(Broken) stuff happens

(I started this post a few months ago, and am now finally posting it.)

So the last few months have been a little busy around here, but the last month has really kicked my butt.  And today I'm reaching my breaking point.

About a month ago, my power steering started to randomly go out in my car.  My sweet little Chevy HHR that is only 3 years old.  I was annoyed, because of course the warranty expired this summer.  We called the dealership and made arrangements to bring it in for repair.  The morning we were due to take it in, we found almost an inch of water on our passenger side floorboards, and the back seat was soaked.  We took it in, and they called later that day to say that they found the leaves that were blocking a drain, and the car was better. We agreed to pay for them to clean the car so that the stains would be gone, and the mold and mildew wouldn't fester.  The car had to stay there for a few days to have this done and have time to dry out in their bay.

A couple of days after retrieving the car, the power steering starts going out again.  Call the dealership, take the car in.  Two days go by, and they finally call to let us know that they have to replace the power steering motor/computer.  They quote us almost $500.  I was very frustrated, as the car isn't really old enough for these things to need replacing.  So DDS gets on the web, then calls the Chevy customer car line.  They agree that this is unfortunate, and agree to split the cost of the repair.  I'm still annoyed, but at least feel as if they are taking care of us.  A few days later, we find this article, and now I'm not so pleased.  They call us to pick it up, and only charge us around $125.  So we pay it, and move along.  But now, I want to know why this wasn't a recall.

A few days go by, and a heavy rain came, and more water was found.  We called the dealership and made another appointment.  They sealed the area they thought the water was coming in through, and a day later we picked it up. 

Fast forward a few more days...come out of the house at 6:45 in the morning and it's pouring.  Get in the car with the three kids, and all of us automatically check the floorboards...1/2 inch of water.  Drop the kids off, and head straight to the dealership.  Body shop guy comes out, says, "oh, we didn't realize it was coming in back here", even though we kept trying to tell them that.  Make another appointment.  Take the car in on the appointed day. 

They called my husband that night.  They basically apologize out the wazoo, and state that after "testing to see where the water was coming in, and seeing how much and how fast, I'm suprised you were that patient."

All together, they only charged us $40 for the leaking.  But we paid a lot for the detailing, and that bit for power steering.  And I'm still not sure it's done leaking, because we haven't been able to get it truly dry to see if it's still leaking.  But there aren't pools of water anymore, and I still love my little car. 

Of course, during this time, lots of other things broke.  My laptop screen broke.  We took it to a blue and yellow store who accepted it, charged us $40, and then gave it back saying they couldn't get any parts for the brand and couldn't fix it (couldn't you have just not taken my $40 to begin with?) My husband was finally able to take it apart and fix it for $40 worth of parts (my hero!).  Several other things broke during this time as well, and I was greatly frustrated.  I'm hoping 2010 is much better.