Spent some time in Ann Arbor MI today. My MINI had another recall and this is the closest dealer. Last time I took it to Columbus because the Ann Arbor dealership wasn't on the company web page. This dealership opened last June. Took about 2 hours, probably a bit less if I was sure how to get there. My appt. was for 8:30 so that meant I had to get up earlier than I'm used to. Then I was drivin in the dark, watchin for deer. That wasn't fun. Comin home I saw three hunters, each with a deer. I knew there were a lot of them out there.
Yesterday, I went over to one of my cousin's for dinner. Going there (in the daylight), I saw eight. Three of them ran across the road about an eighth mile ahead of me. A couple more miles down the road, I spotted a group of five lookin for something to eat in a corn field. While there, I mentioned to my cousin's husband that I had an early appt. in Ann Arbor. He is very serious about OSU. . . the game is tomorrow. He was very, very serious when he told me to watch my back. I knew the game was Saturday when they offered me today's date. I took it cause the weather was forecast to be good, and I wanted to get it fixed ASAP.
The recall notice was to check the timing chain tensioner. If the tensioner needed replaced, it would be a two hour fix. If the timing chain was worn and need replaced, it would be a five to six hour fix. I packed lunch, took my laptop and some reading material and told myself it would be the long fix.
Keeping in mind what my cousin told me, I wore blue jeans and a blue shirt. My coat is black and gray. I was hopin no one would notice the gray. I sat facing the door, against the wall and as close to the door as possible. Do you know how difficult it is to read anything or play solitare watching for something to happen while tryin to blend in?? It is difficult! While I was playin solitare, a salesman came in wearing a Michigan hoodie. I didn't notice him till he was at his desk. A lapse in attention can get people like me . . . well I don't even want to think about it. I think he spendin some time playin solitare on his computer too. I noticed he was lookin me over every so often. I don't think he noticed I was keepin an eye on him too. He was sort of intimidatin lookin . . . shaved head and it looked like he had spent some time in the weight room somewhere. He finally got to go somewhere. That guy might have come up to my shoulders! After that I relaxed a bit, but I've watched enough war and spy movies to know that ya can't relax too much . . .
After a couple hours, the service manager told me it was the two hour fix, the timing chain was fine. Another recall had come through and they took care of that, a turbo heat shield replacement. That saved me a trip. I thought MINI Coopers were a well engineered and built car. I've had it four of its six years and that make three recalls. My Ranger is six yrs old and has no recalls.
Anyways, I was able to leave a bit after 10:30 AM. I get to the end of their drive and I have very little braking power. I back up and tell them. It seems that the mechanic forgot a vacuum. I wondered all the way home if that was a friendly way of tellin me that they knew. I will probably never know for sure. I'm a BGSU grad anyway, for cripes sakes . . . .
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