The Mechanic Around The Corner Just Fucked Me

I can't believe it.  I just can't fucking believe it.  And because of that, I think it really might be time to ditch my car.

In frustration overnight I left a message with The Mechanic Around The Corner about how frustrated I was that I had to give back my car when I thought everything (well, almost everything) has been fixed.  So today at work I get a voicemail saying that I can pick up my car now.  Google Voice still isn't great when it comes to translating, but apparently The Mechanic Around The Corner said they replaced a bulb.  Replaced a bulb?  Didn't they already replace two already -- after I told them all of them are working?  Are they lying to me?

I don't know what the hell's going on, but I already had a funny feeling about this.  So I called them after I got home to check what exactly happened.  The guy told me that there was one more bulb they had to replace, and they needed to re-tweak (or something) a wire going into the mass air intake flow.  And that's it.

What happened next I have to paraphrase (the other guy's lines I'm reimagining in italics):

"I hope you understand my frustration.  I saw the indicator lights going on again and I don't know why they're still on."

"Well, we got those two oil leaks that we didn't fix, but the coolant leak we did fix, as well as the fuel leak from the fuel injector."

"So ... that means you've gotten rid of the warning lights now, right?"

"Well ... that's not what you asked us to do."

"What do you mean?"

"You asked us to fix the coolant leak and what was giving you the gas fumes, and we finally got the taillights fixed and of course the sway bar, so it's good to go."

"But ... what about the warning lights?"

"You didn't ask us to fix the warning lights."

"What do you mean?  Those lights are gonna come back on?"

"Yeah."

The guy then proceeded to explain to me that the $1,600 of car repair bills I ordered them to do did not, and I repeat, did not entail getting rid of the warning lights.  They are, he told me fucking Monday evening, a totally separate issue from all the other shit I just charged on my credit card.  The Check Engine light has something to do with a knock sensor code (he has told me that) that he said has been going on for years (not true; it first came on in December).  The low oil level light will continue to come on as a result of the two gaskets I declined to get fixed, as if the intake manifold gasket was just a mere plugging of one hole where many holes burst forth with oil.  And the taillights?  Fuck if I know.  But at least he's not charging me for the one that was switched on Monday.  Thank goodness for small miracles, huh?

The money is bad enough; I clearly do not feel as if I got what I paid for, at least the way I'm feeling right now.  But it's the tone of this guy, whom I considered to be a pretty decent bloke, kind of condescending towards me, that I still remember as I type this.  He seemed to blame me for not asking to get the dashboard lights fixed: "Well, you didn't want them fixed.  We did the major things, but you didn't say anything about the warning lights."  Why the fuck else would I bring my car in?  There were warning lights, I wanted them to figure out what the hell was going on, they fix them, the warning lights go bye-bye.  WHAT THE FUCK AM I MISSING HERE?!?!?!

Look, it's an old car.  I don't deny the possibility -- the possibility -- that underneath the hood there was some major damage that would spell the death of my car.  And I ain't no mechanic; maybe what they did in fact will extend its life, and that I actually did the right thing when I ordered them to do what they did.  But I can't see that, can I?  I can't see the oil leaks that are supposedly drowning the back of my engine, or the coolant leak that seems to be draining antifreeze from the overflow tank but isn't seeping onto the driveway.

You know what I can see?  Dashboard lights.  And when I pick up my car Tuesday afternoon The Mechanic Around The Corner made (well, now makes) no bones that I will see those dashboard warning lights -- the low oil level, the Check Engine, and who knows, maybe even the taillight warning lights (why in the hell did they fuck around with the mass air flow sensor anyway?) -- as soon as I drive away.  I spent $1,600 on repairs, and the things I wanted them to fix won't be fixed.  It's as if nothing's changed except I threw $1,600 down the sewer system.

I can't go back to these guys.  Competence is almost besides the point, though I cannot shake the feeling they ripped me off bigtime, schooled like a fool, if they haven't outright lied to me.  I just cannot understand how they couldn't communicate the fact that what I came in for (why are the warning lights on?) is, according to them, vastly different than what I told them to fix (can you take care of the leaks in my car?) when they diagnosed the car last week.  It's as if we're speaking different languages.  And so even if they turn out to be right (the most telling sign will be to see if the antifreeze overflow tank continues to go empty, but the taillight warning light better not be on), I feel so burned by these guys that I'm afraid I'll go off on them when I pick up my car.  And yet I still love it, and all the other mechanics around the area or that I know aren't open on weekends, which is the only time when I could bring it in.

But this is different.  I will not see the benefits of paying for major repair.  I'll just be stuck with the feeling that these people fucked me.  No -- not anymore.  I love you, car, but if it means getting taken for a ride by people who regard me as suckers, I can't and won't spend the money anymore.  I'll ditch it and use my sister's ride instead.  Just to avoid paying for major repairs, at least for awhile.  I can't go through with this anymore, I just can't.

Wow, I really fucked this one up, didn't I?