57: Chapter 57 Old Pick’s Auto Repair Shop 57: Chapter 57 Old Pick’s Auto Repair Shop Both parties happily completed the transaction.
Mark found the white old man at the car dealership, and asked him to start printing the transfer documents and vehicle registration information, which was also a routine task for them.
Allen Zhang didn’t ask too much about it, leaving professional matters to the professionals.
He took the opportunity to ask the man to drive the vehicle to a designated location in the city, offering to pay for the fuel and driving costs himself.
Mainly because he didn’t have a physical Driver’s License, although his driving skills were fully capable of handling large vehicles, it would be troublesome if they were stopped halfway.
“I happen to be going to the city, I’ll charge you 50 US Dollars from here to there.”
The white old man packed the organized documents in a plastic bag and handed them to Allen Zhang, “The documents are already signed, just take your basic information to the vehicle administration for registration, or find someone online to do the audit.”
“What if the transferor is unregistered, without a birth certificate and basic information?” Allen Zhang asked.
The old man wasn’t surprised by his question, just calmly replied, “Then find someone with legal information and register the RV under his name.
If you need this, I can also handle it for you, transferors from 18 to 70 years old are all acceptable, don’t worry, just pick anyone you like, the processing fee is just 200 US Dollars.”
“I’d rather ask a friend for help.” Allen Zhang instantly dismissed the idea, what kind of rip-off is this with such a high fee.
I bought the car for only 200 dollars, and you’re charging me more than the price of the car for the transfer, is that reasonable?
No wonder the RV wasn’t sold yet, it’s indeed somewhat of a white elephant to some extent.
People who need it don’t have much money and time to find someone to maintain the RV, and people who have money and time don’t have the need or necessity.
Fortunately, Allen Zhang knew where to get it sorted.
After sorting out some procedures, Mark filled up the RV with gas, thankfully the fuel prices here were cheaper than water, otherwise filling such a big tank would cost hundreds of dollars each time.
After checking the wiring, Mark started the GMC excursion motorhome, Allen Zhang took the passenger seat, took out his phone, and used Google to locate the Old Pick mechanic shop in the downtown area, “Let’s go here.”
Buckle up.” Mark glanced at the location information, then started the vehicle.
With a buzz, he stepped on the accelerator.
The RV started, emitting a puff of black smoke tinged with blue from the rear, leaving the dealership yard, driving on bumpy roads, smoothly detouring from another road, and onto the highway.
Music played in the vehicle, Allen Zhang rolled down the side window, stretched out his hand to feel the breeze, the sunshine was brilliant, other vehicles passed by one after another, indeed giving a great sensation.
Too bad the person sitting beside him was a scruffy white man picking at his feet, not some beautiful woman.
Nothing happened along the way, the RV reached the Sixth District in the city smoothly, as shown on the navigation for Old Pick mechanic shop.
Under the surprised stares of the mechanic shop employees, Mark parked the RV by the roadside, turned off the engine, took out the keys and a business card, and handed them to Allen Zhang, “You can find me again if you need anything in the future, this is my phone number.”
“There will be an opportunity.” Allen Zhang took them, smiled, and casually paid him 50 dollars for fuel and driving costs.
After getting out of the vehicle, the two parted ways.
Mark flagged down a black Accord on the street.
Allen Zhang then entered the shop.
The people at Old Pick mechanic shop were already waiting, a white middle-aged man in a blue mechanic outfit took off his gloves, came up, and asked, “Hello, guest, I’m Darren, the maintenance manager of this mechanic shop, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hello, Darren, I’d like to have my old RV serviced here,” Allen Zhang said with a smile, pointing to the green GMC motorhome parked on the roadside, “Cool, right?”
Darren glanced at the RV and couldn’t take his eyes off it; he was also an antique car enthusiast and knew this big guy had quite a backstory and history.
He walked up and circled around the RV twice, with quite a few pedestrians taking out their phones to snap pictures.
“Come in and have a look.”
Allen Zhang opened the door and warmly invited him in to look around; Darren touched the RV’s interior decor and sat in the driver’s seat to experience it.
He exclaimed, “Buddy, I have to say this guy is really awesome, where did you get it?
A 1970s caravan, it’s pretty rare to see these nowadays.”
Previously, this was exclusively for the wealthy, mostly owned by famous Hollywood stars and successful rich middle-class families, after all, not everyone has the time to take an RV out for vacation.
“This vehicle, I got it from a suburban dealership, it has been parked in the suburbs for over twenty years, Although there were no problems driving it here, I still don’t know much about this vehicle’s condition, so I want your help to repair and maintain it.” Allen Zhang frankly said.
Mark only gave him a brief introduction to the vehicle’s condition, apparently, there weren’t any issues on the surface, but he didn’t dare to delve too deep, fearing that he might not buy it.
The engine, spark plugs, wiring, and the braking system definitely need maintenance.
After all, what more do you expect for 200 dollars?
“Hand me the car keys, I can check the insides for you right now,” Darren said generously.
Allen Zhang handed over the keys and Darren drove the RV around to the back of the repair shop where several vehicles were being serviced or were ready and waiting for their owners to pay and drive them away.
Parking the RV in a spacious area, Darren asked Allen Zhang to wait a bit, then he headed to the garage and soon returned carrying repair tools.
He handed Allen Zhang a drink and asked him to wait by the side while the vehicle was being inspected.
Allen Zhang stood to the side with one hand in his pocket, watching the other person tinkering and knocking, opening the RV’s driving floor and revealing a 455 cubic inch engine.
From the open engine hood, it could be seen that the battery tray had been recently replaced and was superficially cleaned, but there were rust patches all around.
It must have been Mark’s work; he also maintained this vehicle, but only to the extent that it could be driven and started, not thoroughly repaired.
So-called gold on the outside, but rotten on the inside, it must be like that, right?
Allen Zhang consoled himself, what more do you expect for 200 dollars.
A zombie car that has been able to drive after sitting in the suburbs for over twenty years is already quite robust.
Next, Darren checked the oil dipstick and found there was still some oil, fortunately without any traces of water.
After all, if there had been water and it drove that far, the engine would definitely be straining, possibly ending up completely ruined.
After checking the oil dipstick, Darren began examining the engine compartment, and upon inspecting the air filter, found signs that Jerry had been living there, along with plenty of mouse droppings, a common issue for vehicles long abandoned outdoors.
The air filter, protecting the carburetor, was in excellent condition.
Seeing such a carburetor, Darren got excited and started using a vacuum cleaner to clear debris from the engine.
To prevent dust and debris from entering the carburetor, Darren also protected it with a plastic film.
Next, Darren used a marker to tag each spark plug wire and then began to remove the spark plugs.
The removed spark plugs were severely rusted but very dry, not damp.
After removing the spark plugs, Darren sprayed lubricant into each spark plug hole.
He also called over colleagues from the shop to come under the vehicle and help twist the engine fan, attempting to rotate the engine for testing.
After some trials, the engine fan started to rotate.
Darren then opened the distributor cap and disassembled the platinum ignition for maintenance.
There weren’t any major issues discovered, just occasional poor contacts, which Darren fixed in a few minutes.
He then reinstalled it back into the distributor, and upon restarting, there were clearly smooth sparks being produced.
The humming of the vehicle was much smoother than before, without the previous barely noticeable stutters.
This guy really knows his stuff!!