I was driving my family around in the van when I hear a chirping sound under the hood, then my A/C goes out, and my battery light goes on. It's 95 degrees outside. In my best Scottish accent I yelled, "Great! That's just great!"
I pulled in to O'Reilly's on Marshall drive (just off I-35) .
The first guy tests the battery, and says it's indeed low. I asked for prices on a new one, but he pointed out that my current battery was under warranty from the place I bought it, so I should take it back. This alone is worth some stars because it saved $80, and was honest, but it gets better.
Meanwhile, I looked down and saw my serpentine belt was broken in two! That's not good, and explains the rest of the problems with the AC and battery. To have the van towed and have even a cheap mechanic replace this would be $300 MINIMUM, and likely more.
I bought a belt there for $12, and another O'Reilly guy helped me replace it. He looked up the diagram (it wasn't under the hood like usual) and loaned me the tools. Within 45 minutes or less, I was back on the road and all is good.
So what could have been a day or two without the van and $380+, turned into $12 (plus what I tipped the guy on the side) in under an hour.
If I need any auto parts or advice, there's only one place I'm going henceforth! read more