January 11, 2009

I occasionally think of myself as a race car driver. However, NASCAR drivers take their cars into the pits for service every hour or so in the course of a race. I, on the other hand, have taken my car in for service once every never since I bought it. I remember having a mechanic check it out when I got it, but that was back when the odometer was at 35,000 miles. It's currently at 107,000.

I avoided taking it in for regular service for 2 reasons. It runs just fine and I'm poor. That's partly what encouraged me to start doing my own auto repairs whenever possible. The other part was the slight chance I would get to fill in on a NASCAR pit crew in case of a super-emergency.

NASCAR crew chief: Oh no, our rear tire changer's foot got run over and due to the financial crisis, we had to fire our backup tire changer. (Turning to the fans in the stands) I can't believe I'm saying this, but does anyone here know how to operate an air gun?
Mad Cal: I took the tires off my car to fix the brakes a few times. And I watched Days of Thunder more than once.
NASCAR crew chief: Good enough. Get in there!

But I guess there are some things under the hood that I cannot do myself. And so, I have decided to fork over an arm and two legs to a local auto shop. Yes, two legs, because I thought I would be all green and environmental by using my bike this weekend while I left my car in the shop. Going out is easy. Coming back, not so much. But I guess I could afford to sweat off a few of the holiday pounds I put on the last few weeks.

I keep talking about using my bike to get to work on a regular basis, but living on top of the highest hill in Daly City has helped me decide to accept the consequences of global warming instead. I like the warmer temperatures anyways.

1 comment:

Calvin said...

Golden Auto located at 7360 Mission St in Daly City is now the official auto service center for Mad Cal.

The manager actually suggested I don't do certain repairs to save some big bucks.

I would post this on Yelp, but I heard you can get sued for your reviews now.