Saturday 9/3 GM Dealer, Tim & Buca in Laramie

9/3/22  Saturday

54 this morning.  Nice sunrise.  We have a quick breakfast and head into Laramie and the GM Dealership. They don't schedule work for Saturday but are open for emergencies and travelers.  We arrive a few minutes before 8 and there are a few others waiting with us, including a family moving from Arkansas to Vancouver.

At least we have a clean waiting room with restrooms and coffee, tv and wifi.   As we are waiting, our service rep Barrett comes into the room carrying a side panel from the Trek, saying it "fell off".  We go to check it out and is becomes obvious that there was some sort of collision which caused the panel to "fall off".  After looking at things, Barrett agrees that something happened under their care - fresh scrape, red paint smudges, etc.   They'll have their body shop fix it.  Hopefully the body shop is competent, because Barrett doesn't know anything about repairing fiberglass....

Then we get the news on the transmission.  Bottom line, need a new (rebuilt) one. $5156, pre-tax.  And, it will take 7-10 days to get the part (coming from Texas would you believe?). Then it will take 2-3 days to install it.  We are a bit dumbfounded.  Greg calls Curtis, our home mechanic, with details and he checks some things and says that that price is reasonable.  Like most all dealerships, they are replacement specialists not repair people.  Taking the transmission apart and analyzing and fixing would take a lot of labor hours and in the long run would cost about the same as a new rebuilt part. Sigh.

So we will bring it back on Tuesday when they re-open.

We call Tom & Sue's friend Tim who is extremely welcoming and kind, and head to his home. He fixes burgers on the grill for dinner as we settle in.  Two bedroom apartment with nice hot shower and small kitchen and living room.  Obviously a basement, but more than adequate! We suspect he uses it mostly for family members as he seems very close to his three (or four?) kids. He is divorced, an avid bike rider and still works with computer programs for banks - writing and maintaining.  Probably just a few years older than us.   His dog Buca is fun - loves to play ball/frisbee and seems untiring!

Nice shower and good night's sleep.  Anita and Kevin will be heading this way Monday so we can catch a ride to Denver with them.  Tim has invited them to sleep here too! Yeah!  I am looking into flights to fly home and come back on the 23rd to pick up the Trek, then drive home.  We have some credits with United, so will go with them.

"Everything is gonna be all right."  Fewer balls in the air.