Childfree Abby - Mechanically Yours25 August 2006Message ID: 12eummt3c1i7e95@news.supernews.com
Dear Amy: I have a cousin who is a mechanic. He is superb with cars. He works at an auto repair shop and is always busy. In the beginning of last month, he started working on my dad's car. His car is still not running because my cousin has not finished the work. My cousin keeps saying, "I'll finish over the weekend." The whole month has gone by, and my dad is getting impatient. Now my car is also not running well. I do not want to ask my cousin for help, even if we live together under one roof. I don't understand what his problem is. Maybe it's because in the past our family has not paid him for working on our cars. He fixes other people's cars in no time. The price for the job I want done is $180, which is much cheaper than any other shop, but I don't want to ask him to do the job because he doesn't keep his promises. What should I do? -- Auto-motive Dear Auto: You know the old saying, "You get what you pay for"? Well, my friend, that also means that you don't get what you don't pay for. Your cousin sounds like a gifted mechanic. But unless he has an arrangement with your family to exchange mechanical work for food and rent, any attention he pays to your cars is purely out of the goodness of his heart. You should definitely send your car to the garage where your cousin works, especially if the price is right. You'll have to be like every other valued customer, however. Don't expect him to fix your car on his own time. Oh, and you'll have to pay your bill.
Dear Entitlement Brat and his/her parents, Just where the hell do you and your tightwad family get off thinking that your cousin is obligated to devote whatever free time he has to maintaining your car? DING DING DING - CLUE TRAIN COMING THROUGH In case you haven't heard, slavery ended quite some time ago, and that includes relatives. My esteemed counterpart has raised the suggestion that your cousin may have an arrangement for car maintenance in exchange for food and lodging. However, your letter seems to suggest otherwise, as it looks like there as an obligation of payment that was never fulfilled. It's not that he never kept his promises but rather someone else never kept theirs. Therefore, buttercup, if you ain't paying the piper, neither you or your father have any right to call any tune whatsoever. If your dear ol' Dad is getting impatient, well, maybe he should stop expecting freebies and get his car fixed at the garage. And so should you. Note to Cousin Mechanic: Move out. Even if you get room and board, it isn't worth the aggravation.
Childfree Abby
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