Mr. Goodwrench

Damn if mechanics aren't expensive.

Good and trustworthy mechanic work, in my experience, can be hard to come by. I've been fortunate to never really had much need for automotive work in my short life, but when I have...sweet mother-of-pearl has the work been expensive.

No, if you read my previous entry, you know how much I like to tinker with things. Vehicles that carry my children, wife, and me need to be handled only absolutely in the most proper way. I've changed tires, wiper blades, refilled fluids, and even an alternator. But as for wheel alignments, tie rods and wheel hubs, they seem fairly easy, but not exactly my specialty.

Knowing my wheel alignment need work, I took the old TrailBlazer in. Long story short, they tie rod was jacked-up and not going to be adjusted. Cost? At this particular place, about $600. Oh, and they would throw in the alignment. Um...okay.

Frustrated, I drove home and thought about who I knew and what my options were. Bingo! I worked with a wonderful lady whose husband is a mechanic. Let's call her and him!

In short, I bought the parts and paid for the labor at a local service shop. Going this route (as prescribed by the acquaintance mechanic) saved my over 30%. Great...almost.

Apparently, the alignment and tie-rod wasn't the only issue. A persistent thumping-noise that became obvious at my last tire-change wasn't eliminated; my knowledgeable mechanic informed my ever so subtly that I had a bad wheel hub. What's that, I asked. He so patiently schooled me on what it was and what it did.

He also informed me that this was something, if I were interested, he could help me swap out in his free time. Knowing that costs are what they are, I said sure. Long story short, a visit to eBay Motors, a drop-shipment, and forty minutes at my new BFF's house got me a new wheel hub installed and removed that nasty thumping sound.

I was, and still am, prepared to pay Byron for his services. As we are simply milling around and talking (and drinking a few fermented waters), Byron quips, "Eh, don't worry about it Dave."

"No, sir; we agreed on a price and I'm gonna take care of it."

"You wanna take care of it? Buy me a twelve-pack and let's sit around and drink it."

That, my friends, is the High Life.