I picked up the Honda from the shop after work. I got it serviced before my wife drives to Nashville to visit a few friends this weekend.
I asked the shop to fix only what was necessary. That came to a total of $104. I was happy.
Since the shop was closing, I chose to drive the Honda home to pick up my wife and then drive back to pick up our SuperCrew.
Everything was going perfectly until my wife got into the car.
“What is that burning smell?”
“What burning smell” as I rolled down the window.
The distinct scent of hot coolant greeted my nostrils. My temperature gauge is evidently not working. Not good!
I opened the hood…
Yep, the radiator is leaking…Not good!
Smoke was also rising from the back of the engine…Not good!
The shop had given me a quote to fix those two items at a later date. They totaled over $600!
Needless to say, I was less than thrilled about these developments.
I quickly drove back to the shop. I had little to no hope that anyone would still be there since they were closing as I drove out of the lot. However, I need the car fixed by tomorrow and I have no place to work on it at home. I was just going to leave it in their lot and put the keys through the door into their mail slot.
However, I gradually realized that I should have been grateful. Its not like I didn’t know that they were going to need to be repaired in the near future. I just didn’t expect it to be today!
But, I’m glad this didn’t happen while my wife was driving to Tennessee. I’m also glad that I only had a 10 minute drive to get the car back to the shop. If the engine overheats, the aluminum head might warp. That would mean a bunch more money!
Once again, painful, but not all that bad when I consider the alternatives.
