So it all started with a simple trip to VIP Auto for an annual car safety inspection. No big deal, since the car had been in the shop we've used for years for a tune-up about a month ago. No surprises, a good report, and they even thought they had finally found the source of a persistent slow oil leak. So she went back in two weeks ago had had some seals replaced and even got a new timing belt. At 186,000 miles, she deserved one. All was well. I was sitting in the waiting room, when the mechanic came in and said, "Could you come out into the shop." Uh oh. My dear Subaru was up on the rack and there was oil all over the bottom of the engine. "Massive oil leak" was what Stan, my new favorite mechanic, said on the failed inspection sheet, after pointing out a number of errors to me. Apparently our formerly trusted mechanic lost his mind, didn't finish or just did a totally crappy job. When I got the car back, the windshield washer didn't work, and, when I investigated, I found that the electrical connections hadn't been plugged back in. I thought that a little odd, but it was an easy fix. I checked the oil on Monday and it was really, really low, and I thought, "Gee, it's strange that they didn't top up the oil after they worked on the seals." Actually, it was leaking out, though only when the car engine was running, so there wasn't even a pool of oil on the driveway. What a mess, and probably a messy fight with the Subaru shop to come. So then Stan told me that there is no water in the radiator. "What!" I say. After all, the car had just been in for a tune-up, and one presumes they checked the fluid levels. Stan put some coolant in and stuck his latex-gloved finger in the hole (he had his suspicions) and came up with oil on his finger. In the radiator. Major uh oh. Cracked block. Crap! Though he would have loved to blame it on Out of Town Subaru (since they had recently bad mouthed him to a customer whose car had failed inspection), he said it probably hadn't happened recently. Funny that the car hadn't been overheating, but it hadn't. He gave me some advice on how to approach the fight about the bungled job and then said that I could keep driving the car short distances "until a cop stops you for an out-of-date inspection sticker." He was the bright spot in the day, though I will double check his diagnosis, but not with the Subaru place. And I think I'll get myself a Trac Fone.
Anyway, sorry, I'm in the lottery now, too. Plus I was going to drive down to southern Maine on Saturday to meet Lee to go on our Cape Cod vacation. Going to have to take the bus instead. Well, at least there's a bus. And you almost never see a cop in Brooksville, so seems like I can get back and forth to work until I get things sorted out, presuming, of course, that the massive oil leak gets dealt with successfully. Hmm. Having trouble thinking up any more silver linings.
Hope your day(s) went better than mine!
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