Car Repairs

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The red warning light came on in Kate’s car as she drove home from work. We’ve been taught not to ignore such a dire warning, so the next day she drove to the dealer in the next town. From there, she called the store to let them know she was taking the day off. She doesn’t have family or friends who could have picked her up.

Oh! My! They went into a tizzy! Kate is in charge of shopping the orders that are sent through the internet. There was one worker who could do the shopping and would be there until 1:00, but after that they had no one. The assistant store manager picked her up, and someone should get her back to her car before the shop closes.

The diagnosis for the car was a clogged gas filter and a heat shield that needed to be replaced. Presumably it will be finished today.

Meanwhile, I was alarmed that my car brakes squealed the last time I drove it. I called the service station at the bottom of the hill. The woman said the repairman had just come back, so I should bring the car down for him to look at it. She said to ask for Thomas (not his real name). I parked in front of the service bay and stood there a minute, trying to figure out who to ask. A young man changing a tire said he had gone around the corner. I stood there for several minutes, wondering if Thomas had gone “around the bend”, not the corner. A young woman that I had mistakenly pegged as a stranded motorist, asked was I looking for Thomas. She came back and said he would be with me when he finished something, about five minutes.

Thomas came rushing around the corner and said he’d take the car for a spin, because he could probably tell what was wrong with it by the sounds. He backed up, and the car did its squeal. He pulled forward next to a gas pump, where it protested again. He jumped out, looked at the rear tire, and told me the pads needed to be replaced. I had a choice of going to buy the pads myself at an auto parts store or waiting until next week. He expected that, looked at a calendar, and announced I should bring it in on Tuesday at 9:00 am. Yes, sir! I’ll be there!

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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20 thoughts on “Car Repairs”

  3. Car issues must be a thing these days – three people we know with them, but warning lights and squeals are worrisome indeed. I always hate the dreaded “service tire pressure monitors ASAP” message in my information panel. I have had all four replaced twice now and it would probably be more times if I drove it more. That was nice of Kate’s co-workers to help out like that. I would have an issue if I had to go to the dealership as my car dealership merged with another Buick dealership and is not close, nor on the bus line. Engine Tech is handy, but they are always busy. If you go by when they open at 8:00, even before 8:00 a.m., people are lined up in front of the shop, their cars parked on the sidewalk as well. They are honest and like you, I am kind of at their mercy since I wouldn’t have a clue the brake pads to buy.

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    1. The man would probably have told me the type of pads to buy, but he might have expected me to look it up in the owners manual. My eyes are not good enough to read that tiny print, so I might have bought the wrong thing.

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      1. I likely would have bought the wrong thing too. Tonight when I got into the car, the interior lights were on. In 17 years I have never used, nor known about the interior lights … first, I am not out before dawn, or after dusk, so someone must have hit the switch and I had to go into the manual to figure out to turn them off. I saw they turned off when I pulled the key out of the ignition, but I was still wary “what if they didn’t?” It would mean a possible dead battery, even with the trickle charger, plus another trip to Engine Tech, so I wasn’t taking any chances!

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          1. Yes, I didn’t go out in the car today, as I figured it out, but I was frantic in case those mystery lights should turn on by themselves. When I got the car, it was only because of the incessant electrical issues with the Regal, plus my mom was having some severe medical issues with dizziness and other things at the time, so I got the car in September, drove it as little as possible, then barely in the Winter. I just never have sat down and read the manual. Every time I change the time, I have to look at the directions – sometimes I just leave it and don’t change it in November as I don’t go out that much in Winter. I got a new battery in the Spring and left it at the wrong time, calculating back 7.5 hours, something like that and finally said “enough – just fix it Linda!” Now I have a cheat sheet in the car.

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  4. Why does it have to pour when it rains? You AND Kate having car problems at the same time is a bummer. I’m glad you got taken care of and that Kate’s employer was understanding -even if they freaked out a bit.
    Too bad they don’t cross-train everyone so that doesn’t happen, but it’s nice to be indispensable I guess. 😉

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  8. I know the feeling of dread that happens when you touch the brake peddle and nothing happens, had it happen to me once just after leaving the mechanics thankfully it wasn’t anything serious but I don’t remember what the problem was..

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