you are accelerating?
Beyond clues, a test-drive with a mechanic is the best way to track down the problem.
Before you set mechanics loose on your car, set a reasonable limit on diagnosis time--based on the apparent severity of the problem and how much the problem is annoying you. The shop must be able to reach you for approval before exceeding the limit.
Here are a few more things to remember about intermittent problems:
- If all essential systems check out, it may be safe to wait until the problem gets worse.
- Some noises are a lot of sound and fury, signifying, well, nothing. Older cars are particularly susceptible to phantom problems.
- While you may think paying for a negative diagnosis is paying for nothing, you actually are buying assurance that the obvious things are okay--if you trust the repair shop.
- Some noises never reveal themselves.
- Get documentation of your complaint in case the warranty expires before the problem surfaces.
Copyright 2003 Credit Union National Association Inc. Information subject to change without notice. For use with members of a single credit union. All other rights reserved.
