Better Not To Mess With The Little Woman

Doug and I have been inundated with car problems and when we’re inundated, we get testy.

OK, I get testy. Let’s face the facts here. Doug is a brilliant graphic designer, musician, and lyricist. He also makes a tremendous latte. I am a competent patient advocate, a bread baker and sprout grower, and a wannabe published novelist. I am also very good at doing lunch with my girlfriends.

You might as well know, though, that it takes more than the two of us to change a lightbulb.

Still, we’re adults, and when we’re dealing with car problems, we hope to be treated like adults. And by that I mean that we expect not to have our intelligence insulted, even if our intelligence isn’t exactly in the automotive field. You know what I’m sayin’?

So two weeks ago, the good car (which is now 7 years old and has 100,000 miles on it) started misbehaving. It seemed to me like a transmission problem, since I had to baby the car on its way from 0 to 45, and if I didn’t that needle on the RPM thingie would shoot to the right and scare the bejeebers out of me.

I warned Doug not to get on the highway until we had it checked out, but he forgot and nearly got killed when he couldn’t build up speed fast enough to merge into the flow of traffic. That day we bit the bullet and took it to the transmission shop our erstwhile mechanic recommended.

To their credit, the transmission shop said it checked out fine from their perspective and they drove it back over to the general mechanic. The next day, that guy called with the diagnosis. Doug was away at a meeting and when I saw his name on caller ID, I picked up.

“Yeah. Can I speak to Doug?”

“He’s not here at the moment. I see this is about our car. May I take a message?”

“Well, if you DO, am I just going to have to explain the whole thing over again to HIM?”

OK, see. Right then, I was so tempted to say, “Only if you do a really terrible job of explaining it the first time.” But I didn’t. I bit my tongue, and then I lied and pretended to be the stupid little wife he took me for. (Doug and I are both mechanically disinclined. We are NOT stupid.)

“Oh, you’re right,” I said. “I wouldn’t be able to take this message and convey it to my husband correctly.” Never mind that I take copious notes during Other People’s Doctor Visits, in a stalwart and successful attempt to apprehend for them the healthcare for which they’re so dearly paying. “I will have him call you the minute he gets home.”

I was hoppin’ mad by the time Doug returned the mechanic’s call thirty minutes later. When Doug hung up the phone, he turned to me and said, “It’s the catalytic converter. Unfortunately, the part is only made by GM. The labor is cheap, but because we have to use the authorized GM part, the whole thing’s gonna cost us over $1300.”

“Except for, you know what?” I said. “It’s not.”

Poor Doug. He knows when my Irish is up, there’s gonna be heck to pay. But the way I look at it, heck is still a lot cheaper than $1300. And the fact that the mechanic had soundly insulted me, when he doesn’t even know me well enough to know that I DESERVE to be insulted on this subject, made Doug instantly decide that THIS was exactly why God invented the Internet.

Within 5 minutes, Doug realized that it was a complete falsehood that we needed a GM part for the repair. He found an online company that sells nothing but catalytic converters, called our unhappy-to-be-found-out mechanic to make sure he would install the part (which has a 5-year warranty), and then ordered the part.

But I will say this about him: He pushed me just far enough to guarantee that he lost a customer and we saved a mint of money.

Not so great for him, but my ever-growing Passbook Savings account couldn’t be happier.

One of my best money saving strategies is to, as Ronald Reagan used to say, “trust but verify.” To save even more money, you might also try skipping over the trust step completely.

Whatever you do, enjoy the $1000!

Posted by Katy on 03/24/09 at 09:11 AM

Fallible Comments...

Awesome job, Katy! Both on handling the situation and saving yourselves a nice bit of change. (And, at the price that mechanic was charging you, yeah, heck was cheaper.) But praise God that you outsmarted GM. :)
Posted by Hannah on 03/24/09 at 06:58 PM
You guys are my heroes.
Posted by alison on 03/26/09 at 04:26 PM
Good work, Katy! And kudos as well for the self-restraint you've exercised in [a] not screaming the name of the shifty mechanic in retributions, and not flying off the hinge while he was still on the phone.

I hope all's well with you and yours,

Adam from Chicago
Posted by Adam (with the dice mug) on 04/01/09 at 09:48 AM

My sweet man saved us from being TAKEN for $1000! The mechanic finished the work yesterday and the car runs great. I do not plan on ever using this guy again, for obvious reasons. He lies, cheats, is sexist, and thinks we’re google incompetents.
Posted by Extenze on 06/25/09 at 01:10 PM

In the spirit of good sarcasm (very nicely used) this is by far the best answer. I crack up each time I read it. A lot of people thumbed it down because they couldn't see the parody. For shame! Well, justice prevails!!<a href="http://www.woundhoney.com/">Wound First Aid</a>
Posted by Wound First Aid on 07/16/09 at 02:02 AM

