Hiccup and Scare To Clear

 Last week, I had gotten the front end-alignment that was needed as well as an oil change.  You know that when you get the oil changed, for a day or so, you smell the fresh oil.  Must be the small amount spilled on the engine block.  Anyway, I did not give it a second thought as I drove away.

   Anyway, it was a little strange that I still smelled the oil smell a few days later. Thursday evening, i had to run to Meadville.  Only bad thing about that was that we had a storm.  Roads stayed pretty clear, but snow was coming down hard at times.  Once I got off the road, and slowed to city street speeds, the oil smell increased.  Did not give it much thought.  Afterwards, the same thing happened on the return trip.  Just as I got back into Erie around 9:30, and was driving back down at 25 MPH, the smell got so bad, I had to open my car windows.

  Friday afternoon, I go out to the car, and I find a puddle of fluid under my car.  I gasped and wondered if it was a gas line.  It was very near dark, but I had to check it out.  popped the hood, and went out to release the catch to fully open the hood, and as I slid my fingers under the hood, immediately my fingers were soaked.  When I removed them, I found them covered in oil.  Not Good.  This was just after 5 PM.  I tried to call General Tire where I had the service done, but was after closing. I had found that I had no oil cap on the motor, and whole engine cavity was covered with oil, and it was oil and not gas under my car.

  So, very first thing on Saturday morning, I drove down to General Tire, and went to front desk.  It was only 8:30 AM and already there were a number of people in there.  I went and told them what I had found and said WE have a problem.  The listened to me, and said that they will take care of it.  They took my keys and I settled in to wait.  Even though I did not have an appointment, They took my car right in.  I knew that they are only open half days on Saturdays, so is why I went in early so that they could fit me in someplace. They took it right in out of turn, and by 9 AM the lead mechanic came to me and said it was all fixed.  He had said that they had found my cap atop the engine in back, and they checked my oil levels and topped me off and cleaned out the motor area, and I was ready to go.  As I was getting up to go, another mechanic came up to me, and said he was the one who worked on my car earlier in the week, and that he was sorry that this happened and he shook my hand.  Wow, I did not expect that!  I would have been ok with them replacing the oil cap with a new one, and refilling oil to where it was supposed to be.  That was a step up and beyond to have the mechanic come to me to Apologize.   KUDOS for the step up and beyond.