Brake Me Off a Piece of That (Sweetheart)

What a day. This morning I took the Neon to be inspected, to get the news on the source of our leaking brake fluid. The good ol' boy behind the service desk informed me that the grand total would be just over $1,400 to have it back on the road. Funny, since it was drivable when I brought it in--but he insisted there was just no way, "sweetheart," that he could let me get back in it, even to drive home. And with all the repairs needed, it wouldn't be ready before Saturday. His recommendations? New rear wheel cylinders, brake shoes, drums, and hardware on both sides; new front brake hoses because they were "kinked." ("Can't we just unkink them?" I asked rhetorically, earning all but a pat on the head for my apparent stupidity.) In order to pass the Virginia state inspection, my fog lights would have to be replaced along with the multifunction switch, each of which cost more in labor than it did in parts. Oh, and of course a brake flush and a tire rotation. Way to squeak those in under the radar.

Because my confidence in the kind of fair and unbiased quote I'm getting diminishes exponentially each time I'm addressed as "honey" or "sweetheart" (and that count was rapidly rising past a tolerable level), but because there was no budging on the driving it home issue, I told him to hold off and meanwhile accepted the offer of a ride from a kind woman in line behind me (who was addressed as a perfectly respectable "ma'am"). She also confided as we went out to her car, "I would never take my car here for repairs. I take it here for the emissions testing because it's convenient, but for repairs, I always take it up the road to the Shell station. I don't like being condescended to, and if you don't either, you'll be happier there."

Hmm.

After researching the options for rental cars being unable to swallow the idea of dropping $1,400 with a man I didn't trust for a car that had been essentially running fine, Sweetheart decided to call said Shell station. The man on the phone acted surprised, both at the price and some of the suggested repairs. "Replace the drums? That's almost never necessary. From what you tell me, I'm guessing we could finish this, parts and labor, for around $500. By the end of the day." By when?! I called Matt with the good news, and to ask his advice about the best way to extricate our stranded car from Honey's. He called over and asked "So the car is totally undrivable?" and was told "Well, no, we just wouldn't recommend driving it very far." You mean, like the "not very far" two miles I was going to drive it home but you wouldn't let me, preferring to see me walk it in 20-degree weather if I hadn't been offered a ride by a stranger? My mind was made up. However, because I didn't want to unnecessarily imperil myself and others if a better option was available, I first called AAA to see what they might offer as far as towing. "The first hundred miles are free as a member." Sold! The only problem? They'd be there in twenty minutes. I quickly called the first cab company I could find in Reston and ran out to stand on the corner and wait for them. Luckily, they showed right up, and we even beat the tow truck.

Riding in the truck with the operator reminded me uncontrollably of boys I knew from high school. He was polite and good at his job, along with being greasy around the knuckles and having a Gatorade bottle he was constantly dribbling brown spittle into. Yep, really took me back.

Once we got it to the Shell station, I was courteously greeted by the man I'd talked to on the phone. Called by my name, even. He then offered me a ride home, for which I was immensely grateful, as we were now a good 10 miles from home. Shortly after dropping me off, I got a call saying that there was only ONE rear cylinder that had leaked, meaning that only ONE needed to be replaced. The drums were fine. The front brake hose? "Well, when they did the brakes the last time, it just got a little twisted. So we just untwisted it." Oh, really. The multifunction switch? Fine, the fog lights were just burned out. And two points on the safety inspection they had failed to notice were a cracked serpentine belt and two broken motor mounts. The total? Under $700, ready by 5pm. We'll take it.

All in a day's work.