Friday, January 12, 2007

A bit of a conundrum

While I was in town yesterday I dropped into the car stereo shop in Braddon (which is, handily, just next to the op shop) to see what my options were for poor Miss Daisy's stereo (which, as you might remember went kaput back here)

As I suspected, these are my options:

1. Pay $223 for a new (bottom end basic) stereo including installation. I have a choice of tape or CD model. It can be done today and I if I use my creative accounting skills I can decide the money will come out of the Christmas money from my very generous Parental Units. A new stereo comes with a warranty. (Making this a guaranteed solution, if on the expensive side.)

2. Pay $120 for them to take my existing stereo out of Miss Daisy and see if they can unjam the tape. If they're successful I have a fix for about half the price of a new stereo. With no guarantee it won't go kaput again in the very near future. (If they're unsuccessful I've spent $120 and have nothing to show for it and will they have to consider options 1,3 or 4.)

2. Keep my fingers crossed that a used car stereo will find it's way to me either through word of mouth, an op shop or Jameson Markets. Pay the car stereo place $77 to install it. Keep my fingers crossed that it won't go kaput. (Otherwise I'm back to options 1,2,or 4.)

3. Give up on the concept of having music in the car and sing. Cost: free.

What to do, what to do?

(Listening to Wally Badarou, Echoes)

4 comments:

  1. Option 1 seems like go as far as I can tell. You love music, so you deserve it in the car.

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  2. Hmm. Is it $120 removal plus $77 installation if you find another stereo yourself? If so. Option 1. If the $77 includes removing the old one, that's a tough one and will depend on the quality of any new stereo found. Don't think Option 2 is viable at all.

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  3. My mother always said "Don't buy a problem"
    which means I'd go for a warranty: Option 1.

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  4. Taph - No, the $120 is to take it out and have a look at it to see if they can fix it.

    I've thought of two more options:

    Option 5: Attack the tape with a pair of pliers to see if I can wrestle it out myself. The worst that can happen: my tape deck will be dead (ie: no worse off than I am now). The best that can happen: the tape cpmes out, the radio starts playing and my total outlay is $0.

    Option 6: Sing to myself for a couple of weeks (It's oh so quiet by Bjork, maybe?) to give the universe time to present a solution. Also free.

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