Taking the Kia Soul in for its first service since our cross country trip,
I thought it just needed an oil change and tire balance/rotation. It had been
completely serviced including new tires and all filters just before we bought
it, so I thought, LOF and out. But when Richard insisted on checking the cabin
and air filters, no charge, I agreed. After only 7500 miles, they should look
like new, but go ahead, it’s free. And for once, I was glad he insisted, for
both had big bugs, pieces of straw, flowers, and a big butterfly. Which amazed
me, because we often commented on the trip abut the lack of bugs on the
windshield, so how did they all get into the filters? I’m just glad the filters
did its job, and for listening to Richard, our ace mechanic, in his 47 years of
business. You cannot teach experience, but Richard taught me yesterday. I
wondered what else I didn’t learn after spending most of my life in
automotive....
While working at Land Rover some years back, we had the fire at Rancho
Santa Fe where many of my customers lived. Without fail after the smoke
cleared, they came in insisting we check or change their air filters, all that
smoke must have damaged them. So I learned to just change them rather than
argue, even though none of the many never showed signs of smoke or anything
else, and it was easy money, not necessarily smart money. Which Richard and I
laughed about yesterday, how foolish customers are. Checked for free, if the
filter is clean, reinstalled for free. But if dirty, I had techs who wanted to
charge a half hour’s worth of labor, and the job with parts would be near $100,
Harley territory. Now why would someone pay to have a part installed when it
should be done for free? I was often at odds with techs over this....they
seldom won, but always found new ways to make money. Some sounded like robbery,
some were pay me now or pay me later. Again Land Rover, recommended replacing
all hoses at 60,000 miles, a $1500 job. But when refusing would be back within
5000 miles with hoses leaking. Still cannot figure that one out. The days of
points and condensers is far behind us, but plugs need replacing 100,000 miles
now instead of 6000. Some when taken out still look like new, so why replace
them? A lesson from my old Coke pick up truck maybe explains it, after 100,000
hard miles, they tried to replace them except they couldn’t get them out. They
had seized themselves to the head....and were still there 50,000 miles later
when I left. Surely Ford knows of using anti-seize....
From the service end we used to blame the engineers, many times designing a
product no one cold work on. Remember the Chevy Citation, where the #6 plug
could not be reached without taking out the engine? Lots of five cylinder tune
up out there. Life time anti-freeze, life time trans fluid, and the list goes
on. Or the E class with the sound system that would shut off, then turn on and
shut off again. Seems it put put too much power, got hot and shut itself off.
Then when cooling off, turned itself on again. A software fix by depowering the
head unit. Cars with space saver spares, cars with no spares, lug nuts put on
with air guns you cannot get off. Different size front and rear wheels you
cannot rotate. Interference motors, if the timing belt breaks, it damages the
head-motor toast. All these things we never think of when buying a car, behind
the pretty face lies the cold hearted heart out to empty your wallet. Like I
used to tell my customers, “maintenance is expensive, you don’t even want to
know the cost of repairs.” Pay me now or pay me later goes much farther than a
Fram oil filter commercial....
Now as much control as we are offered over our cars and motorcycles for
maintaining them, we either neglect it, or pay for it later. Says so right in
the owner’s manual under recommended maintenance schedule. But how do we apply
the basics of maintenance too our own lives? The old story of man plans and God
laughs has been told and retold many times, yet we plan not taking into
consideration God himself. When James 4 reminds us not to set off to a city and
to make money without first checking with God, we fail like he says to take into
consideration tomorrow. Life is a vapor and vanishes quickly. Which can leave
us on the side of the road of life. With only a cell phone that has no
reception. So James recommends, we ought to plan including God, saying “if his
will is this or that, we will do it.” Like the four hardest words you will ever
pray, “thy will be done,” we seldom pray like that. Our fate lies in the hands
of Jesus, not our own. Yet too many go astray one way or the other. Did we
ever just-that word for you Bruce, trust God? Maybe a TV commercial I saw once
may enlighten you. A little girl stands at the edge of the pool, her Dad
telling her to jump in. After too many “c’mon Honey’s,”and head shakes no, he
finally raises his voice, and says “JUMP!” And she does, not out of trust, but
out of obedience. Do we wait until we are commanded to, or do we trust God?
Obedience may be better than sacrifice, but we find when men walked with God,
the blessings were incredible. If you do not screw up you do not need mercy.
God is not our co-pilot, with all respect to General Doolittle, either God is in
control or we are out of control.
Reality will always have a way to shatter our plans, but in Christ we can
be prepared. He knows the plan, the path, and is the way, and as the Good
Shepherd has gone ahead and made the way. Or you can follow man’s way, like
when riding last weekend came upon a detour not mentioned anywhere, no signs to
warn, just a line of cars waiting at least 30 minutes. Poor thinking on their
part and we paid the price. Are you waiting on Jesus, or waiting in traffic?
Learn a lesson from the parable of the filters, God knows what is ahead, and
when we need to change, we need to change. Trusting him will always be the best
way, even if it sounds like a detour. And he does it for free...unlike some
mechanics. No man sets out on a trip without a plan, the few who do are fools.
So why set out in life any other way? If it needs fixing fix it, and trust in
the Lord. How do I know?
The sign said 100 miles to the next station, and I was half full on a tank
that would go 120....the parable of pushing your bike in riding boots. And why
you don’t want to. But that’s another story....
love with compassion,
Mike
mattehw25biker.blogspot.com