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If you needed to get your car serviced during the pandemic, how would you manage the risk of possible exposure to coronavirus?
I need to get my car serviced in the next few days, but am concerned about a potentially infected mechanic contaminating my car while inside it. It's a national chain, and they say on their website that they're taking precautions. But of course there's the question of whether the individual mechanic is taking it seriously. I hate having to second-guess everything like this, but I feel like this will be the biggest exposure risk I'll be taking since the "flatten the curve" protocols have been in place. I'm not just worried about me, but about bringing it home (or if I have it and am asymptomatic, giving it to the mechanic). Considering that community spread is likely to get worse over the next couple of months, I think it's probably safer all around to get it done now. I don't want to risk being without my car or having it be unreliable during this time.
Here's my plan. When I call to schedule the service, I'll ask what they need me to do for the mechanic's safety. The shop is close enough to my home that I can walk home instead of waiting inside. When they call and say it's done, I'll wait for a few hours to pick it up (apparently coronavirus can last a few hours in the air). They apparently have a cleaning process in place to disinfect the interior when they're done servicing it. But I'll do my own as well. Before getting in the car, I'll give it a generous spray of disinfectant aerosol, wait a few minutes, open the doors, wait a few more minutes, then wipe down the controls, doors, dash, seatbelts, etc. with all-purpose disinfectant spray. While in the office to drop the car off and pick it up, I'll be careful about keeping distance and not touching anything. I think that's the most I can do, but I'd appreciate any positive input.
We had ours serviced last week. The service department at the dealership posted their own disinfecting protocols while working on your car and after it was finished. The only contact we had was handing the keys over, getting them back, and receiving a receipt. I disinfected the inside with wipes, also the keys and my hands. I did pretty much exactly what you're describing (although did not wait hours to pick it up) and I had no worries about it. I'm sure it will be fine for you to get it done.
The service department also had big bottles of hand sanitizer all over the place. Wish I could find one of those for myself!
We had ours serviced last week. The service department at the dealership posted their own disinfecting protocols while working on your car and after it was finished. The only contact we had was handing the keys over, getting them back, and receiving a receipt. I disinfected the inside with wipes, also the keys and my hands. I did pretty much exactly what you're describing (although did not wait hours to pick it up) and I had no worries about it. I'm sure it will be fine for you to get it done.
The service department also had big bottles of hand sanitizer all over the place. Wish I could find one of those for myself!
Chill out. You dont Lysol & santitize the shopping cart at the grocery store, and that's been used by HUNDREDS of people before you.
Actually, I do wipe the cart's handle with a disinfectant wipe from the container that the grocery store has for that reason. But your point about my disinfecting the car so heavily is taken. I'll probably have an experience like Jessie's. I'll still disinfect the high-touch points, but might not need a Lysol bomb.
Last edited by Masamune; 04-02-2020 at 12:27 AM..
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