01 April 2009

No foolin'

Sorry folks. Never took much stock in doing the April Fools gags/jokes. Guess I wasn't much of a prankster in my yout.


Of course the joke's on me lately. One of my new(er) sayings is:


Life's cheap.
It's the accessories that'll cost you.


Finally bite the bullet and took the land barge in for service at the dealer last weekend. I have been debating taking to the dealer as I figured it was going to run me 2x what a local shop would run, but it was showing some serious problems and I just did not want to trust it to my local Goodyear place. Finding a good, trustworthy mechanic that will not gouge you is almost like a leprechaun's gold. I was puckered up waiting to hear the bad news from the dealer when he called and told me it was just bad coil and needed new plugs/100k mile service. That little job was only going to run me $6-700! Surprisingly, I was happy to get that estimate. I was expecting something 2-3 times that in transmisstion repairs. But, alas, no good deed goes unpunished. I had them check the rear end while it was on the rack and my rear suspension is leaking. This is one of those automatic air suspensions that levels the truck when under a load (like hauling a trailer). Of course, those puppies don't come cheap to repair. Looks like my earlier estimate/fear will come true. I am waying my options at this point, but it looks like I will have to cowboy up for the repairs if I want to keep this rig for a while and be able to tow my trailer. I am old school (or like to think I am) when it comes to vehicle repairs - I prefer to do a lot of the maintenance/repairs myself. However, this job is beyond my capacity at this point and I need to have it fixed to prevent further damage/costs. I guess I should look on the bright side, she's paid for and I have a dependable mode of transportation (once the repairs are done).


Oh well, there goes my HD TV this year...

2 comments:

terri said...

We are lucky to know a good mechanic. I had his kids in my daycare WAY back, so we trust him. But he's the kind of guy I think we'd trust anyway. I hear horror stories from other people and am always grateful for this guy. I refer him to everyone.

meleah rebeccah said...

"Finding a good, trustworthy mechanic that will not gouge you is almost like a leprechaun's gold"

um yeah. I know. It's terrible out there and since I know NOTHING about cars they could tell me anything and I'd believe them.