Some people still assume women don’t know much about cars.

Now imagine what that was like during the 90s.

In this woman’s case, she showed everyone she wasn’t about to be scammed after they tried to patronize her into believing her car’s engine issue wasn’t covered by warranty.

She knew way more than they ever imagined.

Read the story and see what happened.

Me vs the Car Dealership, 90s Edition

I (F, 22 at the time, early 1990s) bought a brand new car after I graduated from college, to celebrate my new job.

My employer would have me drive to wherever our specialized manufacturing systems software was being implemented, so I could customize it to exactly fit the client’s business.

One customization turned into months of driving a 60 mile/96 km commute each way, & my new car racked up a LOT of miles very quickly.

It also started to make noises a car engine shouldn’t make.

It’s not the kind of thing you can ignore.

I took it to the Major Metropolitan Area Mega Dealership where I’d bought it, & was informed that the engine block was cracked, I needed to pay for a new engine, & no it wasn’t under warranty.

But she had been around a while.

When I told the mechanic that it was absolutely not normal for an engine block to need replacing at six months, he said in an extremely patronizing tone, “Well, you know, Ma’am, cars have a lot of little moving parts.”

When I persisted in arguing with him, he said, “Honey, cars are like light bulbs. Sometimes they just go out.”

Wow. They got more and more patronizing.

The manager came out to the waiting area & reiterated to me that it was “just one of those things” & I needed to pay the full amount for a new engine bc “warranties are complicated”.

They were in for a ride.

My boyfriend (now husband) witnessed the conversations & told me later that he was internally freaking out at what I was going to do.

He’d met me when I was the only woman undergraduate in the entire [STEM] department at our university.

He knew I didn’t put up with ****!

I smiled & left the manager & mechanic standing there, confused, & I went out to the absolutely packed showroom floor on that busy Saturday morning & started talking to the people checking out the showroom vehicles.

And she didn’t beat around the bush, either.

“Isn’t that a pretty color!?! It’s too bad the engine won’t last. Mine is toast already.”

“That one gets GREAT mileage, but the engine’s only good for about a year, sadly.”

“Yes, they’re SO HELPFUL at this dealership! It makes it hurt less when they tell you nothing is under warranty.”

I made sure I spoke calmly & politely, & I told every single person there about my car’s cracked engine block.

People started leaving.

Everyone else looked really uncomfortable.

Apparently, she inspired everyone to do better.

The manager’s manager came racing out & inserted himself between me & some potential customers.

OBVIOUSLY I’d MISUNDERSTOOD bc OF COURSE the engine was fully covered under warranty.

Totally FREE & please would I COME BACK TO THE WAITING ROOM while they sorted my car.*

It was a done deal.

I know I cost the dealership some customers, including myself as I certainly never bought another vehicle from them.

& to this day, “Cars are like light bulbs” is a catch phrase in our home.

It still holds the record as the stupidest thing a man has ever said to me.

*There would later be a recall on my car’s make & model for that exact engine block issue. My high-mileage job just got me there first.

Never assume things about women you don’t know. They got schooled.

Let’s see what Reddit has to say about this.

10/10.

Someone shares a similar story.

Another experience.

Awesome.

Another reader chimes in.

This person also knows what’s up.

They assumed she wouldn’t know better.

Not only did she know better, she made sure everyone around her knew better as well!

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.