The $222 rat

So my car was having problems with the starter (so I thought). Guess I should have popped the hood to take a look myself before dropping it off at the mechanic to have it checked. He called not long after to say he thought he had found the problem.

This is what he found in my engine compartment (if you click on the link it will open a larger version of the photos in my picasa web)



22 pieces of kindling, sunglasses, 5 wooden clothes pins, plumbers tape, 4 christmas ornaments, kite string, 6 rocks, a granola bar, two scoops, garden hose parts, a screwdriver, a sharpie pen, socks, rags, and a ton of chewed up paper. He said although he sees this fairly often, in 20+ years as a mechanic he has never seen anything close to this.

And to cap it all off? The little bugger is still in there and won't come out. Even though I commute 25 miles each way to work and drove 18 miles each way to the mechanic today (at 65-70 mph). They even tried to smoke him (or her) out and had no luck.