Those who know us well also know that for some reason, car problems like the Jensen's. This past year has been the most expensive car repair year since we got married. For the record, yes, we are looking at replacing at least one vehicle this year. Gosh it's been nice to not have a car payment for years though!
Part IThe latest "issues" began a couple of months ago when we took our white Altima in to Aamco for a full tune up. I know several more car-affluent readers will at this point have cringed at that. Trust me. . .I know now!!! Of course, they found some other stuff that apparently needed to be fixed so we had them do it. We got the car back and it seemed to running worse than when we took it there. Classic! We had this loud screeching sound that sounded like a belt but when we took it back to Aamco they told us the AC clutch was bad and would need to be replaced. I thought, hmm, that sounds like a load of crap and we said no for now. We finally got tipped to a mechanic that Monica's brother has used and really trusts and took the car there to have it checked out. Upon inspection Nate (our new favorite superhero) showed me that the only problem was that the AC belt had not been tightened enough when it was replaced by Aamco and that I should take it back to them so they could do it right. The thing that irks me the most is that Aamco inspected it, or at least they said they did, and told me it was the AC clutch, a very costly repair. So either they were incredibly incompetent or they were trying to work me over. I did take it back and Aamco fixed the issue no questions asked.
And now. . .
Part II
About a week or so later, Monica was getting ready for girl's camp and the car had this other issue with a low and high idle and this electronic hum, also a post Aamco issue. Aamco told us the hum was normal. We told them it wasn't but they said they couldn't see/find anything wrong with the car. The day before Monica left for girl's camp, the battery went completely dead. I bought a new battery and threw it in the car. Electrohum gone, yay seems that was the issue. You'd like to think so wouldn't ya?
On the way home from camp 5 days later the car started acting as though it were dying or running out of gas or something. The rpms were racing, the heat guage was fluctuating a lot. Just acting really weird. They took it easy and got home ok praying all the way down although one of the YW leaders in the car later told Monica she had been worried the whole way back.
This time, I smartly bypassed Aamco altogether and took the car directly to SuperNate. When I got there, we popped the hood and immediately realized the issue. The radiator hose had popped right off the radiator and coolant had shot all over everything beneath the hood. As we inspected the radiator Nate showed me that whomever had recently replaced the radiator hose (Aamco) had failed to tell us that the tube where the radiator hose is hooked was completely broken away including a lip that keeps the tube from sliding off. The big fear now was whether the motor had been damaged. Thankfully, and this is the real miracle for us, the engine wasn't damaged. When I told him Monica had just driven the car up to Heber, AZ and back (about 300 miles roundtrip) he said he was amazed the engine didn't fry on the way up, much less on the way back down. That would have been it for the old Altima! End of story, bye bye! It cost $300 for a new radiator but the Altima's back on the road and in (mostly) good working order.
As far as Aamco is concerned, this issue was sheer incompentence. A new radiator would have been a great upsell for them but they didn't catch the problem that could have ultimately destroyed the car.
If you're wondering, yes, I will be dealing with Aamco on this issue. I'm just trying to decide what would be most effective: a letter, an in person chat with the manager, or maybe just chucking the old radiator through Aamco's front window. Who knows?
But once again, the point of this story is not to relay a bitter diatribe against a sub-par auto repair shop. The fact that the car made it safely back with a busted radiator and no engine damage that should have happened but didn't is just plainly a miracle. Monica prayed pretty mightily as she drove and those prayers and God's goodness saved us a lot of trouble and money. God is good! God is very good!
Thanks for all you do Shawn. You are the best dad Lincoln has ever had!
