Last year I wrote about our frequent attempts to get our car's air conditioner repaired. At first we tried finding some freon and having someone charge up the a/c. Then a friend recommended a mechanic who worked at the Kia dealership and who was allegedly good with Toyotas. We took the Rav4 in to him and he worked on it a couple of times, but never got it fixed properly. He finally said he would need to replace some parts, and we gave him the money to order them from the mainland. (Sounds risky, I know, but that is how things are often done here.) He had our car for 13 days while parts were being ordered, shipped, returned and reordered when the wrong parts arrived, and on and on. Finally, after calling Henry everyday, stopping by to check on his progress, the job was finished, we got our car back and the a/c worked! Until the freon all leaked out. Again. We decided to just live with it until we were ready to leave the island and then leave the car with Henry, again, to be repaired.
This is where it gets interesting. We had left the car with friends and asked them to drop it off with Henry. We figured he could take as long as he needed without inconveniencing us and hopefully! this time, get it fixed right. And he did take his time. Our friends would periodically stop by and check on it whenever they happened to be out that way. Weeks went by. Henry was never there. Finally, they learned that Henry really wasn't there. Ever. He had been fired. Our car was also not there! The Kia dealership claimed to not know anything about the car's location but when pressured, did finally give directions to Henry's house. Another friend's car had also vanished along with Henry and the Rav4, so Bob and Jeremy went looking for Henry.
As they approached the house, they spotted the Rav4. No sign of Henry or anyone else and no sign of Jeremy's car. They kept looking and finally saw Jeremy's vehicle parked way behind the house, hidden in the jungle. Bob took our car right then and there. Jeremy, for whatever reason, elected to wait and give Henry another chance to redeem himself, which, unfortunately, did not turn out well for Jeremy. His car was stripped clean - a total loss.
So, when we returned this year, our car was waiting for us - thankfully - but still no a/c. Don had learned about another guy who could actually leak check an air-conditioner, so we took the car in this week and left it with Freddy - with the warning that he could only have it for two days. On day two, Freddy said that he had found the leak and welded the offending place. He also changed the oil and filter. The bill? $153.97.
We're feeling pretty optimistic...so far.
This is where it gets interesting. We had left the car with friends and asked them to drop it off with Henry. We figured he could take as long as he needed without inconveniencing us and hopefully! this time, get it fixed right. And he did take his time. Our friends would periodically stop by and check on it whenever they happened to be out that way. Weeks went by. Henry was never there. Finally, they learned that Henry really wasn't there. Ever. He had been fired. Our car was also not there! The Kia dealership claimed to not know anything about the car's location but when pressured, did finally give directions to Henry's house. Another friend's car had also vanished along with Henry and the Rav4, so Bob and Jeremy went looking for Henry.
As they approached the house, they spotted the Rav4. No sign of Henry or anyone else and no sign of Jeremy's car. They kept looking and finally saw Jeremy's vehicle parked way behind the house, hidden in the jungle. Bob took our car right then and there. Jeremy, for whatever reason, elected to wait and give Henry another chance to redeem himself, which, unfortunately, did not turn out well for Jeremy. His car was stripped clean - a total loss.
So, when we returned this year, our car was waiting for us - thankfully - but still no a/c. Don had learned about another guy who could actually leak check an air-conditioner, so we took the car in this week and left it with Freddy - with the warning that he could only have it for two days. On day two, Freddy said that he had found the leak and welded the offending place. He also changed the oil and filter. The bill? $153.97.
We're feeling pretty optimistic...so far.
Need me to throw any car parts in the suitcase? Tammy (on the way to the tropics in 5 days)!
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