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Okay, I'm Convinced. I'm Back.

happ

Shared on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 07:49

Bear with me on this.  I was flaking a bit yesterday.  I will return to posting here, as BatmanKM had a great point.  I do get much more feedback here, and that's what keeps me wanting to keep posting.  This is one I should have posted yesterday:

I really don't know what to do about this guy. My next door neighbor seems to have it in his head that I'm some sort of shadetree mechanic and will not stop asking me to look at his car. I can do basic maintenance, such as changing oil, brake pads, spark plugs, and things along those lines. Apparently, he saw me outside changing spark plugs about a year ago and decided that I'm the neighborhood mechanic. I try to be nice to the guy and let him know that I really only know basic maintenance, yet every time he has a problem, he's knocking on my door and wants me to come look at his car right away. He drives an 81 Plymouth Reliant that seems to be held together with duct tape and chicken-wire. I'm amazed it runs, to be perfectly honest.

He came over Monday to try to talk me into replacing his shifter cable. I told him truthfully that I have never done that before and am afraid I would mess it up even more than it already is. He's a nice guy, and I really don't want to be a jerk about it, but I have a hard enough time keeping up with my wife's and my own car. He just won't take no for an answer. It's at the point now that when I come home from work, I go a specific way to avoid driving in front of his house so he won't know I'm home. I can't wait until we find a house so I don't have to live next to him anymore. I just have to make sure it has a garage big enough for me to do the auto maintenance in so that nobody gets any crazy ideas that I have some kind of mechanical aptitude.

Comments

BATMANKM's picture
Submitted by BATMANKM on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 08:42
Dude, Looking forward to your continued blog posts. :P Although im a little scared that anyone would pay attention to my advice, thats got to be a bad sign. :lol: :lol: As for the leaching neighbor. I say, firmly but politely, either tell him you cant help with his car anymore, or tell him he will have to pay you for your time. Thats my opinion. Driving around the block to avoid the guy, not good. If it was your kids and they were having a similar problem with a kid at school how would you tell them to handle it? :D - BAT
ATC_1982's picture
Submitted by ATC_1982 on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 09:04
I like Bat's Idear an make him pay to ask you questions.
DrTHE0P0LIS's picture
Submitted by DrTHE0P0LIS on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 09:35
My neighbor has no job other than to take kickbacks from the city government as his family is "influential." Wehn he agreed to split the cot of our communal fence I took him at his word. He never did pay me the $2,000 he owes me and had the fucking nerve to accuse me of "trying to play him for a sucka" and threatening me if I asked for the money again. I made it clear that I wouldn't be taking that shit from him and he backed down, so now he intimidates my wife when she walks the dogs. Point is, it could be a hell of a lot worse.
happ's picture
Submitted by happ on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 10:33
That sucks, DrTheo. I hate being bothered by him at weird hours, but nobody's bothering my wife or kids. If I didn't hate driving 20 minutes into town, I'd consider moving out into the country.
MikeTheKnife's picture
Submitted by MikeTheKnife on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 11:19
Don't let him make you dread coming home to your own house. It's obviously making you miserable so find some way to politely tell him you don't want to do it any more. You want to spend more time with your family or something like that. If he persists then he's an asshole and you are free to tell him to go screw himself. Seriously--why do you feel obligated to help him?
Deman267's picture
Submitted by Deman267 on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 11:37
Just fix his damn car....but badly.Tell him before hand that you're not a mechanic and you can't be responsible and if he still insists that you do it go ahead.Just "forget" to put a screw in or overtighten a nut or two.When it breaks down tell him perhaps he should try a real mechanic.Then hand him your bill.Mechanics are getting 65$ an hour. And try not to take too much of BatmanKM's advice:)
Snuphy's picture
Submitted by Snuphy on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 16:38
Welcome back. You need to tell your neighbor you are not going to work on his car. I don't like the idea of doing it for cash. No doesn't mean no except under for money, beer, or boobies. No means fucking no. Even nice guys need to enforce their boundaries from time to time. This seems like one of those times,

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