The Number One Reason Why Your Figaro Deserves the Expertise of an Old School Mechanic

TheSaviour of all things car

Let's call him Deano. The man who was to become more important than biscuits in my life.

After asking the Mister to please find another garage, I got impatient at his laid back attitude (it had been a whole day!) and took to our community group on Facebook. I posted a photo of Dolly at her best angle and said:

'Help, she rattles and bangs and I need someone to look at her properly and they need to understand old cars - isn't she cute'.

Deano answered my call of desperation and promised to take good care of her.

'I like old cars, we've got an old mark one escort here, there's nothing I can't fix, pop in any time for a chat'.

I popped in ten minutes later. Deano, the old school mechanic took one look and booked Dolly in straight away.

'That'll be the exhaust, love, sounds dodgy. I'll have a look and let you know what I find'.

'I thought so' I said with a self satified smile like I knew at this point what I was talking about.

In fact, the Mister had taken a look underneath and noticed that all things exhaust were not right.

The cure

Dolly went into Deano's car hospital a couple of days later and up on the ramps the exhaust practically fell off. Quite seriously, there was a hole in the side of the box where there should have been an attachment to keep the thing on, it was rusted right through. The bracket was hanging.

'Who the 'beep' passed this on an MOT, love, should be shot, the 'beep beep'. Deano was extra good at the head shakes and the garage mechanic words. He was also extra good at listening to my huge list of 'What ifs' and 'Needs checking' that I'd put together after hours worth of diligent Facebook group stalking and internet researches.

'Lets hear yer list' said Deano with a smile as the Mister tried to pretend he'd arrived with someone else despite the garage being empty apart from ourselves.

I read out my list, informed Deano with my most serious face that I was adding to it daily, if not hourly, and I just wanted Dolly to be ok.

I've got to just mention here, to be fair and all that, my husband is far from useless when it comes to cars. He knows quite a bit and many of the items on my list he'd already checked and said were fine. But he hasn't got the certificates and he isn't Deano with his high lift ramps and his Guns 'n' Roses t-shirts.

We left Deano to the exhaust problem and went to investigate a lead he had given us for someone who might be able to help with the rust, dings, scratches and mismatched panels (a blog to look out for later).

A phone call later and Dolly was to stay overnight with Deano who had sourced a new exhaust which would arrive the next day. I picked up Dolly with her shiny new exhaust, explained to Deano our next steps - body work man and a new back window and roof and promised to give him a ring once she was back from body work man so that he could take a proper look at my list and the engine.

Dolly drove home so beautifully, no bangs, no clatters, no racket. I quite missed the sound of being a boy racer for all of two minutes.

The lesson

It is so worth it, to do your research on garages and mechanics. These beautiful little cars deserve the best and need the best. Their numbers in the wild are reducing and we need to preserve them so they don't become extinct. Old school mechanics all the way. Go Deano.

What will happen with Dolly next?

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