That one Friday that made me question everything about this trade

Last Friday was supposed to be a quick oil change and brake inspection on a 2015 Civic. Simple stuff, right? Well the customer rolled in at 4:30 PM with a car that had a caliper pin frozen solid and the pads were down to metal on metal. I told them it'd be an hour tops. Then I found the bleeder screw snapped off flush with the caliper body. Took me 45 minutes just to extract that thing with a left-hand drill bit and an easy-out. Then the rotor had rust welded itself to the hub so bad I had to hit it with a 3lb sledge for ten minutes. By the time I was done it was 7 PM and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. The customer thanked me and paid $280 cash which was nice but I was running on fumes. Has anyone else had a job that started simple and just snowballed into a total nightmare?

3 comments

3 Comments

karenf407d agoMost Upvoted

Had a similar thing with a Ford Focus last month that turned a simple belt replacement into a three hour ordeal because the tensioner bolt stripped out and I had to drop the engine mount just to get a drill in there. By the time I finished I was so hungry I almost ate the leftover sandwich I found under the passenger seat.

caseywest7d ago

That leftover sandwich story reminds me of the time I found a half-eaten bag of chips under the seat of a Toyota and seriously considered eating them after a three-hour timing belt job.

charles_kim4d ago

Dude that Civic job is exactly the kind of Friday that makes me question if I secretly signed up for car abuse therapy. Had an Accord once where the alternator bolt just snapped off in the block and I spent two hours with a hammer and a punch feeling like a caveman trying to fix a space shuttle. You eat that sandwich yet or is it still sitting there judging you?