creatorbri

Wouldn't it be nice if BOTH spouses always felt that way..

I don't think I've ever had a really good experience at a dealership. They charge more, as others have indicated, and I almost always end up having to get the problem "re-fixed" somewhere else. Unless the problem falls under warranty service (and isn't excluded under some loophole), I'd much rather have a trustworthy, local indie mechanic who maybe charges a little less than the dealers, but a little more than other 3rd parties -- yet I know I'm getting my money's worth.

Oh, and one more lesson I've learned in all of this -- my wife and her family have trusted this other guy for years, but I'm always naturally skeptical of mechanics, so I don't put too much faith in any single one. I've been messed over by dealers' service centers as much as anywhere else. The lesson is, from now on, I don't think I'll take my car anywhere else but my wife's family's mechanic if I can possibly help it!! P.S. That would be Autobahn in Logan, UT. If you're anywhere near the area -- as some of you may well be, given that this is an LDS board -- give them a try, and tell "Jason" a friend of the Boxx family referred ya!

All good points. Still, with a kid on the way and a painfully tight budget (which has now been blown to smithereens) I'm going to take the guy up on his offer to refund the $60 -- every little bit helps. Thanks for the feedback, folks.

Nice old mechanic cost me $300, fight or forgive?? I'm sorry this is long, but I could really use some feedback here. My car died on the way to work the other day, and I managed to coast off the freeway and into a gas station. Noticed a little mechanic's shop across the road, so I walked over and the proprietor, a friendly white-haired guy named Dave, came over and helped me get the car started and drove it over to his shop, a little two-bay box of a building. It's neat and clean and efficient, and he tells me he's been running the place for 39 years. I noticed photos of his wife, kids, and grandkids on his desk. So he hooked up the car and ran a diagnostic. He looked up the codes in an old book that looks like the Yellow Pages -- no Internet here, folks -- and says "oh, it looks like you need a new Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)." Then he calls the dealer in the area, and says the part will be $60, labor 80-100, plus the diagnostic fee -- about $200 w/ tax. I take the train to work. He calls me and says "actually the dealer quoted me for the wrong part, it will be $200, not $60. But it looks like it's gonna be about $60 for labor, so total is $300." Ok, I have a baby on the way and an extremely tight budget. I thought we could probably manage to squeeze in $200 for repairs -- but now I'm thinking, where am I gonna come up with another $100? Oh well, I need a car to get to work -- guess we'll just be late on a couple of bills. I pay the bill, get the car back, and lo and behold heading home from work the following day, my car dies again. I manage to make it back home, and the next day I take it in to a mechanic in my home town that I actually know and trust this time. He runs more tests. "Ok, well there's actually a service bulletin out from the manufacturer on this car model, it says that the problem is not the throttle position sensor, but the accelerator position sensor. Your other mechanic may not have known that they are two different things on this car." Ah. So I wasted $300 because the nice old veteran mechanic didn't have the Internet and his books were out of date -- otherwise he'd have known that this car has two different parts, not one, and that the OTHER one was a common fail point in this vehicle. My TPS unit was fine all along. So I called the guy and told him the situation, and asked him to at least refund me the $80 for diagnostics and labor. He says, "Well, I didn't know that they were two different parts. The code book for the diagnostic machine said it was the TPS unit, so that's what we replaced. If you go to the doctor and he says its X illness, and gives you medicine, do you get your money back because the medicine didn't help? I can't get a refund on the part, but I'm willing to give you $60 back for the labor, that's more than enough." I argued with him about it for a minute, but then decided it wasn't worth quibbling over $20. Still, his mistake means I've got to come up with ANOTHER $300 to get the thing fixed RIGHT.. So why do I feel guilty for demanding a refund??

