<p>Having to get new brakes this week got me to thinking…
What about when D is all that far away from home and needs… tires, oil change, brakes, bank, cell phone issues, eye dr…</p>
<p>So, these are just a few things that I’ve thought of that our kids are going to need or could possibly need while away from home while attending school. I’d like to hear the good, bad, and the ugly. I have no beef about hearing places that should be avoided especially when sending a female for car issues. </p>
<p>Car repairs (mechanical):<br>
For D we need a good indy repair place for German autos if any know of one in T-Town.</p>
<p>Car repairs (body work):</p>
<p>Oil Change: </p>
<p>Basic auto parts: </p>
<p>Bank:</p>
<p>Eye doctor: Student health center?</p>
<p>Cell Phone stores: this could be for service and repairs</p>
<p>There are a few banks on the strip. Wells Fargo is right next to Moes. We use Wells Fargo because there is a local WF in our town too. Makes it easy when home or at school. Others really like the credit union on campus. </p>
<p>Most students shouldn’t have problems walking to any of these places but they wlll have to like a nice walk.</p>
<p>Penny Profit Cleaners
508 15th St
Tuscaloosa
(205) 752-0510
You need to prepay before cleaning
they have same day service if the item is dropped off before 8am
we have used them many times over the last three years and they are very reliable and do a great job, the ladies are very friendly.</p>
<p>VELOCITY PRO CYCLE
2318 4th Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Phone: 205-344-5971 Fax: 205-344-5973</p>
<p>Best Bike Shop if you need repairs, replacement tires, yearly overhaul; they are a little pricey, but they do an excellent job in reasonable time. You can always ride your bike there and walk back. Located in the downtown area.</p>
<p>Computer Repairs
If your student is an NMF and has a computer supplied from their scholarship, DELL will service the computer. I don’t know about the Ipads were supplied las year but I would assume that there was coverage.</p>
<p>Ditto on VeloCity – they are awesome! My daughter does use the guys in the rec center for simple repairs on her second bike like tires or gearing tuneups. But she takes her triathlon bike to VeloCity at my insistence because I want to know she’s as safe as possible when she’s racing. They also host a lot of excellent group rides from the store for riders of all levels.</p>
<p>I know that for my S who has now managed to lose his retainer…twice, we’ve had a good experience with Tuscaloosa Orthodontic Specialists. It’s been very easy for me to make appointments and provide insurance info/payments remotely and then have them communicate directly with S regarding the appointment.</p>
<p>As for car repairs/oil changes I advised my S for any issues to head to Northport or another similar more residential area. Living close to a college town myself, I know that within a college town there may be some very honest businesses, but there is also a higher likelyhood of running into a business that is willing to prey on students (or their parents who will wind up getting the bill). I do know he did get his oil changed before the holiday break, not sure where he wound up going.</p>
<p>We’ve also been happy with his account at the Alabama Credit Union and they do work with a network of other credit unions, so even being in the rural midwest, we’ve been able to go to a local credit union to make deposits to his account as needed.</p>
<p>Just a reminder that the Alabama Credit Union or any bank in Tuscaloosa will not allow a student to open an account on their own until they are 19 (the age of majority) in Alabama.
You will need to put a parent on the account as a co-owner. It might be better to open an account in the student’s home state. In most states 18 is the age to open an account. In my state a student can open an account on their own at 16 (student account) and at some banks there are no fees for this type of account. Just Google for info.</p>
<p>Great info! Did not think about kind of getting away from campus for some things like car repairs. Good idea! </p>
<p>D has a bank account right now w/ my name on it at our local bank. They are only in the DFW area. We have accounts there and can easily transfer money via a phone call or online. They have to be 18 with our bank to get a debit card with their name on it at this bank. She just does not like that it is so tied to ours that she can not pull up info online to check funds. Kids nowadays, learn to balance a checkbook the old fashioned way, lol. </p>
<p>We plan on trailering her car when we move her in just to avoid the 900 miles that would be put on it that does not have to be. Just makes it 900 miles closer to needing brakes, tires, oil changes, etc. </p>
<p>also was given that cleaners name from a friend who has a son there- cleaned his tux for $10 - glad to hear a decent review here b/c yahoo reviews are bad…</p>
<p>Also, Dd wants a DANCE Studio near campus so she can continue her contemporary and ballet classes (mostly for fitness and fun at this point in her life)… Is there one on the Strip?</p>
<p>Are Verison and AT&T the best cell carriers? Do they have 4g on campus?</p>
<p>TXArchitect, my D is in dance as well. She wants to keep dancing but we thought maybe a class thru the school. ???
Hmm, thoughts from anyone? How is just a dance class thru school vs a local dance studio?</p>
<p>We are on Verizon and had no issues during our visit getting service.<br>
Where is the local Verizon store?</p>
<p>Verizon has had 4G LTE in Tuscaloosa for a year now and doesn’t have as many service outages as I’ve seen with AT&T. For example, the AT&T network was down for around 15 minutes during the recent snow flurries and is occasionally down during football games despite recent improvements and a temporary tower. I routinely have full 4G LTE with Verizon on gamedays.</p>
<p>The nearest corporate Verizon store is on McFarland Blvd. by the FedEx Office/Kinko’s. </p>
<p>I’ve almost completely moved away from using cash, but keep an Alabama Credit Union account because it has a slightly higher interest rate. My home credit union has an app for depositing checks and I can use the ACU or Publix ATMs for free. I’ve also dealt with my credit cards being compromised and OOS credit unions have been able to mail me a new card. The $0 fraud liability that comes with most credit cards is wonderful.</p>
<p>The nearest Chase branch is in Georgia.</p>
<p>Car repair places near campus seem to be very honest based on what I’ve heard from friends. I’m sure that there’s an independent shop that repairs German cars given that the Mercedes factory is so close. I do know that the Toyota dealership doesn’t offer a courtesy shuttle, but rents cars for $6 per hour.</p>
<p>My D has had great auto repair service from A&W Auto Repair on 15th Street. They came highly recommended to her. Not sure about German cars, but they could probably give you a great referral.</p>
<p>The cleaners that I recommended, regardless of online reviews, is very good. I have used it several times myself and I know lots of students including mine who use it often. They are not expensive, and they are reliable, but they do not do repairs (like buttons or zippers). If you pull up there during the morning hours there is a stream of business people dropping off clothes to be cleaned. They also wash certain items like jeans and then press them. Those come out great!</p>