What ever happened to the $25 oil change?

Last week, in preparation for a couple long drives, I took my van in for that simple oil change.  The FrenchFry mobile (as I term it for that permanent smell it gets with kids) has 70,000 miles on it.  I had not had the "good" oil change in a while--so I sprung for the $50 oil change.  Of course, this yielded discoveries that I walked out of the place after spending $175.  Yuck!  Nonetheless, I felt safe knowing it was checked over before my trips.

But . . . it just couldn't be that easy.  It was rainy on our trip to Indiana.  Every time we (my husband drove TO our destination; I drove HOME) pushed on the brakes, the entire van shimmied . . . a hole bunch.  This has been occurring for some time, but my husband pointed out that this amount of movement is not normal.  I agreed to take it to the dealership this time to get checked out.

Well . . . the $90 brake inspection yielded two repairs totaling $1,200!

Nearly $1500 later, my van should be ready for this weekends trip to grandmas.  I am so glad I got that $20 oil change!!!!!!