I recently helped a neighbor replace the door hinge bushing on his crappy CheBy truck. He is a master woodworker but his automotive skills lack a lot. He came over and asked for some assistance. We spent a total of 3 hours fussing and messing on his truck. After we finished he thanked me for my help and kind of left it at that. When I showed up at the shop today there was 3 - 750ml bottles of Ketel One Vodka and a thank you note. That was one of the nicest rewards I ever received for an impromptu assist. Nice to have good neighbors. What's the nicest reward you have received for car related assistance?

 

Well, nothing that could be discussed here....
(but that was in the 70's)

 

I KNEW someone would come up with THAT gift. LOL

 

Thats awesome, sorry you had to work on a chevy
My house is like the bermuda triangle. I have made countless repairs on cars that seem to be fine until the break down in my driveway. Tire repairs, radiator hoses, out of gas, everything seems to find me. I always turn down cash but if someone offered up the booze I think I would have to accept for fear of being rude
Last car show I was at this summer guy had a 73 pontiac that would not start at the end of the day. I troubleshot it and just had to clean up the points to get him going again. People were looking at me like I was a wizard, pretty sad, hard to find anyone anymore that knows jack about how things work. All they know is AAA, even at a car show. I turned down the cash offer for fixing it, it just felt great to be able to get him going.

 

A couple years ago, my neighbor bought an older VW Golf. He knew I had worked for VW years ago, and if anything went wrong he'd bring it over. I never charged him anything. My son is 16, and in the process of getting his driver's license. This spring he gave me the car for my son. It needed a bit of work, but it's in very nice shape.

 

About ten years ago, at Christmas time, I went to a major shopping mall in a declining area of the city. As I was leaving I saw an older full sized car stuck in the snow bank. Some guy with a little rice burner 4X4 was trying to pull the car out without any success. I pulled up and offered to try with my truck. After I got the car out the owner, a little old lady in your late 70s, got out and was visibly shook up. At the time we were experiencing a major snow storm and I could see with the weather and the emotional condition she was in she shouldn't be driving her car. I offered to drive her home but first I called the police and told them what was happening and gave them my information and the lady's information so she would feel safe driving with a stranger. I parked her car in a parking spot. The little lady, who stood maybe 5 feet tall and probably weighed 100 pounds, at most, told me she wasn't sure that I should go into her neighborhood. She lived in a housing project and her neighbors were a bunch of gangsters and drug dealer. Also, I had to go 15 miles in the opposite direction of my home. I told her if she could live there I could drive her there and I wasn't afraid. On the way to her house she told me she worked at a department store in the mall and had to work because her husband was disabled and they were living only on his SS payments. We talked about where I lived and told her my name and she told me about her and her husband. When we got to her house she offered me money for gas and of course there was no way I'd take anything for helping. A few days later I got a Christmas card in the mail from the lady again thanking me and wishing me and my family a blessed Christmas. The funny thing is even though I told her where I lived I only gave her the general location. I have a rather convoluted mailing address, I live in one village but I mailing address is in another village. Somehow she was able to find my correct address which showed me she had to go out of her way to find my address. Also, with a name like Bob Jones it's not always easy to find me in the sea of Bob Joneses. The Christmas car was the best payment, carwise, I've ever received.

 

Back about 30 years ago, a young man knocked on my door late at night, it was pouring down rain and he was having car trouble, seeing my wrecker parked in front of my house he decided to see if I would hook him up and tow him home, he said he didn't have any money but he would be back on payday and pay me. Me , being the good guy that I am, hooked him up in the pouring rain and towed his car about two miles home,this was in the eighties, and I told him to just give me gas money. Well I haven't seen that a##hole since. However, a lot of people have assisted me on the road when I have had toubles, so I guess I payed it forward.

 

Bob, That is a wonderful heart warming story and you are truly a good guy!

Skalywag, sorry you got burned! But you are right about paying it forward.

 

I stopped on a fairly remote dirt road a few years back for an SUV pulled right over onto the verge. I found a heavily pregnant woman, 2 young kids and a flat tyre. I stand 6'7" and about 230lbs so think I was a bit intimidating to her, I told her my name, changed her tyre and wished her well. She must have remembered my name because about a week later I got a thank you card in the mail with a handful of lottery tickets inside. Didn't win anything but who cares.

 

Good on ya mate!