A tenth of a turn

too little. Or, short story long, as is my wont :-)

A couple of weeks ago it was time for an oil change so I took the car to the local car repair joint. We've had reasonably good work from them over the last couple of years.

So yesterday whilst driving to work suddenly the car sounded different. A quick scan of the dash and the oil warning light was on! So I pulled over (thank god I wasn't trying to do that quick 'two lanes to the left' where SR143 joins I-10 just before the US60 exit; that's one dangerous manoeuvre to be trying on a daily basis!). Quick check of the dipstick (no, not a glance in the mirror!) and she's as dry as a bone!

Three hours later the tow truck finally arrives! As he's hooking the safety ties to keep my car on the back of the truck he notices the oil drain plug ain't there. Well, that explains the sudden loss of oil!

So we take it back to the oil change joint and, after some ducking and weaving in a vain attempt to not take responsibility they finally agree that yes, they didn't tighten the drain plug and they'll pay for the tow and fix it. I should think so! I couldn't persuade them to give me some kind of warranty in case of engine damage but they did agree to give me the next oil change for free. Great! Now I'll be checking that damn oil drain plug for the next n thousand miles.