She made her first steps

In a previous post, I detailed many 'normal' aspects of Argentine life which seen from a foreigner’s point of view seem a bit odd. In contrast, I can tell you that some aspects do not change from one country to another!

The whims of a car:

When purchasing our Combi we knew she (yes, it’s a girl!) needed some repairs. Seeing she had gone from an owner who didn’t take good care of her to a family (Caris and I) who would cherish and cuddle her, she took the opportunity to complain about all the injuries she was suffering from...

After going to the parking lot where her previous owner had left her, we came back home. Crossing the city was not that easy as driving a Combi has little to do with driving a modern small car. Arriving close to the apartment, we find a spot that does not require parallel parking (!), we park the car, get out, and realize we have a flat tire! Nice beginning. No spare wheel. The guy who sold us the car had warned us, but we thought we would have time to go buy one before getting our first flat tire. Apparently not... No jack either. Let’s solve the problem quietly by buying the missing wheel and a jack. Ah, finally we're not allowed to park where we are? Just perfect. Caris's father comes to our rescue with his jack. The bolts are rusty, we put our muscles in action and the tool breaks in two parts. We ask a mechanic whose garage is right next to us if he can help us. He comes with his tool and trying to unscrew the bolt he breaks it as well... Some of you are thinking that my best travel mate, Lady Bad Luck, came to meet me in Buenos Aires. It is not far from the truth, but what you do not know is that here I have mu lucky charm, Caris, thanks to whom everything always goes well! The mechanic takes a different tool, unscrew the bolts. We bring the flat tire to a wheel center, they repair it in ten minutes and we can put it back on the car.

One day while I’m parking the Combi in front of Caris, the engine shuts off. Unable to start. We go out to dinner, already imagining having to tow her. On the way back, I think about how the engine stopped and the noise it made when I tried to start it. It looks like she ran out of gas. Yes, because on the list of injuries which she suffered, there is the fuel gauge that does not work therefore it’s impossible to know how full the tank is. We go buy five liters. Still does not work. The next day, we realize that she is not parked in a flat zone, and so the five liters are just not enough for her. Let’s give her a bit more to eat. Still nothing. Forced to blow into the tank to get the gasoline to go down to the filter... but finally we can hear the sweet sound of her motor again.

In addition to these two examples, followed mechanical problems (see the section on mechanics), very special sounds coming from everywhere, the alarm playing tricks with the central locking, the tank cap that no longer wants to stay in place, etc.

So many joyful moments!

Insurers:
Argentine law requires that all vehicles be insured, but the problem is that all the renowned insurers refuse to cover cars more than twenty-year old! Absurdity but of course we are in this case. About to take an insurance from an  unknown company (and therefore a bit unreliable), we had the luck to find out that with the Automobil Club Argentino, which subcontracts its insurance, we would in fact be insured by one of the best insurers who had refused to insure us directly... Weird tip but it’s all good for us.

Mechanics:
The engine of the Combi is different from the one of "classical" cars so only specialists repair them. Others prefer not to touch them.

Preparing a long road trip, we wanted to get our Combi completely healthy. The argentine website Siempre en Kombi (www.siemprenkombi.com.ar) recommends some mechanics. Let’s go see the first one, lost in a suburb of Buenos Aires. The address is in fact of a house. We ring the bell and a "mechanic" opens and tells us we're at the right place. The guy looks at the car to tell us what should be repaired. We also draw a list of all the non mechanical injuries from which she suffers. His prices are rather low, he seeks ways to improve her and seems to know what he is talking about (fortunately Caris’s father knows mechanics, because with my knowledge on the matter it would be a little difficult to judge the relevance of his work).

Not wanting to limit ourselves to only one opinion on what to repair, we will see another mechanic, at the other end of Buenos Aires: totally different atmosphere with many Combis parked near the shop. "The expert" does not care much about us and delegate one of his apprentices who tells us more or less the same things the first mechanic had told us, but the prices are prohibitive.
The next day we go see a third one recommended by several people. The guy sees what the other have told us and other things. We decide to leave him our baby. In three days, he calls us to give us the prices of certain parts and in six days she is like new. Arrive the sixth day, still no news. We call. "In fact I have been delayed, she will be ready in four days." On the fourth day "Tomorrow she is ready." The next day "It is almost finished, tomorrow it is done, there are still a few points but I wanted to tell you that the bill is already twice the starting price" “Sorry?? When did we validate the change in the estimate?" Then follows the explanation of an Argentine mechanic moderately convincing. We decide to tell him to stop spending our money and that we will go look for her the following day. Twice the time for twice the price. Fortunately we did not leave her for three weeks otherwise the price would surely have tripled!

After a few days of use, the noise that was supposedly repaired comes back… Let’s call the mechanic. We bring her to him two days later. "Ah, as you told me to stop spending I repaired the part of the axle that was most damaged, but the remaining three are in poor condition. The noise comes from that." Not wanting to risk our lives, we decide to change the three parts. Another heavy bill.

A few days of driving and the noise comes back again! He changed the parts or just made me pay?? Third round: call to the mechanic and back to his shop. What the hell? He drives it a little, put it on the hoist, and find that the noise comes from a part connected to those he has changed! It’s never gonna work this way. Frustration on our side of why he did not see all that from the beginning and big doubts on the quality of his work. He justifies himself by saying that on old cars, he must first repair the most damaged parts to see what to repair next. Not necessarily wrong, but...
Not of particular danger and not wanting to spend more for the moment, we decide not to make the repairs, but we know we’ll have to do it sooner or later.

In short, I think this is not the last time in 2009 that we will see a mechanic…

For info, here are the characteristics of our Combi:

Brand: Volkswagen

Model: T2

Year of manufacture: 1983

First year on the road: 1988

Origin: Argentina

Series: Camper

Power: at this level it is not counted as "horse power" but rather as "donkey power"!

Weight: 1951kgs, no she is not fat, she is just a bit wrapped