If this story about how a local Pennsylvania mechanic paid it forward in a big way doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, I don’t know what will.
Oftentimes news only covers the larger dramas and victories when it comes to the local car community, a huge NASCAR win or someone like Mazda reintroducing the rotary engine. Smaller stories when one human reaches out to another, to help them on their way using cars as a medium, never really reaches our ears. This is one of those stories. As per Pennsylvania mechanic Darrin Thompson on his encounter helping out a New Yorker stranded off I-80 earlier in a story he shared earlier yesterday (Oct. 2, 2018) he didn’t need to help out this stranded New Yorker literally living in his Honda Accord for over four weeks, but he did anyway.
Bill, the New Yorker, was passing through Pennsylvania on his way home to Harlem, New York in his relatively new Honda Accord. Thanks to lots of driving, this one already has 270,000 on its odometer. Honda’s are bulletproof and this one was too. That is until his Accord broke a ball joint. For one reason or another, Bill could not source a mobile mechanic that would help him, and, presumably, Bill was short on funds to pay anyone adequately.
A ball joint job, while relatively easy, can be daunting to replace for the uninitiated and can cost anyone between $100-$200 with parts + labor if you outsource the job.
Bill was out of luck and resorted to living out of his car for weeks, that is until Darrin showed up. Please, read the rest of the story from Darrin’s point of view below. Click the “See More” in blue to expand the story.
It’s too often that, as car enthusiasts, we get mired in the muck of constant news, press releases, bigger this and more powerful that, that we forget really what cars are all about. It’s about freedom, really, to get where you need to go in a safe and efficient manner. Some people might enjoy taking their cars and pushing them to their limits, that’s called motorsports, but, by and large, cars are a way we move, crucial to modern-day living.
Helping out your fellow man in his time of need, to get their means of freedom rolling again, is the best way to be a car enthusiast in my opinion.
If Darrin’s inspired you, pass it on the next time you see someone sitting on the curb with their hood open. You don’t necessarily have to diagnose and fix their problem, although that would help, just ask if they NEED help or if everything’s OK. Sometimes that human connection is all that matters in these bleak and uncertain times.
