Jeep News
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
First off, I need to apologize to our oh-so dedicated readers (that would be our Moms) for slacking on the blog posting. Kendal and I had a discussion today on whether the blog had run its course already and if we should let it go, but lucky for you guys we are sticking with it. Not only that, but we are coming back with a new found dedication to write more often.
I will begin the comeback with some great news on the Jeep front. I now have the jeep in my possession and am loving it more than you would know. It is just about perfect in every sense of the word.
As luck would have it, the weekend my jeep was finally supposed to be ready for pick-up I didn't have a ride into Austin. So I took a half-day on Friday and rode the train to DFW Airport and took a bus to the terminal. It all worked out rather nicely and was a decent little flight. When I arrived in Austin, Andrew came and picked me up and we headed out to Bastrop State Park for the first day of Zack's bachelor party. We were under the impression that this camping trip had already been planned and that we were just coming to participate, but that wasn't the case. We all had a good time though, and that is all I am going to say about that.
The next day I rode back with Big B and Josh and went to go pick up my Jeep as planned. When I show up at the shop, my first impressions were not real good. My Jeep was still inside with the hood up and there were three shady looking characters with puzzling looks on their faces still “working” on it. Not only this, but there is an impressive amount of empty beer cans and bottles all over the shop and a few that had made it into my jeep. Josh was not real impressed with the scene either, and tells me that he will wait to make sure the jeep is actually ready before he leaves. I was glad that he offered because I also lacked faith in them, but didn’t want to be too demanding of Josh who naturally had a good little Saturday planned with the Ros. So, I sheepishly work my way in to the shop and get little more than a grunt from one of the guys that sees me. I wait for a minute or two while they try hard to pretend that I’m not there, you could even say they were a bit embarrassed that the jeep is not done. After a few long minutes I finally speak up and ask them if I should come back later, and one quickly confirms. It was no big surprise that it wasn’t ready seeing as how they had been telling me it would be ready to pick up every weekend for the past couple months, only to take it back later in the week.
Josh and I go over to Ros’ place and watch her and her sister pretend to pack up her apartment. We then go to lunch and about 3 hours later we head back to the jeep shop. This time everything is looking good, the hood is down on the jeep and the guys are no where to be seen. I walk through the shop and into a side room where the guys are all smiles as they tell me “she’s good to go”. These are the words that I have wanted to hear for some time, but I was still pretty skeptical. Rob, the main guy, introduces himself to me and begins explaining why it has taken so long to finish the job. I am hardly paying attention to what he is saying and am instead focused on whether he is drunk, or high. We start the engine up and I give Josh the thumbs up telling him that he can take off. I continue talking with the guy for a while pretending that I have a clue what he is saying, and asking an occasional question when it sounds important. He then tells me to take it for a spin, so I slowly back out, and completely embarrass myself trying to remember how to drive a stick shift. I eventually make it out of the garage and peel out of the parking lot completely ecstatic that it is actually running. The first thing I notice when I am driving down Parmer is that the RPM gauge isn’t working, then I notice that there is this obnoxious hissing sound coming from somewhere under the hood. I head back and point these things out to Rob, and he quickly dismisses the RPM gauge by saying “oh yeah, I couldn’t get that working”. For some reason I accepted this as a decent response (thinking back on it now I probably should have dug deeper). When I point out the loud hissing noise, he actually seems concerned and rolls it back into the shop. After an hour or so he fixed the hissing noise and explained that it was some sort of vacuum hose that slipped off, and that he replaced it so it should be good now.
We then begin to talk money by him saying “Alright, now to the hard part”. We walk back in to the “office” area and he starts listing all the parts that he had to replace in order to make my jeep work with the new engine, transmission, and transfer case that he had put in it. This list was not short and I was getting bit worried. Eventually, he presented me with a price of almost $2,000. I had gotten a labor quote from him for $1,200 about 6 months earlier when I towed it down there, and since it took so ridiculously long I was planning on paying less. So, we were at a crossroads and had some things to work out. I reminded him of the quote, which he had forgotten about of course, and told him that I was looking for a discount due to the time factor. After a good half hour of using my negotiating skills that I had honed on many mission trips to Mexico I worked him down to about $1,400. I was decently happy with this price because I managed to squeeze a 6 month warranty out of him, and he did buy a lot of parts. I checked for proof of these purchases, but there necessity was another question that I wasn’t qualified to verify.
