Unfortunately we are getting a full dose of work and life in
India this week/month. When we moved to India we decided to buy
a used car from another family who had one shipped here when they moved to Inida three
years ago. Three years old, used only in
Delhi so not many kilometers/miles on the vehicle and a family car seemed
to fit our requirements just nice. The
family did warn us that because the car is not from India it can be hard to get
parts at times. A few trips in and out
of old Delhi or the back of Khan Market to gather parts may be needed to get a
guy who knows a guy who has an uncle who can get you the parts by Thursday of next week's week is
rather similar to the way we have to gather parts.
We have heard some noise from the car since we bought it. This particular noise was thought to be some front suspension issue. We realize mechanical work in India is the same as it is anywhere in the world, they are only guessing the noise is coming from these parts. We had a large gap of time as we (by we I mean the help we enlisted) gathered the parts. Parts that were being sought were things like upper and lower arm with bush, tie rod ends for both left and right, steering boot and shock absorbers, all of it as foreign as Hindi to me.
It took mechanics a full day to take apart and replace the parts that actually fit into our car. Not all parts were exactly for our actual vehicle but one similar to our car. Our driver stayed with the mechanics and helped where he could. He tried to explain to us the work that was done and why the parts that were not used did not work for this particular fix. In the end we drove the car home with a slightly different noise that evening. The next morning we heard the noise, the noise had always been worse in the morning, and the ABS light was on plus a slightly different noise added.
At times I feel like I am caught in a Gilligan’s Island episode. One where the professor is trying to fashion a coconut to fit as a tie rod or a lower arm bush. Then in walks members of the Kupakai headhunter tribe and a conversation happens that no one understands. The Kupakai headhunter tribe leaves the island and the professor is left with a new and different blender to make banana smoothies and all five of us toast the new drink but scratch our heads wondering, "Is this what we needed to do today?”
So as pointless as the Gilligan’s Island episode, the car repair left us with no success. We now have the noise and an ABS light telling us we need our brakes changed. We (by we I mean the help we enlisted) will go back to the guy who knows a guy who has an uncle to get us the parts or parts similar to the ones we may or may not need to fix or repair or find another problem with the car. Or maybe we will just park the car and sit inside watching old episodes of Gilligan’s Island and drink banana smoothies.
We have heard some noise from the car since we bought it. This particular noise was thought to be some front suspension issue. We realize mechanical work in India is the same as it is anywhere in the world, they are only guessing the noise is coming from these parts. We had a large gap of time as we (by we I mean the help we enlisted) gathered the parts. Parts that were being sought were things like upper and lower arm with bush, tie rod ends for both left and right, steering boot and shock absorbers, all of it as foreign as Hindi to me.
It took mechanics a full day to take apart and replace the parts that actually fit into our car. Not all parts were exactly for our actual vehicle but one similar to our car. Our driver stayed with the mechanics and helped where he could. He tried to explain to us the work that was done and why the parts that were not used did not work for this particular fix. In the end we drove the car home with a slightly different noise that evening. The next morning we heard the noise, the noise had always been worse in the morning, and the ABS light was on plus a slightly different noise added.
At times I feel like I am caught in a Gilligan’s Island episode. One where the professor is trying to fashion a coconut to fit as a tie rod or a lower arm bush. Then in walks members of the Kupakai headhunter tribe and a conversation happens that no one understands. The Kupakai headhunter tribe leaves the island and the professor is left with a new and different blender to make banana smoothies and all five of us toast the new drink but scratch our heads wondering, "Is this what we needed to do today?”
So as pointless as the Gilligan’s Island episode, the car repair left us with no success. We now have the noise and an ABS light telling us we need our brakes changed. We (by we I mean the help we enlisted) will go back to the guy who knows a guy who has an uncle to get us the parts or parts similar to the ones we may or may not need to fix or repair or find another problem with the car. Or maybe we will just park the car and sit inside watching old episodes of Gilligan’s Island and drink banana smoothies.
