Chuck Force One has bushings and they hurt.

One should never expect a new or used car to NOT have some previously undiagnosed mechanical issues. Trust me. The perfect car out of the box usually says “Hot Wheels” on the undercarriage.

Every one of my cars has, at one time or another, picked up some sort of mechanical problem. Most of them were quickly remedied – my Chevrolet Cobalt SS (the “Blackbird”) had some worn exhaust parts; the 2017 Chevrolet Volt (“Lightning’s Girl”) needed an EGR cleaning. Other issues have caused me to jettison the vehicle entirely – my 2005 Saturn Ion (“Cardachrome”) had that nasty General Motors electrical issue – one day, the radio wouldn’t work, the next time the speedometer wouldn’t work. And the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze “Dracourage” had the worst of it – cracked engine cylinders that caused the car to overheat every winter. Ugh.

I suppose that would mean that Chuck Force one, my current 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, could go through life scott-free.

Nopes.

A check-up last week revealed that I have worn bushings in my car’s rear control arms. And although the car is still safe to drive, they need to be fixed before one small problem grows into a huge repair – or worse, another car change.

Okay. Let’s just take a deep breath. I’ll take the car to DePaula Chevrolet, and –

No, I won’t take the car to DePaula Chevrolet. That was the same shop that did something to the oil on Dracourage that caused it to belch out toxic smoke in the car cabin. Yeah, no.

Okay. Let’s take another deep breath. I’ll take the car to DeNooyer Chevrolet, and –

Well, maybe not. Not that I don’t trust DeNooyer – they took care of Lightning’s Girl with all the care in the world – but Chuck Force One isn’t under an extended GM warranty the way the Volt was.

So … what to do, what to do.

I chose instead to give the place from where I purchased the car, Exit5 Auto Sales, the opportunity to fix the bushings.

Dropped the car off yesterday morning.

They provided me with a gratis rental car – a 2014 Nissan Rogue – and let me know that Chuck Force One was in good hands.

Yesterday afternoon at around 4:45 p.m., they called me. Car is fixed and is running well. Bushings are replaced.

Unfortunately, they close at 5:00 p.m., so there was no way I could get there to pick up the car last night. But I’ll claim it this morning, so all should go well.

And this is truly the test. Exit5 Auto Sales now has a chance to show me that I can trust them with Chuck Force One. I need to confirm that they’re competitive with prices from all the other places I’ve shopped for tires and brakes and oil changes (semi-synthetic for this chariot).

And you know me. Trust is earned. It is not instantly bestowed.

But trust is given an initial chance.

And I’m an open-minded person. All I care about is that my car is running in tip-top condition, whether it’s on a photo road trip or a leisurely jaunt with my girlfriend.

Equipment must be trusted.

Let’s make this happen.