My mechanic said my headlights were too dim for shaken and said I needed to swap them. I was like “yea, sure, go for it”. She ordered two brand new headlight assemblies for 8万円.
Would a Japanese person assume that ヘッドライト = the whole headlight assembly? Is this my mistake or was I mislead? I’m trying to get them to return the headlights but she’s acting like it’s a big deal.
Just extra information:
The problem was the reflectors, but I think there are cheaper ways to take care of this. CREE LEDs or projector retrofit or non-oem assemblies. The problem was never mentioned.
Here’s the exact text convo with my mechanic:
Her:
「ヘッドライトの明るさが足りへんくて、ヘッドライト変えな車検受からん結果になりましたー！」
Me:
「めんどくさい仕事ごめんなさい🙏」
Her:
「そんなん気にせんでえーよー！
ヘッドライト交換するでー？！」
Me:
「いいよ！ありがとうございます！」
4 comments
Headlights are the whole assembly in either language. Bulbs are 電球 so you are unfortunately incorrect.
You should have confirmed everything and asked for the price…especially if they say they have to order it. Bulbs are common in shops and are always in stock, so that should have been a huge red flag. That way you could have asked them to get used ones or find it yourself on Rakuten or yahoo auction.
Always 見積書ちょうだい
Yes, you’re wrong here unfortunately. A headlight/headlamp is the entire unit. What would you call it, just out of interest?
I can’t really speak to shaken or anything, but as a native (US) English speaker, headlight to me is the whole assembly. I would specify “bulb(s)” if I needed to be more precise about it.