That's a great story....in the end. It's a shame that people cannot trust others when they are suppose to be professionals in their respected fields. With technology today, it's almost impossible to lie to someone in regards to a mechanical repair. Hopefully you can find another mechanic who is trustworthy, if there is such a thing. I have spent weeks researching mechanics before and finally found one who is great in every aspect. Good luck and keep that fire for a rainy day!
Posted by Roger on 02/01/11 at 08:20 AM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Better Not To Mess With The Little Woman Doug and I have been inundated with car problems and when we’re inundated, we get testy. OK, I get testy. Let’s face the facts here. Doug is a brilliant graphic designer, musician, and lyricist. He also makes a tremendous latte. I am a competent patient advocate, a bread baker and sprout grower, and a wannabe published novelist. I am also very good at doing lunch with my girlfriends. You might as well know, though, that it takes more than the two of us to change a lightbulb. Still, we’re adults, and when we’re dealing with car problems, we hope to be treated like adults. And by that I mean that we expect not to have our intelligence insulted, even if our intelligence isn’t exactly in the automotive field. You know what I’m sayin’? So two weeks ago, the good car (which is now 7 years old and has 100,000 miles on it) started misbehaving. It seemed to me like a transmission problem, since I had to baby the car on its way from 0 to 45, and if I didn’t that needle on the RPM thingie would shoot to the right and scare the bejeebers out of me. I warned Doug not to get on the highway until we had it checked out, but he forgot and nearly got killed when he couldn’t build up speed fast enough to merge into the flow of traffic. That day we bit the bullet and took it to the transmission shop our erstwhile mechanic recommended. To their credit, the transmission shop said it checked out fine from their perspective and they drove it back over to the general mechanic. The next day, that guy called with the diagnosis. Doug was away at a meeting and when I saw his name on caller ID, I picked up. “Yeah. Can I speak to Doug?” “He’s not here at the moment. I see this is about our car. May I take a message?” “Well, if you DO, am I just going to have to explain the whole thing over again to HIM?” OK, see. Right then, I was so tempted to say, “Only if you do a really terrible job of explaining it the first time.” But I didn’t. I bit my tongue, and then I lied and pretended to be the stupid little wife he took me for. (Doug and I are both mechanically disinclined. We are NOT stupid.) “Oh, you’re right,” I said. “I wouldn’t be able to take this message and convey it to my husband correctly.” Never mind that I take copious notes during Other People’s Doctor Visits, in a stalwart and successful attempt to apprehend for them the healthcare for which they’re so dearly paying. “I will have him call you the minute he gets home.” I was hoppin’ mad by the time Doug returned the mechanic’s call thirty minutes later. When Doug hung up the phone, he turned to me and said, “It’s the catalytic converter. Unfortunately, the part is only made by GM. The labor is cheap, but because we have to use the authorized GM part, the whole thing’s gonna cost us over $1300.” “Except for, you know what?” I said. “It’s not.” Poor Doug. He knows when my Irish is up, there’s gonna be heck to pay. But the way I look at it, heck is still a lot cheaper than $1300. And the fact that the mechanic had soundly insulted me, when he doesn’t even know me well enough to know that I DESERVE to be insulted on this subject, made Doug instantly decide that THIS was exactly why God invented the Internet. Within 5 minutes, Doug realized that it was a complete falsehood that we needed a GM part for the repair. He found an online company that sells nothing but catalytic converters, called our unhappy-to-be-found-out mechanic to make sure he would install the part (which has a 5-year warranty), and then ordered the part. My sweet man saved us from being TAKEN for $1000! The mechanic finished the work yesterday and the car runs great. I do not plan on ever using this guy again, for obvious reasons. He lies, cheats, is sexist, and thinks we’re google incompetents. But I will say this about him: He pushed me just far enough to guarantee that he lost a customer and we saved a mint of money. Not so great for him, but my ever-growing Passbook Savings account couldn’t be happier. One of my best money saving strategies is to, as Ronald Reagan used to say, “trust but verify.” To save even more money, you might also try skipping over the trust step completely. Whatever you do, enjoy the $1000! Posted by Katy on 03/24/09 at 09:11 AM Fallible Comments... Awesome job, Katy! Both on handling the situation and saving yourselves a nice bit of change. (And, at the price that mechanic was charging you, yeah, heck was cheaper.) But praise God that you outsmarted GM. :) Posted by Hannah on 03/24/09 at 06:58 PM You guys are my heroes. Posted by alison on 03/26/09 at 04:26 PM Good work, Katy! And kudos as well for the self-restraint you've exercised in [a] not screaming the name of the shifty mechanic in retributions, and not flying off the hinge while he was still on the phone. I hope all's well with you and yours, Adam from Chicago Posted by Adam (with the dice mug) on 04/01/09 at 09:48 AM My sweet man saved us from being TAKEN for $1000! The mechanic finished the work yesterday and the car runs great. I do not plan on ever using this guy again, for obvious reasons. He lies, cheats, is sexist, and thinks we’re google incompetents. Posted by Extenze on 06/25/09 at 01:10 PM In the spirit of good sarcasm (very nicely used) this is by far the best answer. I crack up each time I read it. A lot of people thumbed it down because they couldn't see the parody. For shame! Well, justice prevails!!<a href="http://www.woundhoney.com/">Wound First Aid</a> Posted by Wound First Aid on 07/16/09 at 02:02 AM That's a great story....in the end. It's a shame that people cannot trust others when they are suppose to be professionals in their respected fields. With technology today, it's almost impossible to lie to someone in regards to a mechanical repair. Hopefully you can find another mechanic who is trustworthy, if there is such a thing. I have spent weeks researching mechanics before and finally found one who is great in every aspect. Good luck and keep that fire for a rainy day! Posted by Roger on 02/01/11 at 08:20 AM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: Crass Envy Previous entry: Spring Has Sprung! << Back to main


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Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

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Better Not To Mess With The Little Woman

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri