I try to do most of my own vehicle maintenance these days, because I have had so many really disappointing experiences with mechanics over the past 10-15 years, even with shops run by people I absolutely trust. The sad truth is that all auto repair shops are only as good as the person who happens to be working on your specific vehicle on any given day, and even great management can't prevent crappy work from getting sent out the door sometimes.

Anyway, there are times when I simply don't have time to tackle a repair, so there are a few local shops that I've found I can usually trust to do a decent job. Back in December, I was having an issue with one of the brakes locking up on one of our vehicles, but I was in the middle of a big home improvement project, and it was cold and getting dark before 5 every day, and I don't have a garage to work in. So I dropped the vehicle off at a shop in my neighborhood that I've been to a handful of times recently and felt like I had been treated fairly. The next day they called and said they couldn't find anything wrong with the breaks, but that the fuel pump had died when they took the vehicle out for a test drive. I had personally replaced the fuel pump within the past 5 years and had experienced absolutely zero indications that it was going bad. That's not to say it isn't possible for it to have died suddenly like that, but what are the odds that it happened when a mechanic was supposedly test driving the vehicle to check for a different issue?

I was VERY suspicious, but I simply didn't have time to have the vehicle towed back to my house to troubleshoot it myself, so I bit the bullet and told them to make the repair. Fast forward a few weeks and I started smelling gas fumes every time I drove the vehicle. I intended to take it back right away, but was swamped with work and had to put it off a bit. Then recently the check engine light came on for a leak in the EVAP system, which made sense coupled with the fuel smell, so I finally got the vehicle back to the shop last week for them to check it out. They called a couple of hours after I dropped it off and said it was good to go, and that a cap on a Y-pipe coming off of the EVAP system had come off. They didn't charge me for that, which I think was the right thing for them to do, but I was glad I didn't have to argue about that.

So then fast forward to this evening. I had to go out to the store to pick up something, and on my way home I drove past a local gas station that didn't have any lines and appeared to have fuel, so I figured I'd stop and fill up. I hadn't been worried about gas since my tank was mostly full already and I'm still working from home, but I figured I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to fill up easily. So I put in about 5 gallons and then the auto shut-off turned off the pump. Then I suddenly heard a liquid pouring onto the ground and initially thought someone at the pump next to me had overflowed a 5 gallon that they were filling. Then I realized the noise was coming from under my own vehicle, so I dropped to the ground to look and found that gas was pouring out from somewhere at the top of my fuel tank - either from the fill tube connection and/or from the fuel pump opening itself. I freaked out with worry about fire, but thankfully that did not happen. I kept an eye on it for a few minutes, and then very nervously drove the vehicle back home. Now I get to take it BACK to the shop tomorrow morning to make them drop the tank and check every single connection.

Not very happy right now. I'm glad my vehicle didn't blow up.