You may have noticed… Rog and I are a little, some might say over-, protective of our cars. Although we freely admit there are a lot more important things in life, we still love a nice clean machine to tool around in.
This week brought a little trauma into our lives. I got a small dent/gouge in the back bumper of my new car while it was parked in a garage at Pier 39 in San Francisco last Sunday. Nothing some touch-up paint won’t dull down a little, but it’s gonna bug me. I think I’m gonna have to sell it now (kidding!). Inconsiderate people and those with a total lack of driving skills can be found in abundance in the Bay Area.
Roger had a much tougher week. Returning from the wedding last weekend, his oil light came on while taking the exit ramp a couple blocks from the house. Since he had very recently had the Toyota dealer service his car, this was a bit of a surprise. Pulled the oil dipstick - nothing, nada, dry as a bone. Added two quarts of oil obtained from the neighborhood Chevron, pulled the dipstick - nothing, nada, dry as a bone. Those mechanically-minded folks at this point should be making that “ewwwww… hmmmmm” sound.
He took it to the dealer the next morning. They had to add another TWO AND A HALF QUARTS! Let’s do the math here… 5 - (2 + 2.5) = 0.5. That’s right, the dealer drained the oil, put the drain plug back in and FORGOT to replace the oil. Through small miracles and some apparently excellent Toyota engineering, at this point there doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage. Rog still had the dealer document the problem in case something goes wrong later. Incredible.
Last year, after I noticed one could induce about 6″ of lateral movement by just leaning against the rear of his car, he took the car to this same Toyota dealership. Turns out when they did a major engine service a few weeks before they FORGOT to re-install the honking huge bolt that secures the sway control bars to the frame.
Anyway, enough of this minutia. Going out to buy a housewarming present for a trip to our friend Carolyn’s vineyard this weekend (see our post from 3/5/05 for the rental car versus driveway debacle). Heading up there tomorrow morning with Kristen making some stops at various wineries along the way to gather up our various wine club shipments. We’ll stay the night and head back on Monday. Then, Roger’s off to Washington for a brief audit trip.
Have a safe, happy, healthy and relaxing July 4th holiday.