Dinner And Car Repairs

Last night we went for a nice Italian dinner with Jonna and Mimi. The food was great, the conversation enlightening and the drinks were two for one. What could be better?

We still had the body damage to the Honda from the altercation in Playa del Carmen to deal with. Both drivers side doors are pushed in a little but there is no structural damage. Jonna took us to her mechanic to see what he thought about it. He sent us to his friend Miguel Tajardo Ramirez and his Las Americas Hojalateria y Pintura (Metal & Paint) Shop. This morning I followed Jonna to Miguel's where he inspected the damage and set about writing an estimate. The estimate was for one hour body work and two hours painting. Total price? $1900 pesos plus tax, total. This is about $150 CAN! It is what you would call a deal and he can start work right now. We left the car there Thursday noon and it will be ready to be picked up Saturday noon. He said to bring it back in two weeks and he would polish the paint. I said that would be impossible as we would be gone then but that I would come back next year and maybe get him to repaint the whole car. He said he would give me a good deal.

The "body shop" is all outdoors with no paint booth. Hey, it's Mexico! How much would this cost me back in Canada? Probably more than the car is worth.

Honda Maintenance Day

The small problem I had with the Honda battery the other day reminded me to do some maintenance. This 89 Accord was my dad's car and he would be turning in his grave if he knew how badly I neglect it. He used to wash it twice a week and I wash it three or four times a year. He would never let a scratch or rock chip go unrepaired and now it has many of those. It has over 250,000 KM on it and is perfect for Mexico as another ding would never be noticed and we can park and drive it without fear of being mistaken for rich gringos.

I put new tires on it before we left Canada and since we tow it on the dolly, the rear tires get many more KMs on them than the front. I found a tire place (Llantara) today and had them rotated. Cost was $50 pesos or $4.50 CAN. Labour is badly undervalued in Mexico.

When the mechanico cleaned the battery posts the other day he showed me the engine oil was a little low so I went in search of a place to get it changed. I found a Pro 1 shop that was changing the oil in a taxi so I figured that was a pretty good recommendation and pulled in. I had my own oil (but no filter) if I needed it but the guy had everything on hand and supplied the filter and 20 - 50 oil. I bought an extra filter from him for next time and the bill came to $380 pesos ($34 CAN). This is quite a bit (for Mexico) but oil is very expensive here for some reason and multi-grade is hard to find. Everyone else seems to use straight 30 weight. As usual, there were no appointments needed and no line-ups. I waited for him to finish the cab in front of me and another guy pulled in out front while I was being worked on. No muss, no fuss no bait and switch and I was on my way. Another beautiful day in Mexico and the Honda is good for another 5000 KM. Yes dad, I will wash it.

Mexican Mechanics

When we headed out for Sam’s Club and dinner yesterday the Honda would not start. We pushed it over to the front of the motorhome for a jump start and when I opened the hood, I saw a mass of green corrosion over the terminals. I don't know what caused it. The battery is a year and a half old and was clean when we left home in November. It may have something to do with the high humidity down here.

Downtown we stopped at a Taller Mechanico, showed him the problem and asked him to clean it up. He cleaned the terminals and battery and coated the terminals with grease before checking the starting. He then checked all fluid levels, topped up the brake fluid, gave me the rest of the can and wiped up. Total cost? $60 pesos or about $5.40 CAN. I love Mexico!