Needed: Talented (Digital or Traditional) Artist to Craft Sci-Fantasy Scene I am deeply in need of a very kind and benevolent artist who would be willing to lend their time and talents to produce a particular piece of artwork, i.e. by painting, digitally modeling, crafting in Photoshop, whatever. I would be willing to pay if I could, but I have very little to offer. The piece I'm going for has its roots in a dream I once had, but I am planning to use it on a role-playing and philosophy website I'm putting together, called TheSilverRoad.Com. The work I'm after does have very specific requirements. There is a purpose in every element. It is abstract enough to be a difficult scene describe clearly without a very long description, which is one reason I need the visual instead! This scene (and the dream that spawned it) is also very important to me personally; it has had a certain degree of symbolic and practical meaning and purpose in my life. A super-quick scene summary: I would be happy to make some sort of commission-style arrangement, wherein any proceeds I ever happen to generate from the website in the future (advertising, future subscription features, or whatever) I would share with the artisan; but although I'm ambitious, I am not so naive as to guarantee there will be any revenue generated, at any time, ever.I realize this is a tall order with little return. I plan to post in as many forums as I can and don't expect a lot of takers. The primary motivation I can offer is that you will be making someone very, very happy! If you think you are such a generous and talented individual,

Requesting Feedback! (Sorry if this is the wrong place to post, I wasn't sure where else to put it.) I have been thinking a lot about dating and singlehood lately, having returned from the Mish approx. 6 months ago, and just starting to get into the dating scene a little. I've never been a strong dater, and feel pretty clueless most of the time. But I've been gathering in my head some thoughts I've accumulated of late, from listening to others and from my own limited (but eye-opening) personal experience. I've decided to organize and write some of these thoughts down. I'm interested in getting some feedback on how I can improve this list and how I can incorporate other perspectives, while conveying the most important principles of Dating in a fairly concise and direct manner. Rules for Improving Your Dating Life 1) Work on your Self. Strengthen your self-esteem, improve your relationship with the Lord, work on overcoming conquerable weaknesses, accept with humble confidence those things you can't change. BECOME the kind of person you want to marry! 2) Learn to interact with other people. Improve your social habits by going to every activity or event you can find (that meets your standards). Go up to people (both men and women) who you haven't met or don't know very well. Introduce yourself and get their name. Try to remember it. Ask them about themselves. Think of things to talk about. BE INTERESTED in other people! 3) PRACTICE. Do all you can to get dates. For guys, ASK. Aim to go on one date per week (even after you get married, you should do this with your wife, so you may as well start now). It doesn't matter if a girl is stunningly attractive, or exactly "your type"; you can still go out and just have fun. However, don't be intimidated if she IS stunningly attractive or very outgoing. Some girls don't get many dates for these very reasons. For girls, going out of your way to show that you are interested in a guy is a good way to hint to him that you'd like to go out. Also, don't hesitate to just flat out tell him that you would like to go out! One of the hardest things about asking someone out is the uncertainty of not knowing how they'll respond. If he knows you're interested, he's much more likely to go to the effort. For BOTH guys and girls -- in most cases, DON'T refuse or avoid a first date!! A first date doesn't have to involve commitment, but can just be fun, and good practice to help you get better at it in the future. If someone you're not interested in asks you on a first date, consider accepting positively and cheerfully. It will boost their confidence and prepare the way for a good time regardless. Sometimes a first date will surprise you. In all cases, strive to date people who share your moral standards. But never expect perfection... unless you've achieved it yourself! 4) Be HONEST. Don't feel obligated to accept a second date. If someone asks you out for a second date (or third, or whatever) and you've given them a fair chance but really aren't interested, TELL THEM SO. Just be nice about it -- be respectful, and appreciative of the time they've spent with you -- after all, the fact that they're asking you again is a sure sign they've enjoyed your company, and that's always a worthy compliment! There's nothing wrong with continuing to date someone as long as you think there might possibly be potential, OR if both of you have discussed it together and come to the *mutual* understanding that you just want to "hang out" -- but once you come to the conclusion it's not for you, you need to fill them in. If you are honest enough at this point to let them know where you stand, they will save time, money, and possibly dashed hopes if you tell them straight up you're not really interested instead of leading them on. Even if they feel rejected at that moment, they will appreciate your honesty later. 5) Be Patient. You don't have to find your Eternal Companion right away -- but just know that it WILL happen if you're doing your part. Focus on self-improvement and dating for fun.