As I started up Farmer H and Buddy's Badly Blacktopped Hill, I heard a rattle! It was coming from outside the vehicle. Under my seat area, perhaps. Or in front of it, underneath the chassis. Every time I hit a bump (frequent, on that Hill), I heard the rattle.
It was a sound like two pieces of chrome knocking together. Not a sturdy thump. A light rattle.
I described it to Farmer H. He frowned a bit. Said what it might be. I wasn't really listening. I just wanted him to agree to take T-Hoe for a short test drive and hear it for himself. He agreed to do it on Sunday evening.
When Farmer H returned, he said,
"I'm pretty sure it's what I said. A loose rubber gasket on the stabilizer bar."
Don't hold me to that. It's what I THINK he said. Mrs. HM's knowledge of cars is just shy of her knowledge of world geography. When Farmer H talks in car language, I hear Charlie Brown's teacher.
Farmer H says he will take T-Hoe to Mick the Mechanic and have him put it up on the lift and see what's wrong. I think Farmer H should stand right beside him. Saying what he thinks it is. So Mick doesn't tell him T-Hoe needs a whole new front end.
I don't trust mechanics these days. Especially after Mick told Farmer H that SilverRedO needed something twice as expensive as the local dealer's mechanic told him...
5 comments:
I don't trust many people nowadays, but the peple who sold me plants gave me more than I paid for in case I lost some. Must be something about dealing one on one with people, but you said the mechanic was friends with Hick, so that is the exception that proves the rule?
Yes!! you have to watch out for those mechanics. One of my bosses, his brother was a mechanic, owned his own business. Boss told me that this brother used to tell his customers that a part was broken or needed fixing after they would come in for a minor fix on something else. He would fix/replace said part and even show the customer the broken part from their vehicle. But of course, that part was actually from a pile of broken parts that had come out of other vehicles over the years. He was just telling them they needed to replace those parts to make money even though the customers vehicle didn't actually need that part replaced.
He put his 7 children thru college that way. I don't trust mechanics after hearing about this.
Kathy,
Farmer H didn't really know Mick until he took his truck there the first time. They bonded over collecting Coca Cola stuff, and discussing cars. Farmer H trusted him completely until he disagreed with Mick's mechanic's diagnosis on SilverRedO a couple years ago. Mick agreed with his guy, so Farmer H went elsewhere. It's been stuck in his craw ever since. He felt that Mick should at least be able to understand the other (cheaper) condition that might cause SilverRedO's symptoms, and check into it.
You got an honest businessman with your plants! Farmer H sold something to a guy the other day. I have no idea what it was, perhaps boxes of ammunition, or fishing plugs. Farmer H told him there were 36 of the items. The guy called him back and said he had 39. Farmer H told him not a problem, just keep them, since he must have counted wrong. He didn't want any extra money.
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Alice,
I'm sure it happens a lot more when woman are the customers. Farmer H knows his automobiles, so it's hard to put one over on him. I would be a walking pocketbook!
I think Farmer H should keep going to the cheaper mechanic who seems to know what he is doing and is honest.
River,
They don't have as much to talk about!
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