Christmas Eve 2010
Good: Taking my ten-year-old BLUE RAV4 in for a free maintenance package check, tune-up, and oil change.
Anxious: Telling the mechanics that one of the belts appears to be slipping.
Not good: Being told that the belt is shredded and needs to be replaced ASAP.
Not quite so bad: Being charged only for the new belt, not for the installation.
Definitely bad: Being told that, when changing the belt, the mechanics have found that the tension-adjusting wheel is broken and jammed, a potentially serious situation that needs immediate correcting.
A little less bad: Hearing that, again, I'll only be charged for the part, not for the service.
Frustrating: Hearing that the additional repair work will take another half hour to finish.
A little more frustrating: Remembering that mechanics last year warned me that the tension-adjusting wheel wasn't quite right and probably needed looking at.
Irritating: Being told that, in order to replace the damaged tension-adjusting wheel, the mechanics have to remove a whole bunch of other stuff, including dismantling the ABS brake system.
Hair-pullingly nasty: Being told that, because of all the extra work needed, getting everything done will probably take another hour or more.
Agonizing: Having to sit and wait in the car shop lobby for a total of two and a half hours, wiping out almost all my final Christmas preparation plans.
A little soothing: Being charged only for the part, not for the service, and given both a 30% discount and free gifts for my trouble.
Amazing: Noticing that both my engine and my brakes are performing noticeably better than before while driving home.
Nuts: Arriving home after all this, far later than planned, and finding both kids upset and the wife about to blow a gasket on account of the kids' bad habits. In other words, same old, same old.
Hopefully Christmas Day will be better than this.
Merry Christmas / Happy New Year, everyone!
Anxious: Telling the mechanics that one of the belts appears to be slipping.
Not good: Being told that the belt is shredded and needs to be replaced ASAP.
Not quite so bad: Being charged only for the new belt, not for the installation.
Definitely bad: Being told that, when changing the belt, the mechanics have found that the tension-adjusting wheel is broken and jammed, a potentially serious situation that needs immediate correcting.
A little less bad: Hearing that, again, I'll only be charged for the part, not for the service.
Frustrating: Hearing that the additional repair work will take another half hour to finish.
A little more frustrating: Remembering that mechanics last year warned me that the tension-adjusting wheel wasn't quite right and probably needed looking at.
Irritating: Being told that, in order to replace the damaged tension-adjusting wheel, the mechanics have to remove a whole bunch of other stuff, including dismantling the ABS brake system.
Hair-pullingly nasty: Being told that, because of all the extra work needed, getting everything done will probably take another hour or more.
Agonizing: Having to sit and wait in the car shop lobby for a total of two and a half hours, wiping out almost all my final Christmas preparation plans.
A little soothing: Being charged only for the part, not for the service, and given both a 30% discount and free gifts for my trouble.
Amazing: Noticing that both my engine and my brakes are performing noticeably better than before while driving home.
Nuts: Arriving home after all this, far later than planned, and finding both kids upset and the wife about to blow a gasket on account of the kids' bad habits. In other words, same old, same old.
Hopefully Christmas Day will be better than this.
Merry Christmas / Happy New Year, everyone!
posted by The Moody Minstrel at
12:01 AM
3 Comments:
Merry Christmas!
By
Don Snabulus, at 4:12 AM
Ah, the ups and downs of car ownership. Ditto for home ownership. And probably a host of other things, too!
Hope your Christmas celebrations were indeed better than that!
By
Anonymous, at 3:03 PM
Ah well, think of those folks in the hundreds of cars that were atranded in the snow up in Fukushima - for 24 hours. Feel better? No? Thought as much.
Let's just skip ahead: Happy New Year!
By
Pandabonium, at 4:48 PM
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