A Penny and Some Duct Tape

Recently, a very small but very important bit fell off my brake pedal in my car.  That tiny bit caused my brake lights to stay on even when the car was turned off.  Naturally, this ran the battery down, and I had to call AAA for a jump.

The guy who came to help did indeed jump start my car, and listened to my description of what I was experiencing.  He, possessing a mechanical mind and being very proud of it, messed around and fidgeted with my brake pedal, and fixed - at least temporarily - my problem.  He did it with a penny and a piece of duct tape.  He was happy to do it and I was thrilled to have such an easy fix!

He told me to go to my dealership and buy a certain part; he said someone in the parts department could look at it for me and I could buy and install the part myself.  All good.

I go to the dealership.  I am made to understand that, for someone to open my car door and stick their head in, I will be charged for labor.  I see a sign on the dealership window that states that the labor charge is.....  $99/hour.  I'm pretty sure I know what I want and go ahead and buy the part, even though no one at the dealership will give me the time of day except to tell me they can't look at my problem without charging me, and that the part I eventually buy is not returnable.

 Turns out the part I bought isn't necessary.  So there's $7.82 I'll never see again.

Luckily, I still have my penny and duct tape and, though the duct tape is wearing out, and I have to periodically shimmy underneath the dash to adjust the penny, all is fairly well.  That is, if you don't mind having to bend your not-so-young-and-flexible-as-it-used-to-be body into a contortionist pose each time you park your car.

So, yesterday I went to my sister and brother-in-law's house out in the country.  My BIL is Australian and can pretty much fix anything (it seems to be a nationalist tendency).  He looks at my car and agrees that all I need is an itty bitty part.  He can fix it with a nickel and super glue, if that's what I want.  Hell, yeah, that's what I want.  I would rather have someone who gives a damn fix my car like MacGyver than take it to a corporate entity that only tells me what can't be done, instead of what can.


So, one of the lessons I took from this experience is: There's more than one way to accomplish a goal; and it helps to have creativity, goodwill and an open mind.

And duct tape.