All I wanted was to make it to the end of the billing cycle. Assuming that I'll have some time off for Christmas and New Year's, plus with the added benefit of being able to use my parents' minivan since they'll be gone awhile, I could take my car to this new shop for a new round of repairs -- fixing the new big oil leak coming from the engine, putting in new struts/shocks, and getting down to the bottom of the source of the gas fumes that I still detect.
But goddamn this weather. As I was driving home I drove right over what definitely was a pothole. My whole left side went "BA-BOOM! BA-BOOM!" I cursed the pothole and the relatively balmy temperature (it was hovering above freezing when it happened, so I guess the cold followed by the warmth buckled the asphalt), but didn't think anything of it ... until I heard it.
It was a moaning or grinding sound underneath my seat. I dashed off to Target and looked away the front driver's side while I was walking away, but didn't see anything with the tire of the rim or anything like that. But when I walked back to my car after I printed out photos, I saw the, um ... there is a thing that covers the underside of the stuff underneat the hood of my car. A safety net? Car underwear? Anyway, that thing -- and it's just a plastic thing that covers the width of the car but is only, like, a foot wide -- has fallen off a few times, most notably when I was backing down my sister's best friend's driveway and the bump from the end of it tore it clean off. It was hanging down a bit for awhile now, but I'm guessing the huge dive because of that fucking pothole either jarred it loose or tore/broke off the screw pinning it up in there. That sound I heard was the left end of that shield thingy dragging on the road.
I feel much self-pity right now.
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I coud just live with it, but after I fell asleep early last night and woke up early this morning, I figured, What the hell, why not go to The Mechanic Around The Corner? It's nothing to fix, and I'll get both an eyesore and a topic for my parents to yell at me about out of the way.
But I have to admit I was braced for the worst. This was a test to see if they would screw me. And they did. It took them 75 minutes for me to wait until they were done with other stuff and for the guy to fix it. He indeed fixed it, assuming nothing shitty happens later today or down the road. All of a cost of $32.
I do not believe it should cost anything. The last time I brought my car in to get this particular shield put back underneath my car securely, the mechanic I patronized at the time (which actually was at the corner of the street just a hundred yards further down The Mechanic Around The Corner) brought it in in no time, put a screw in in no time, and didn't charge me a single fucking thing, God bless them. These guys charged me $32. And the guy who took my credit card -- great guy, don't get me wrong -- said he was giving me a discount.
Jesus fucking Christ. I'm glad I deposited that $50 check I got for being an extra at St. Thomas a month ago, because that paid for this. Of course, if this were a perfect world, I would keep the entire $50.
I should've just let that thing fall off while driving. Man, I got screwed. And they said they were doing me a favor? I can't go to these ripoff artists again.
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