Here’s my ride for the past week as I borrow Mike’s old Jimmy 4×4 SUV. It runs pretty well, he just warns against leaving anything important in it “the roof leaks” is what he tells me. Nonetheless I’m grateful for the transportation as I wait for my car to be repaired.
I got a call while at work from the mechanic that’s looking at my car:
J.A.W.S. Is this Baron?
Me Yes?
J.A.W.S. I have bad news about your car.
Me Yes? Go ahead, give it to me.
J.A.W.S. Your engine is completely seized. We can’t turn it. I tried a three-foot breaker bar on it and it’s completely frozen. The engine is ruined. It’s been sitting too long without being run.
Me I was running it all the way up till Friday night, then it clanked and died.
J.A.W.S. That’s impossible, this engine has been sitting too long being unused, I’m afraid it can’t be repaired.
Me So what does that mean? It ran up until Friday night when I drove back from Waimea?!?
J.A.W.S. I don’t think so, it’s got cobwebs under the hood. These carburetor engines are difficult to find, I doubt we could find a replacement.
Me My car doesn’t have a carburetor, it’s fuel-injected. My 1999 Chevy Tracker.
J.A.W.S. Oh wait (muffled yelling to someone in the background) it isn’t a red Toyota pick-up?
Me No.
J.A.W.S. I’m sorry, I got the cars mixed-up. Your car looks like it has a broken timing belt. That’s repairable.
Me Good, so you can do it?
J.A.W.S. No, it has a domestic engine in it, we only work on Japanese engines, you have to take it somewhere else.
Me Oh.
So now I have to take my car to another mechanic. J.A.W.S. recommended one, I called and he’s unsure if he wants to tackle the repair project and says it would be at least a week before working on it. He’s was supposed to call back to see if he can take it. He never calls.
In the meantime on the way back from Waimea I decided to stop by Chet’s Automotive, this is the shop that I used to go to where I’ve decided that the owner is now occupying a padded cell somewhere drawing cars on the walls with crayons held between his toes. It turns out that it changed ownership. Keola (the new owner) says “Chet moved to the mainland and we couldn’t get Verizon to switch the phone number.” He took over the business, changed the name and still has one of Chet’s mechanics employed. He also informs me that he would fix my car. “We’re not prejudice here” he says ” we fix all makes of engines.”
So now I need to decide where to take my car to get fixed, it might be Keola’s shop, KGE Automotive, as they seem to be the only one willing to take on the messy job.
Folks, take care of your cars, they’re a bitch to get fixed.