Kevin Standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote,
Kevin Standlee
kevin_standlee
  • Location: Newark, California
  • Mood: relieved

Some Simplification, I Hope

The rental car had to be back at 9 AM this morning or else I'd incur another $84 even if I dropped it tomorrow morning, because Enterprise Fremont is closed Sunday and Memorial Day and the "meter" runs until they're open again. They were backed up with people picking up cars, so I dropped the contract and keys, saying I'd be back later (I expected needing them to take me back to the motel). I walked over to Fremont Wheel & Brake, and saw that while the shop was closed, my mechanic was working on my van. I knocked, but he couldn't hear me. I waited a while until he happened to be looking toward the window and he called out, "I'll be with you in a minute!" He did a few more things, opened the door, and said, "I'll be right back; I need to take your van for a spin around the block, and I think I can give it back to you now." Elated, I stood watch over his shop while he did the short test drive.

When he came back, I said, "Okay, how much do I owe you?"

He replied, "Let's not deal with it now. I need to go pick up my kids. I'll talk to you on Tuesday." The total cost will be less than $1000, and considering the amount of time he's had to put in working on it, including coming it at 6 AM this morning, I'm hugely impressed. I wished him a happy long holiday weekend and drove the van back over to Enterprise to finish closing out my rental.

The van is not completely happy starting right now, but it runs just fine both at idle and at speed so far. I'm hoping that the starting problem is transient; we'll see.

Other things now fall into place. It's due for an oil change, which I'll get this morning before heading down to BayCon for the day. I've already extended my stay at the motel through tonight, so that's settled. Assuming no more unwanted vehicle excitement, I'll have all day today at BayCon if I want it, then I'll head home tomorrow morning.

Here's hoping everything works now. And once again, if you are in the Fremont CA area and want an excellent general mechanic who will charge you fairly and do excellent work, go talk to Cory at Fremont Wheel & Brake, because I cannot say enough good things about him.
Tags: astro, baycon, mechanics, minivan
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