Perseverance is a Rover and Men are from Mars. Or so NASA and John Gray would say.

I pondered these two phrases today as I thought about my fourteen years of Land Rover Ownership with the same Disco II. It has been a ‘love affair’ like none other, a story for the ages, and almost as anti-climactic as a flat tire.

At least that is how I felt this past week as I saw ‘Miss Daisy’ sitting by her lonesome, on two flat tires in the automotive mechanic’s parking lot. She was surrounded by zippy little sports cars with spoiler butts and lit rims. The other Rover that had been previously there was, now, nowhere in sight.

What had innocently started out as a visit for servicing the engine, ended up with me loudly voicing my frustration at the lack of the ‘customer service’ I had been dealt. Based on their response, it was obvious that this wasn’t a deep-thinking outfit.

You see, I had left a personal note on the front driver’s seat of Miss Daisy when I had her dropped off for service, stating the issue at hand, my phone number and a ‘thank you’ in advance for taking such good care of her. I had also personally called from my home phone the day after she was dropped off to make sure she was delivered safely and that we were all on the same page. At the time, I thought all was ok and they told me that they’d call me with a quote.

Not wanting to be an eager beaver and all up in their business, I went about my days waiting to hear the diagnosis. It never came in. I ended up calling them after 3 weeks and was told that they had been trying to reach me for a while, which ended up being a defunct number from years before, still within their system. So much for notes left in front car seats and calling the day after the drop-off.

What Miss Daisy had been left with, was a big mess of 2 flat tires and a declaration of ‘Your tires are shot. There is no way we will put air into them because they are at risk of blowing with sidewall cracks. It is unsafe to do so. Without the tires operational we are unable to pull the Rover into the bay to work on it.’

A brand new set of tires that had less than 4000 miles on them. Hmmm…. I called the tire shop where I had purchased them (whom I trust implicitly) and received raucous laughter.

That night, in a covert operation at dusk, I threw my air compressor into the car and headed over to visit Miss Daisy to show her a little love. I pumped up the front tire with no problems. The back one wasn’t quite as easy. It seemed that over the 3 week span, all air had leaked out of the back tire and the rim must have separated from the rubber. The back end had to be jacked up, in order for the tire to take on air.

Two days later I got another call from the auto shop.

‘We just finished replacing an engine in a Range Rover and we no longer want to do engine work on yours. We do not want to do top end, bottom end, blah, blah blah… he will only do maintenance. I have 3 more cars coming in and the Rover will have to be moved out of here as we’re looking at April 15th before we can do any maintenance on it and we need the parking lot.’ I kid you not, that is basically what she said. I then received a lecture about putting air into my own tires and how ‘her husband, the mechanic, advised against doing so and I was just putting more stress on the tire by adding air’.

I wondered what ‘just maintenance’ was in their mind?....Probably replacing tires that don’t need to be replaced. And why, when the vehicle had been sitting there for close to 4 weeks, would I pump up my own tires, bring it home to wait for another appointment, only to take it back to a freak show of disorganization and disrespect?

I was gob smacked and didn’t quite know what to say. And that’s saying a lot because I talk a lot. And when I’m upset, people typically know it.

Would a flat tire be the proverbial straw that broke my stubborn back? Was this the end of my Rover addiction?

I imagine now that I know what a drug addict feels like when they shop around looking for a doctor to fill a pain-relieving script. To drive the Rover again (with somewhat wild abandon) was my fix. I needed to find a mechanic.

The past 14 years have been an interesting ride. Stockholm syndrome aside, it has been pleasurable, painful and a memorable experience. Ups and downs, days of feeling as if I’d never drive it again, only to be surprised when I sat in the driver or passenger seat. It has been a road to Discovery, a journey of minds and one that I’m not ready to give up.

I spent $30 yesterday at the tire place having the rims resealed. When I walked in to drive Miss Daisy home, the guys just shook their heads and said ‘what is wrong with that mechanic?’

I replied ‘he doesn’t need my business’.

‘They may be busy with work, but everyone deserves to be treated like a customer, especially if they are one’ they replied. ‘You have so little wear on your tires, you’re not even ready for a first rotation! We just don’t understand why he wouldn’t put air into them. The wear on your sidewalls is so minimal – it’s almost non-existent.’

I’ll admit. I was pretty dejected this week over the entire ordeal and talked to my mom about it. The same authoritative person who has told me to sell my Rover in the past, said ‘this is just a ‘bump in the road. You will persevere.’

Hopefully like the Mars Rover.

And she’s right…in the overall scheme of things, this really doesn’t matter. Yes, Miss Daisy is important to me and I wish that the shop had respected and understood that. Is it worth getting upset over? I’m not so sure.

In all honesty, I’ve found that one has to have thick skin to own a Rover and the ability to filter through the mountain loads of BS shoveled out on a yearly basis. Either that or have some mean electrical and mechanical skills hanging out in your back pocket, because it seems there is always one more person waiting to take you for a sucker, or better yet, flat out refuse you service.

And I kind of get it… People don’t want to be bothered by older vehicles with rusty bolts when they can work with fancy computerized diagnostic systems and do quick fixes all day long. As the mechanic’s wife (and receptionist) told me, ‘older vehicles are being squeezed out because computer diagnostics is where it’s at’. And that is fine… it is their prerogative. But wouldn’t it have been so much nicer (and simpler) had they told me that from the start rather than trying to lure me in with false promises, two flat tires and a big waste of time? All I was seeking was a tune-up, and perhaps leaking valve cover gaskets to be replaced. Was that too much to ask?

For them, I believe it was beyond their capability. They would rather take photos of car back ends and post on Instagram and Facebook how great they are, rather than listen to their customer and follow through when they said that they would. And that, my friends, is what is wrong with society today. People who fall in love with the bloom, but not the roots, don't know what to do when autumn arrives.

Thank God it's Spring.

 

Wow what a story. You obviously need a new mechanic ASAP
I said this before, some mechanics get intimidated with these older rovers but the worst part is in my opinion and I’m in Canada.
the auto service industry has poor customer skills from the auto parts store that really don’t seem to take anytime time to listen to anything you have to say or want unless they can type it in. To the auto shops that seem to never pay attention to detail or have 5 minutes to talk
this is why I hit Rock auto everytime

last time I had my disco at the local shop for a center differential replacement they had it 4 days. Told me it was rolling in park and won’t start. I had to tow it home had it running in 30 min

the last time my wife’s forester was at the shop for a front bearing replacement I picked it up next day and immediately noticed it was still noisy as heck. Called mechanic he said he thinks the back one is bad to. So now I have to make arrangements to drop it off again.

just bad

 

Condensed version of this story...

Does anyone know of a good repair facility in my area.