car woooooes

we bought a car from J's coworker in January.  It's a 2006 Nissan and it had only been driven in Ghana for a year before we got it.

I don't think she had this many problems, but it's basically imploded on us in the past few months.

First we took it to a mechanic who ripped us off in ways and quantities I don't want to mention.  Then we found a guy who works on a lot of the cars at my workplace.  I got a good vibe from this guy from the first time I met him, and I figured he has a reputation to uphold; if he messes with one car at my office, he'll lose all his other customers there.

Well, he's needed the car two days here, a week there, and when he brought it back after that week, he told me the repairs weren't finished and he needed it another week.  That was last week.

Cut to Thursday morning, when the car wouldn't stay running after it started.  It turned over, caught, ran for a few seconds and then just died.  I panicked, all the other professional drivers waiting outside my building for their own clients took a look at it, revved the engine, listened to the noises, watched the motor, diagnosed new fuel injectors.  I dragged the mechanic to my house to come look at it because I couldn't get it going.

Of course, magically, it started perfectly for him.

It still needs that one-week repair he talked about before... but he doesn't have that part in yet.  So first he has to get the car to start, and then after that, I guess we have to wait around for the part to arrive.

It's really frustrating having a car here...


EDITING, MAY 2:
One of the drivers at Fiance Man's office brought it to a mechanic he knows in Tema.  Turns out Mechanic #2 took the engine apart and put it back together wrong.  The car runs better than ever.  Mechanic #3 also cleaned everything, from the engine to the oil to the seats, and for a good price, too.  We'll stick with this guy for any future problems, I'd say!