Dear Mr. Automobile Fixer-Guy......

First of all, I would never try to tell you your business. I know very little about cars and how they work. I know how to put gas in one, but I'd rather someone else did it for me. I know how to put oil in one, but because I have an SUV I can't really reach it. I know how to check the tire pressure, and I know how to wash one, but I'm not really interested in doing it.

I concentrate on knowing the important things. I know how to install the gargantuan bicycle rack we use to haul the tandem. I know how to put a kayak on top of the car. It isn't pretty, and I could probably win $10,000 for the funniest home video of me doing it, but I can do it if I have to. I know how to put the back seats down so I can put my single bike in the back.

Those are the important things.

But I digress.

Far be it from me to correct you or imply that you might have told me just a little bitty fib. A white lie, if you will.

When I brought my car in eleven days ago because it was clearly leaking antifreeze on the driveway, your co-worker said it was a thermostat housing gasket, and he replaced both that gasket and the thermostat. I was headed out of town, so I was grateful that A) your folks could get to it in as little as six hours; and B) it ONLY cost $200 to fix.

But when Hubby got home yesterday, he noticed there was once again a puddle of antifreeze underneath the car. In the same exact spot as it was before. You know, the problem you "fixed" eleven days ago? For $200? Yeah, that one.

I understand that your co-worker, the one who ordered the "repair" eleven days ago, was on vacation this week. How convenient.

And since you clearly know much more than I do about cars, I will not question the fact that today's leak was due to a faulty radiator. Never mind that the leak was in the SAME. EXACT. SPOT. Go ahead and explain to me the direction that a leak would run in both cases, and never mind pointing out to me how they could conceivably end up in the same spot on the driveway. You have all the power in this relationship, you know? You have my car. You MIGHT have a new radiator for it tomorrow. And when I pick it up, you will have an additional $565 of my money that we could have used next week at the beach, more specifically at the casino.

Far be it from me to think I know more about cars than you do.

Mr. Automobile Fixer-Guy.