Gonzo The Great in the Caravan Caper

So our van broke down...again. It shouldn't surprise me. This thing has been a lemon since the day we bought it. After a month of ownership, as we were moving to Las Vegas, the van broke down just outside Mesquite, Nevada with a broken timing belt (mid-summer I might add). Now six years later it was in the shop needing a new alternator. It was in the shop just two weeks ago getting a new cooling fan and belt. Well, I took it to Fletcher's and they quoted me $889!! So I had them break it down for me - such and such for labor, new serpentine belt, new air filter, cleaning out the air intake, parts, diagnostic fee, and on and on. Why don't you throw in a Johnson rod for good measure? And diagnostic fee?! I told you it needed a new alternator when I brought it in! Well, I finally got them to a final number for just the alternator - $534!! I was still in shock. They quoted that the new alternator alone was $408. I looked online at Checker Auto Parts and found my part for $160. So that was a bunch of bunk. They said that's how much it cost from their supplier and they don't put in outside parts. Well, they just priced themselves out of my patronage.

So there was enough juice left in the battery to get it home and there it sat in the garage all weekend. I was resolved that the only way it was going to get fixed was if I did it myself, except I know nothing about cars, but I figured I could find someone who knew a bit and together we'd get it fixed. But luckily it didn't come to that. Our home teacher gave us the number of a mechanic that he'd used in the past a couple of times and said he felt like the pricing was fair. So here comes Gonzo to save the day! He's a nice latino mechanic and I never even noticed his two door garage shop just a couple miles from our home. Cost for parts and labor - $281.

I was able to snap a picture of the repair in progress. Camilla the chicken had to be posing down in front for the shot - that's so like her.

So maybe now we will still be able to afford to take our vacation home this summer. I've pretty much replaced everything since we've owned it, so it should be good, right? Guys?