Thursday, April 12, 2007

Exceeding Limited Expectations

The other day when I got in my car, I turned the key and instead of making that happy cha-cha-cha-VROOM sound, nothing happened. As anyone who has ever had a toy car can tell you, dead space is a sign that something is very wrong. And that something is going to cost you a lot of money to fix.

I knew this to be my fate that morning. Then I got mad at myself because I had not put away the $50 a month I kept saying I am going to for unforeseen car repairs. Finally, I cursed the Cheesecake Cafe for making cheesecake that is 1600 calories and as addictive as crystal meth. It is only fair on mornings like this to spread the hate.

While all this swirled through my head I called Mark and asked him to make an appointment for me at his friend's shop. Switzer Automotive, is certainly not a new place. They have been around for many years, and this alone should have calmed my fears. However, as a woman who get regularly screwed around by mechanics I was nervous. Deep inside I just FELT this was going to cost me at least $500.

Well, there are still places in the world where good work and honest service thrive. When I went to pick up my car, after a couple glasses of wine, where I had manged to convince myself that I would not yell at the mechanic or start crying, I almost fainted when they told me it would cost $17. That's right. Rather than replace the starter, which most places would, they only needed to change out a small part. I know nothing about starters or cars, but it is a plunger or something that needs to hit a plate. For those of you mechanically inclined please don't read my ignorance as rudeness. I just don't know. Do you know how to create a rubric? Exactly. The point is when that mechanic explain to me what they had done to fix my car, I swear he was on a white horse and wearing velvet.

Picture from Flickr

4 comments:

Kris said...

That's awesome that your car only cost $17.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Treasure that good luck, it hardly ever happens!

Anonymous said...

Above all Heidi, believe in Mark, your Dad and your common sense--the first two will work every time.

Anonymous said...

I love your blog it made me laugh and remember some of my teenager days. I am going to put you on my blogroll.
Leah