Garages

I would like to be able to say that "I don't do garages" but since we came to France, due to Nigels lack of French, I have no choice. We were extremely lucky when we lived at Carol as the local garage in Fossat was very good. It was run by the Estrade family, Madame in the office and Monsieur and their son in the workshop. Our dear old Peugeot 309 had many problems in the last few years with us and they were always so very helpful. As we didn't have a second car one of the family would always run me back home and pick me up when the car was ready. A side effect of this involvement with the garage was a widening of my knowledge of car parts in French!
Since we sold the Peugoet and "upgraded" to the Renault Scenic my involvement with garages has become less until recently. When Max was here he suggested that we may have a diesel leak as he was able to smell diesel when the car was warm. After a few days we noticed that there was a small amount of diesel leakage on the ground under the car. I rang the Renault garage in Grenade and the lady on reception said that they were very busy due to the holiday period. When I explained that it was quite important that we had it seen to as I had to take my husband to hospital in Bayonne on the Sunday she said to take it in and they would have a look. The chap there was extremely helpful and took the car, almost immediately into the workshop. The showroom part of the garage was very comfortable so I settled myself in one of the chairs and got out my book. I have learned over the years always to take a book with me to places where I may have to wait!! The receptionist served me with a coffee so I was quite happy reading and drinking my coffee whilst I waited. I could see that the mechanic who was dealing with the car was doing other things as well so I was prepared for quite a wait. After an hour he told me that a hose had fractured and needed replacing but that they didn't have the required part. Not to worry he said, as he had put on a temporary "sleeve" which would allow me to drive safely in the meantime. He said to go in the following Tuesday and he would replace the part so I left feeling very happy that I had the car for the weekend and that the whole experience had not been stressful!!