| Mechanic: | A mechanic at a car repair garage. May be any gender. |
| Customer: | A customer, picking up a car. May be any gender. |
I-1-1
| SETTING: | A car repair garage. |
| AT RISE: | MECHANIC is waiting with paperwork. |
I was told to talk to you about my car.
Yep. I got the paperwork here. You dropped it off on Monday, right?
Yes. The guy who was here said it was overheating because it had a bad thermostat.
Yep. That'd be Edd. He is a great guy.
I think it was Edd.
Edd ain't here today. His wife just had a pair of lil ones. Imagine that, going from nothing to two babies all at once.
I-1-2
That's nice, but is my car ready to be picked up?
Sure, you can pick it up, but there's a problem.
It wasn't a bad thermostat?
Oh, the thermostat is bad. I'm certain of that, but that ain't all.
What else is wrong?
Well, in the cooling system, you got the radiator, hoses, water pump, thermostat, and fan.
One of them is bad?
All of them is bad.
What? The whole cooling system is bad?
I-1-3
Yep. Radiator is cracked. Hoses practically gone. Water pump is locked up. Thermostat is toast. The fan, well, don't get me started on the fan.
That doesn't seem reasonable. I think I should drive over to another garage for a second opinion.
Tow over.
What?
You ain't gonna drive this thing anywhere. You'd be lucky to tow it.
Because of the bad cooling system.
And the injectors.
The injectors?
I-1-4
The injectors mix air and gas and pump it into the engine cylinders.
And they are bad?
Yep. They ain't pumping nothing through the valves, which need replacing as well.
So, the injectors and the valves are bad?
And the cylinders.
Is this a joke?
No. I haven't even got to the seals yet.
Which seals?
All of them. They all need replacing.
I-1-5
There's no way that all of them need replacing.
I'd replace them while replacing the wiring.
So, the seals and the wiring are bad.
Yep.
Listen. When I brought my car in on Monday, it was just running a little hot. I drove it every day. I drove it to work. No problem. I drove it home. No problem. I bring it here and now you are telling me that everything is bad and I can't drive my car.
To be fair, I don't know what it looked like before you dropped it off. I just know what needs to be replaced and then the touch-up paint.
Paint? Why would it need paint?
Well, I assume you want the front half of the car to be the same color as the back half.
I-1-6
It is all one color. I never had any of it painted. It is the same color it always was.
I'm sure it was, but it ain't now.
Why?
Well, you see, when you dropped it off with Edd, he put it on the computer with the engine running so he could check the thermostat.
And?
Then, he got a call about his wife. She was off to the hospital, so he had to go meet up with her.
Of course.
Then, a few hours later, your engine was getting very hot. You know, the thermostat was bad. It never kicked the fan on, so it just got hotter and hotter.
I-1-7
Are you telling me that nobody noticed my car was overheating and just left it there all day?
Of course not. It couldn't run like that all day. After three hours of running hot like that, the wiring and hoses started to burn. That produced a lot of black smoke. So, we turned the engine off.
You set my engine on fire?
I wouldn't say it was on fire. It was in flames. We put those out.
On fire, in flames, I don't care. Can you fix it?
Yes. I have the list of everything here. It comes up to $8,765 dollars.
No. I brought in my car for a bad thermostat. I was told it would be $250. I'm not paying $8,000 because you burned up my engine.
It is $8,765.
I-1-8
I don't care. I'm not paying you one penny above $250. You burned up the engine. You are responsible for fixing it.
Actually, you signed the work order which states, (reading) The customer will not hold the repair facility or its employees responsible for any damage that may occur while the vehicle is in the repair facility.
I did not agree to that.
I know this is a bad situation, so I think I can help you out. My brother runs the car lot across the street. Perhaps you would like a deal on a new car.
Are you going to get him to take my old car as a trade-in for a new car?
Of course not. Your car has a burned engine. It is worthless.
Then, how does that help me?
I-1-9
By the time you add up extra hours, parts charges, taxes, and fees to get your car repaired and back on the road, you could easily buy a brand new car.
I'll tell you what. I am going to get a lawyer and sue you for a replacement car.
That's exactly what I'd do. I hate it when mechanics try to rip me off.
But... You... I'll be back.
Make it quick. There's a $20 a day fee for keeping your car in the garage.