I'm Just Gonna Get a Bike

Huh. I took the car to a garage yesterday morning to get the fan belt tensioned. When I got home from my holiday it was whining like crazy, so I figured the belt was the problem. I was pleasantly surprised to be told that it would only cost a fiver and would be done in an hour, so I retired to the local library and read the first 60 pages of a John Grisham book about an injured American football player.

When I returned the mechanic told me the fan belt was fine - the whining was caused by the camshaft. Apparently I was using oil he desribed as 'piss' - don't blame me, my brother put it in - and it wasn't properly lubricating it. Anyway, he ordered a new oil filter and I returned later in the day to have an oil change.

The mechanic was listening to a racist crank call he'd downloaded from Ebaums World when I returned, and got so excited complaining about 'niggers' that he forgot to replace the sump cap and poured a gallon of oil through my engine onto the garage floor. Serves him right, the cunt. What is it about these people that they assume everyone agrees with their ridiculous prejudices - made more ridiculous by the fact that there aren't really many black people living in the UK? Most of our minorities are Asian - hence the popularity of the derogatory 'paki' in place of 'nigger'. Not that 'paki' would have been any better, but at least it'd make more sense.

I digress. The whining continued at a lower level, and the mechanic said it was probably a worn bearing in the camshaft. I might have caught it just in time, but if I need a new camshaft I'm looking at 200 quid - quarter the cost of the car itself. Also, he noticed the shock absorber on the front left was leaking oil - 75 quid; and the engine mount was shot to hell, causing the exhaust to rattle.

The problem is that the car is due for an MoT tomorrow, and I'm told it won't pass. Without a valid MoT the car isn't street legal, and I need it for work. Looks like it'll be a costly week.