Closed Chapter?

My KIA Niro was returned to me May 31. With exception to the one week I didn’t drive it because I was travelling, she seems to be driving fine. Finally, I feel safe in my car again! I’m so glad that the KIA field engineer’s “guess” that the transmission needed replacing was correct.

A friend asked me if I was going to get rid of it. I told her I was not planning on it. Not only do I actually like the car as long as it’s functioning, but I would probably lose $10,000 trading it in, which is just a stupid choice to make in my opinion.

My KIA corporate contact sent me paperwork today for me to sign so KIA could pay me “$1,207.44 as a gesture of goodwill for any inconveniences you have experienced and consider your claim fully settled.”

This is reimbursement for car payments I made while the car was not in my possession or driveable. Technically it was 7 months and so I’m owed a bit more than they’re giving me, but I think I’m done with this battle, just six days from the one year anniversary of when I purchased it to begin with!

Yesterday I squeezed in a visit to my mechanic. The same one, who, when I called him a year ago and asked if he repairs hybrids answered with “Those are hard” followed by nothing else. I suspected he could handle an oil change though and I didn’t want to take it all the way to KIA in Burlington to have it done.

As I pulled into to the service station I saw signs for inspections and thought to myself I don’t think I have to worry about that for a while since I just got one.

After the mechanic and I had a chat about what kind of oil the car needs (synthetic), he asked if I wanted and inspection.

“Oh I don’t think I need one, do I?”

Then it hit me – just because I’ve been driving a functional car for only one month and as a result it feels like I only just got it, doesn’t mean it was inspected one month ago. In reality, I had it inspected one year ago, right after buying it.