[BaadAssGremlins] A positive experience at the body shop

[paxiljunki <paxiljunki@xxxxxxxxx>]

I took my Gremlin to a reputable body shop and asked
for some estimates.  1) there's a bend in the hood
where some idiot closed the hood hard on a tool.  The
hinge doesn't line up right either.  2) the car had
been rear-ended once upon a time and I wondered if it
could be straightened out.

When I got there I was happy to see a beautiful
Rambler parked behind the building.  An employee's
project car.

The guy working with me told me that his wife used to
drive a Gremlin.  He looked over the spots and then
got his "70's Expert" to take a gander.  This expert
was younger that I am (maybe he was 25 tops) and that
amused me for some reason.  

I had told them that this was my project car and that
I was in the slow process of fixing things myself, but
that I had no confidence that I could straighten the
hood and I didn't have a puller to straighten out the
body.  They both preceeded to give me instructions on
how to fix the hood and the dent in the rear.  The bad
news was that while they have a puller to straighten
cars, they have no idea the specs to use on my car.

The guy giving me the estimate also volunteered
information about another place in town that does
custom body work.  

I think that this was an amazing positive experience
for me for a couple reasons:

1) No one laughed at my Gremlin  (it's pretty ugly
right now).

2) The guy was honest enough to refer me to someone
better suited to do the work.

3) They treated me as if they believed I could do the
work myself and gave me instructions (which loses them
money if I choose to do so).

And that third part is what I'm most happy about,
because as a woman, whenever I tell people that I've
been working on my car, they usually give me a
condescending look and assume that means at most I've
located the oil dipstick or added wiper fluid. 
Mechanics have seen me coming and make up imaginary
parts that need fixing or don't even try to explain to
me what needs fixing at all but ask if my husband will
get mad if I give them the go-ahead to start the work
now.  (Which is why I prefer to have an old 70's
vehicle instead of a new car.  I can do enough myself
to keep it running and I'm not afraid of the learning
curve to figure out what I don't already know.)

Thanks for listening.  ;)

pax

=====
"I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by." -- Douglas Adams

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