The size of TEXAS...

Written by Chris:

You know it's never a good thing when somebody equates the size of a problem with your car on the level of the second largest state in the union. The quote I got from the oil change guy today was "it's an oil leak alright, a leak the size of Texas." The only thing I could quip back while thinking about how my wallet was about to be quickly evacuated of it's meager contents was "something the likes of which George W. Bush could be proud of?" So, after they topped off my oil tank M and I quickly drove the half mile over to the Saturn dealership to have them investigate the full scope of the problem. I explained to M that Daddy's car was very sick and we needed to take it to the repair shop to fix the problem. So, we rolled on in to the Saturn service bay and when the service guy asked what we needed, M said "our car is very sick and we need the car doctors to fix it." Everyone within earshot laughed and the guy said "well, you're in the right place." So, about 45 minutes later after I let M climb all over the new Saturn VUE and Sky convertible, both of which he really wanted to buy for Christmas, we were handed the $517 bill to replace the valve cover. The part cost $372 and the "labor" was just about $100. The funny thing is, my dad and I took that cover off over the weekend to replace the valve cover gasket and all that is involved is unscrewing and screwing back in about 8 bolts. Oh well, what can you do. So, we drove off with a thinner wallet, a gleaming new valve cover that no one will see under the hood, and a big smile on the guy at Saturn who just made $500 off a 45 minute repair. So, if he did that all day for an 8 hour shift he would bring in $5,300 -- now that's what I call a Christmas bonus the size of Texas.

Pop quiz: What is the largest state in the Union?