Finally I was ready to drive off into the sunset in my jeep. I get out onto Parmer and make it a couple of blocks before she dies on me. I pull off to the shoulder and try to get her started again but I get nothing. I call Rob and he drives out there in his unbelievable, fully loaded, show room quality jeep. He takes a quick look under the hood before loosely tying a tow rope on to my hitch and begins towing me back to the shop. Since we couldn’t just turn around there we had to do a huge circle down Mopac and back around to the shop. The whole time I am hoping that something goes terribly wrong and my jeep gets completely totaled leaving him no other option than to give me his. We manage to make it back though, and a couple hours later he explains it was the same problem they were having earlier in the day with the computer getting some sort of overload. I obviously didn’t know what he was talking about, but knew just enough to tell that he didn’t really know what he was talking about either.
I finally leave again and am only a little less happy as I drive away. The next day I leave at about 9:00 after the super bowl to head back for Dallas. It was a little chilly, but overall a great ride and I can definitely feel the power of my new straight six engine. In the old days I was lucky to make it over 55 but now I am cruising at the speed limit, no big deal. I make it all the way back into Dallas city limits before getting pulled over. This was not a good thing, since I wasn’t exactly up to date on my inspection or registration, not to mention that I didn’t have any proof of insurance on me. Actually the jeep doesn’t even have an inspection sticker, and I believe the registration was last renewed in ’95. Anyways, the cop was real nice and listened to my whole story about how I just bought the jeep and that it has been in the shop in Austin ever since, and that I was driving it back to Dallas where I live. He listened to it all, even looked at my receipt proving I had just picked it up Saturday, and then he wrote me a ticket for almost $600. That was nice of him.
Labels: ben
posted by benbox @ 9:46 AM,
6 Comments:
Sounds like a box story if Ive ever heard one. Where are the jeep pics???
Posted by
| Feb 20, 2007, 11:40:00 AM
Well, first - I AM one of the mothers, and I AM glad that the blog continues! It's like getting a letter or an actual email every once in awhile from my son and/or Ben. I LOVE IT!
Posted by
Second, I am ecstatic (as is Kathy, I'm sure) that Ben has some transportation finally!!! I could hardly bear the thought of him walking through the rain, sleet and snow to some bus or train in order to get to work EVERY day. The picture i have hurts my heart!
Third, Ben, bless your heart. | Feb 20, 2007, 12:42:00 PM
contest the ticket, that cop won't dare show his face in a courtroom opposing the box.
Posted by
also, i drove you back from the campout, i'm sure you forgot because you slept the whole way. i think you were just glad to be back in the warmth.
no mention of the "bipartisanship always" radio show??
the drew | Feb 20, 2007, 11:34:00 PM
wow box..that story is amazing, not that i would expect anything less from your stories. it's good to know that you arent spending 6 hrs a day on public transportation anymore though...although that was a good story too...
Posted by
and yeah..yall really need to blog more. Kate | Feb 22, 2007, 8:34:00 AM
To this date I have never seen the jeep nor do I believe it actually exists. I do not put it past Ben to have made all of this up. I want proof. Give me proof.
Posted by Krista | Feb 24, 2007, 11:37:00 AM
Sounds to me like the hero of the story is The Haug...as usual he is such a gentleman.
Posted by Josh Haug | Feb 28, 2007, 11:20:00 PM
The Authors
Kendal Haug
Kendal is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin and most recently earned his Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He works for Bible.org and likes to think he knows how to play the guitar. His man-crushes include, but are not limited to: Ryan Adams, Donald Miller, Ray LaMontagne, Neil Young, Vince Young, and of course The Box.
Ben Box
Box, is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and currently works for Medco Construction building hospitals and being important. Ben loves paying lots of money on broken down Jeeps and has a propensity for getting Kendal into trouble.
About This Blog
This is a multi-author blog devoted to the happenings of two bachelors living it up in Big D. We will record the daily nonsense that occurs when 2 life-long friends live together in the same apartment and have no shame, sense of fashion, or chance of meeting a girl in the next 10 years.
A Word on Comments
Ben and Kendal both highly encourage your comments. They look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights. No matter how harsh the criticism or if you just want to give them a good ole pat on the back and say "Way to Go!" or "Ha! That was a funny story!" or "That Ben sure does crack me up." And if you have a request of something you would like to see Ben and Kendal do or write about, let them know.
Disclaimer
Ben and Kendal are in no way responsible for stories that may worry, upset, or lead their parents to altogether disown them.
