I'll talk about the car later, but I'll just give the quick rundown now. I currently am so mixed-up with fears and other feelings that I don't think I can talk about it with any substance. The Other Mechanic Around The Corner said it was the head gasket. Three grand to fix. I was, and am, ready to junk it ... but, Father knows a guy who'd do it for a grand. Stay tuned.
What I can talk about now is the conduct of The Other Mechanic Around The Corner, the man I consider to be the guy who runs the shop. Luckily for me, he was there when I came in Saturday morning. I called in to tell them I am going to bring it in for them to look at something. I didn't say I was going to have it towed to their place. So even though they are very intimate with my car, they still weren't expecting it.
I didn't think it would matter. I had bothered them about a month ago with seeing if they could find the intermittent problem that turned out to be the mass air flow sensor, but they seemed to be cool with it. Besides, I've given them a lot of business. So I told the guy what's going on, please. Oh, and can I take one of your loaner cars to use for the day, like the guy I spoke to Friday evening said I could?
He said OK, and I thought everything would be kosher. So when I returned his voicemail telling me they found what (maybe) is a fatal mistake, I was hoping he would understand how confused and worried I would be about the bad news. So I asked him how long I could keep my car at the shop and how long I could keep their car. He, for the first I had ever heard him, seemed concerned about what I was asking. He thought I was going to take the loaner car for a while. That was not my intention. He also said my car could be there until Monday. I told him I'll try to drive it home instead.
So I cut out of work an hour later, partly because I was too bummed to stay longer, partly because I kind of hoped that bringing it a little earlier would make The Other Mechanic Around The Corner happy. I called in; the guy who I spoke to in the morning took off, but I was familiar with the guy who answered the phone. But when I got back to the shop, that guy said there was a bill waiting for me. $125, but it was for a pressure test I had told him was done yesterday (with no results) as well as another test I had never heard of. I wasn't going to welch out on this, so I paid it, even though this is the first of many, many bills I do not and cannot afford to pay.
I really don't understand. Look, I'll totally pay it. And after a few days of telling them, "Hey, I think there's something wrong, do you mind looking at it while I take your car?" maybe they thought it was time they charged me one of these days. But especially because I've given them at least a grand in business, at the very least I was expecting him to be more upfront that he is going to charge me for these tests. Instead, he surprised -- blindsided -- me with this. Hell, the mechanic who I gave my credit card to in order to pay for the tests was surprised he charged me. That isn't good.
I guess he just got fed up with me tossing him the keys and acting as if I can take his car whenever I wanted. And then (and I am theorizing) he surmised (and I am assuming he surmised correctly) that this is the last time he'll be able to work on this car, so he might as well make money off of it one last time.
I thought we were cool. Now, I'm not so sure. So I have to rethink everything -- assuming that the next car I get is used and not new. What if he doesn't like me anymore? What if he thinks of me as an asshole? Maybe I should think of him as an asshole. And maybe I shouldn't go to him anymore.
Just in case, though -- yeah, I just totally walked back the tough talk in the last paragraph -- I'll call him tomorrow and see if he really is pissed at me, even though I'll couch it as thanking him for all his help with my car. Maybe that'll smooth things over. Or, it might not. OK, it probably won't.
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