shave ice & gelato

I noticed this strange sound coming from my steering wheel this morning when driving to work. It sounded like corduroy pants when they rub together. The sound was loud enough that I heard it over my radio, and I usually play my music loud.

A few weeks ago a friend at work was recommending a car repair shop that is near my school and is family owned to another friend at work. After all of my nightmare experiences when getting my car fixed this year, I decided to give them a try. After getting the number, I called and made an appointment to drop my car off during my lunch break. The owner asked me what the problem was. I told him that whenever I turned my steering wheel, it sounded like corduroy pants when they rub together.

When I dropped the car off, I asked if they could also do my safety sticker inspection (something required in Hawaii once a year) since it was due this month. After returning to work, I remembered that my oil change was due soon. I called and added that to the list of things to do.

I called again after school to check on the progress. They said that they could not replicate the noise. They wanted to try driving it once more in a couple of hours to check it out again. They were not able to hear the noise on the second try either. My first thought was, are they hearing impaired?

I got a ride back to the shop after they told me the latest update. I thought about walking but the weather has been crazy all day. We have had torrential rain downpours off and on all afternoon. I did not want to take a chance of getting caught in one.

When I arrived, they had me drive it with one of the mechanics to see if I could point out the noise. He asked me to explain the sound as we walked to my car. It was at that point that I realized that the mechanic had no idea what corduroy sounds like when it rubs together. I tried to relate it to the sound of other types of pants when they rub together, but I got that look like I was speaking a foreign language. Pants are not the most popular clothing item in Hawaii. Shorts are. I am guessing the work pants the guy was wearing are the only pants he wears unless he has to dress up for a special occasion.

Anyways, back to the sound of the steering wheel. Of course when I drove the car, the steering wheel was silent. No noise. Not a peep. I guess my car just needed a visit to the car shop to feel happy. They told me that I should bring it back in if the steering wheel starts to make the noise again and have them drive with me while it is making the noise so they can hear it. The bill was very reasonable. I also found out that my breaks only have 15-20% left of something and it was recommended that I get them replaced in the next couple of months.

Good news!! Finally, I have found an honest place to take my car when I need something repaired. Better yet, it is close to work. I could even walk to work if necessary (although it would probably take about 20-30 minutes).

They could have made up all kinds of necessary repairs. They could have charged me $95.00 just for checking the car out. They did not. It sure is nice to know that I will not be ripped off anymore when needing to get my car fixed. Yay, my car has found a good doctor!!

Anyone living on Oahu reading this, the name of the repair shop is Island Break and Alignment.