That parrot wouldn’t voom…

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That parrot wouldn’t voom… was Originally Posted on September 11, 2003 by

There is an old Monty Python skit with a dead parrot. A customer returns a parrot for a refund and part of the conversation follows:

{quote}
Mr. Praline: Look, I took the liberty of examining that parrot when I got it home, and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the f first place was that it had been NAILED there.

(pause)

Owner: Well, o’course it was nailed there! If I hadn’t nailed that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those bars, bent ‘em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Feeweeweewee!

Mr. Praline: “VOOM”?!? Mate, this bird wouldn’t “voom” if you put four million volts through it! ‘E’s bleedin’ demised!
{end quote}

Yesterday, a friend stopped by to help me get my old Camaro running so I could sell it. We got it up on the jacks and started to replace the fuel filter. That is when we discovered that it would NOT be as easy as the manual suggested. A quick call to two seperate dealers assured us that it would be difficult to do and costly to have them do.

After switching to the SUV and tightening a few loose bolts, we headed down to Ryans for an all-you-can-eat buffet. We discussed the car and decided to check with a repair place called Pep Boys where we have found less expensive repairs. The repair price for the fuel pump dropped by hundreds of dollars, BUT I would have to pay $60 to have the car towed up the street for them to work on it.

As even the casual reader here will attest, I’m a bit too cheap to pay full price for anything, and decided that $60 for towing is a bit too much. An idea came to me and see what you think?

AAA (The Automobile Association of America) is always sending me a request to join their membership. AAA also has towing in the membership. Along with that perk, Aloha Airlines (one of the inter-island airlines) offes a discount to AAA members. As a note, I have not yet booked my inter-island trip…

However, upon checking, it appears my 1st year membership and the savings on the ticket would only save me about $10 to $15, and is probably not worth the hassles.

I WILL get the fuel pump replacement price and towing charge in writing and will have them replace it ASAP. I will also need to have the car insurance reinstated as I removed most coverage when I garaged the car. I think I’ll have to pay for the tag sticker too :( Since they don’t make IROC Camaros anymore (and have stopped making Camaros in general), I hope I can make a bit of profit from the sale of this one. I really hate to have to sell it, but it would not last in hawaii. I would be vooming into the Pacific before I knew it… :)