bmw 225ci (2x$25 cost idiocracy)

i suppose the problems could be worse…

…like the $785 i’ll be paying off to my bosses for quite a while for suspension work.

but i had a weird one happen to me the other day – i had noticed that, for lack of a better term, the
lens on the passenger side of my trunk (which is the reverse light and a reflector) seemed loose.
not the whole light fixture, JUST the lens. it’s not like it was flopping around. it’s not like it made
noise. i just noticed it was a little off in color as compared to the other one and it seemed…as i
said…”loose”.

then came monday:

i was panicky – as i’ve stated a time or two in the past, i had only one reservation about taking the
leap from american cars to the bmw – repair costs. i’ve leered if you go through the
“stealership” as it’s lovingly referred to on many forums you take it in the pooper and the pie hole
simultaneously. but if you look around you do all right…

…so after calling a couple of bmw-specific garages and leaving (unreturned, i might add) messages i went on good ol’ ebay. $25 later the light assembly was ordered (you can’t just get the lens). that was last monday. soon after i got an email saying it would take TWO TO THREE DAYS just too “process” my order. true to their word they waited till thursday last to ship it, and they only shipped it “first class” rather than priority or something. figuring i had a week or so of ship time i cancelled my unlimited car washes for the month ’cause i saw no reason to pay for march when i would only get half of it…

…so, of course, the lens that shipped thursday with slow-ass shipping showed up at the house saturday ’cause i plotted and planned for it to take forever. but the day i got the shipped notice the hazard light / door lock switch (all-in-one unit) went out. the hazards aren’t a big deal – but the door lock? that kinda sucks. yeah, you can still open them manually if you pull the handle twice. and with the remote. but i had JUST gotten the ufc used to hitting the button instead of frustratingly pulling at the handle and now that’s fucked? not cool…

…but coulda been worse. when it first died (which was sudden – worked at night, failed in the morning) i thought it was some much bigger electric issue as i’ve had a weird noise starting it on cold mornings (which i theorized could be the alternator or some other belt-driven part) and i’ve had other electrical poltergeists like one of the corner LED lights i installed going dark for a day or the seat belt warning tone sounding “off”. but it appears it’s JUST the switch (thank christ) and the cost?

yep – $25.

hopefully this doesn’t become my “weekly bill”…