Reedin, Rytin, Rithmatic, Whats The Extra Day For?

Seems a rural school district has decided to cut back it’s school week to 4 days due to high gas prices.  I’m mulling that over as i type this, part of me thinks its a great idea, part of me worries about child care costs for working Moms going up.  But, I have long advocated for shorter work weeks.  I think productivity would go up, and families would have more time together.

On a related note, for some reason I decided to tune in to local radio, where I was besieged by ads urging me to tell my Senator that Tennessee cannot afford to lose 80k jobs a year.  The ad stated “of coarse tennesseans want a cleaner environment, but….” and then goes on to basically debunk Global Climate Change and ANY regulatory steps to fight it.  Turns out, it was paid for by the Club For Growth.  Nuff said.

Cowinkydink?

Sorry for that title, its something Heartbreaktown would do…and shes been on my mind today.

Anyway, yesterday I wanted to change the spark plugs on my Rav4.  The Dealer near Rivergate wanted $300.00 for a tune up.  300.  American.  Ridiculous.  So i went to the parts store, bought my plugs, wires, and replaced my gap-setter, only to find that there is conflicting info on the web about how to remove spark plugs on a Rav4.  It really isn’t close to easy.  I’m no grease monkey, but I have tools galore and i ain’t afraid to use em.  I typically spend a solid week on maintenance of the various machines we have around here.  But this, well, flustered and bamboozled me to no end.  I called another dealer, and negotiated a fair price (relative) for just replacing my plugs.  I can do the rest.

So, I drive 25 miles, check in to the service dept, and made myself comfortable in the waiting area.  (Changing the station from faux news was an instant improvement, i should note.)  About 45 minutes later, the Service manager came in to show me my old plugs, which had some oil on them.  He also told me that my throttle was sticking, and that one of my wires was arcing.  He could alleviate all those nasty problems for around 600.00 bucks.  American.

Unbeknown est to him, I had heard him talking on the phone with another customer who had, (surprise!) the EXACT SAME ISSUES with her car!  I politely declined his generous offer and asked that he put my plugs in, change my oil, and let me be on my way, TYVFM.

On my way back to my seat, I overheard another service advisor telling yet another person something very similar.  I wonder if there is some car virus going around.

Sheesh.  These guys had a chance to earn my repeat business if they had just understood that i am on a budget, and i need to address the vehicle’s immediate needs.  Plus, don’t mark up the parts 300%…I know what shit costs.  Myopic, as usual.