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Going to the mechanic

Going to the car mechanic is a real hassle, especially if you don’t know what’s happening to your car. Last night, as I was driving home, the malfunction light suddenly lighted up. I was real surprised; after all, I just had my car tuned up 2 weeks ago. After I arrived home, turned off the car, and turned it on again, nothing, the malfunction light was still on. That got me worried, so, I went in the house, dig out the car manual, and proceed to try solving the mystery on my own.  The person who writes the technical manual must be a sadistic genius, how else can you explain the fact that the manual has almost every answer to every question, but the one you really need. Once you reach the area where they explain what various warning lights are about, the most frequent phrase is” Bring your car to dealership immediately”. After 1 hour of frustration, I finally gave up, and decided on brining my car to the mechanic again tomorrow. Fortunately for me, I had an appointment I can skip this morning, and I promptly brought the car to my usual mechanic. After he tested the car on his various machine, he came over, and told me I have to change the fuel system on the car, which cost around the neighborhood of $500. I was incredulous, how come this problem wasn’t diagnosed two weeks ago, when I had my car tuned up in his shop? I asked him, he just shrugged, and said that the problem didn’t surface until now. I grow suspicious, and told him that I have to think about when to do the job. He was hesitant to see me go, but I insisted. After I left the mechanic shop, I went to COSTCO directly, and bought a car code reading machine, it’s a gadget that’s suppose to tell me what’s the warning lights are about, and which car system is in need of repairing. I plugged it in, waiting a few minutes, and out came the result” Gas valve not shut”, I stared it, wondering what it means, then I remembered, I had filled my gas tank on Sunday, did the attendant shut the gas valve completely? I opened the gas tank cover, opened and shut it, twisting 3 times to make sure it’s shut completely. When I turned on the car, miracle of all miracles, the malfunction light is out. I thought it must be a fluke, and drove around the block a couple of times, then shut down the car, and restarted it, and the malfunction light stayed down the whole time. I couldn’t believe it, all I need to do is just shut the gas tank cover? Not $500 worth of fuel system change that my mechanic said I need? I went straight to the mechanic, and told him what happened, and then I also told him that he has lost me as his customer, also, I’ll write to the town council to complaint about his behavior. That $18 I spent on buying the code reading machine is the wisest money I have ever spent. Remember, next time you have a check engine or malfunction light on, don’t rush to the mechanic, go get a code reading machine, and you may save a lot of money too.