Midnight is cruising for a bruising...

I use to have a friend who worked in the service department of an auto dealership in Houston. He would tell me horror stories of the condition some of their automobile mechanics showed up at work. He gave me what I consider to be sound advice that I have followed to this day. You may or may not agree but from my own experience, it holds true.

1)  If at all possible do not book an appointment for a Friday, Saturday, or a Monday...why? We are talking about the Greater Houston area where there is always something to do and young adults start their weekends on Thursday night. Per my friend, many showed up sleepy and in some cases drunk or hungover on Friday morning. Others who did not go out on Thursday night usually had plans for Friday night that involved a date and mechanics were thinking about that rather than the work at hand...same applied for Saturday.

2) Sunday young men congregate in the afternoon to watch football, basketball, or baseball games that involve cook-outs, tailgating, or sports bars and the consumption of large amounts of alcohol that will inevitably affect their performance on Monday morning.

3) Do not be the first-morning appointment. Young adults do not go to bed early and if they stay up to watch a sports game they are running on very little sleep and may still have alcohol in their systems.

You may be asking yourself...why is Belinda bringing this up?  Hold on...I'm getting there! After my car incident of February 27th, I have been on pins and needles hoping I did not have a repeat performance whenever I have had to run an errand in town (we live outside the city limits). This past Thursday, March 11th my luck ran out, and after my first errand as I was heading to my next stop the dashboard lit up once more. I was so mad I wanted to kick "Midnight"...Midnight by the way is my car's name...NOT one of my cats!

I was too far away from the dealership so I just decided to drive back home since Midnight was driveable. Following my friend's advice, I called the dealership, and without me asking for a Tuesday appointment it turned out that was the earliest day they could schedule me for.

I called Triple-A (American Automobile Association) to schedule a tow truck that took me to my appointment today. He asked me to pull my car out of the garage and again the dash lit up. The tow driver was very reassuring and told me that they would have my car fixed in no time...was my anxiety that obvious?

The last time I was at the dealership they quoted me $175.00 or more to have my car diagnosed. This time they told me it would be $135.00 since it was cheaper I did not bother to ask why the difference in price and agreed to have it serviced.

My appointment was at 9:00 a.m. and I was there until 2:33 p.m. everyone that was waiting for their vehicles had left and I was the only customer left in the waiting room. They finally came to tell me that they had been driving my car on Highway 90 and Highway 277 at different time intervals trying to replicate what I was experiencing but having no luck. I was told the same thing I was previously told...bring it back if it happens again. Like last time they did not charge me anything which I appreciated.

I have been researching online and this seems to be a common problem with different models and different years Toyota's. Many people on that thread gave the same advice as Hachita to take it to Auto Zone to have it diagnosed yet the same problem resurfaced even after replacing the parts that they recommended.

Midnight is cruising for a bruising....grrrrr!!!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day