i like to start well. if it goes well, it sets the ground plan for better things to come.
just like a day at work.
or, a business venture.
or, a relationship.
there was a scraping noise that came on from the back tyre whenever i reverse the car. i sent the car to UMW for a check yesterday & within the hour, the service person called to say it was just a small pebble that was lodged in the brake disc. no damage was done & no parts needed to be replaced after the pebble was removed. total cost : 2-hour loss of use of car.
many years ago, on a trip from penang to KL, i accidentally drove off the road kerb & when i steered back onto the road, there was a noisy rattling sound that came from the back wheel. i drove into a gas station in ipoh & the foreman shook his head & said it could be a ball-bearing problem. since i know squat about car repairs, i had no choice but to let him take each wheel off, inspect them & watched him test the brakes. finally, he said it was the brake pump or something like that. he changed a part & then as he placed back each wheel, he casually removed a pebble from a rear wheel.
aha!
total cost : rm35 for parts & labour, & a bitter taste in the mouth.
he could have removed the wheels, dislodged the pebble & billed me the same for labour costs & i might have been happier to hand over the money. as it stood, this experience just propagated the widespread belief that most car mechanics are con-men. in a way, i was glad i wasn't driving a Merc or a BMW. who knows what else he could have ripped off - a broken axle?
so, the UMW experience had left me with a sense of fairplay, a warm fuzziness. we can be fair & still be profitable. or, we could be firm with our kids & still earn their love & respect. wouldn't be it nice if this sort of justice prevailed in all aspects of our lives, from the way we treat our family, friends & enemies & from the way the govt treats its citizens?
i can't remember how this year started off for me, but i'm sure glad it ended this way. all's well that ends well, they say.
may this year also end well for you & may you all have a blessed 2012!!
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Tim 4:7
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10 comments:
Before I left for Johor last week, I sent my car for alignment... and ended up patching two holes on my front tyre. Mechanic told me the front tyre is punctured .. not totally yet.. and thinking back, no wonder my car was so heavy... after the patching, it feels so much lighter to drive..
This is me.. a lady driver! :)
Happy New Year, Doc... have a blessed 2012 ahead!
Blessed new year!
Claire,
blessed new year to you & your family!
Yan,
blessed new year to you & your family!
hmmm...maybe that fella thinks "water fish coming" and it's one time business so he try out the con. This fella really gives Mechanics a bad name.
Happy New Year
Small Kucing,
the mechanic was an opportunist.
blessed new year to you & your family!
Happy 2012!
Wishing you and your family a Blessed New Year.
Perhaps you would like to check if there's a Haynes Manual for the car model that you are currently driving. I find that when a mechanic/repair shop realise that you do know a thing or two about your car, they are less likely to put a fast one on you.
Wenn,
blessed 2012 to you & your family!
Cara,
blessed new year to you & your family!
the Haynes manuals only teach you how to do routine service & change parts & trouble-shooting is not included. still, i once tried to check to see how to change the clutch in an old VW Derby; then i decided it's safer to part with GBP120 than to take a risk on the road.
thanks for the tip.
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