My little Toyota Yaris is 17 years old...and still gets 45+mpg. I take good care of it with regular oil changes, new tires, inspections...it is so dependable. It does have it's share of bumps and bruises...!
I need a dependable car here...driving to other areas of Albania, usually with a student or other PT with me. There is no such thing a "AAA road side assistance", unless a local stops to help you. Recently, there started to be this high pitched "whine" coming from the engine when pushing down on the accelerator. I was still able to drive to my home visit, no issue with power or anything else...just this new "noise".
I have a mechanic that has helped me greatly with my A/C, and most importantly, he explains things slowly in Albanian so I understand. He is patient with me being a woman, dealing with "manly" car issues.
So...I contacted him about this new noise. This really made me smile...! One guy was in the car pushing on the accelerator, and the other guy had a rusty pipe to his ear...checking different areas of the engine. After a few minutes...he declared the A/C compressor is bad and needs replaced.
Then, the owner told me how much it would cost. I said 20,000lek or more (about $200), he said much more, 50,000lek. (about $500). YIKES...!!! I got out my little notebook to write things on for better understanding when "language" is not working. He started laughing...he was talking "old lek"...5,000, or $50...!!! I was using "new lek". (See previous post about currency confusion)
A few days later, I took my car in to be worked on, the final price...for 4-5 hours of work and a replacement compressor....$55. I gave him and the other worker a nice tip...because they take very good care of me...and there is no high pitched whine coming from my car...!!!
Life here in the Balkans, always an adventure...and challenging!
