Teaching, Rather than Doing

Saturday morning after a successful test drive with all new brakes.

Last week was a wonderful Easter weekend spent with my family, as my oldest son drove up from college to meet us in Chattanooga. While the weekend was filled with many blessings the greatest blessing to me is always having some 1-1 time with my kids. It was about 3-4 weeks ago when he called me up as the local shop wanted $1,100 to fix his starter (the reason for the trip in the first place) and another $600 for his brakes. In a bit of a panic due to the cost, I told him to get the starter done and we will take care of the brakes when we meet up again soon. Well, that was Easter weekend.

So before we left I loaded my tools in the back of the car, along with new brakes and rotors, and down to Tennessee we drove. Now this is where the lesson comes in. We got there Thursday and he pulled in Friday. After about an hour of recovery, it was time to get started.

Now brakes are one of those car areas that most people shy away from, after all, everyone wants to be able to stop. Thankfully, years ago, pre-YouTube, my father taught me how to do brakes, which is a surprisingly easy job. Now with YouTube, a little research, and the courage to take it on, we got after it. Within 90 minutes, we had finished the front brakes, I did the driver's side, teaching him along the way, then turned it over to him for the passenger side. Piece of cake, he wrapped it up and looked at the fact that he was able to do this and save himself about $400, plus get new rotors, on top of new pads, which were much needed.

As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish, feed a man a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." That was the goal during the trip and always. Car maintenance is one of those areas that many people are afraid of but it is probably the single easiest way to not only save money but also know that things are done right with quality parts. While I greatly appreciate a good mechanic, they are hard to find and it is always better to know what a mechanic is talking about rather than just accepting what they tell you.

Teach your kids and others around you so that they can make the necessary changes. Don't just do it for them, teach them and let them take control.

Gravel is not fun to work in, but it did the job!