Why I do my own work .....

[Anton <anton_gaidos@mentorg.com>]

All,
 I recently decided I would fore go the stress of doing my own ur-quattro clutch, CV boots and rear diff seals. Nearing code freeze here at torMentor plus only days away from my long anticipated vacation I elected to bite the bullet and have my buddy's shop do the work. I have done most of the major work already as I prefer to do. And as an argument to my wife I do almost all the work on anything related to my cars, computers and house. For a change I thought I'd spoil myself and let someone else do it. Consequently I was ill prepared for the kind of price tag associated with that decision.
 I was taken aback when presented with an $1800 work order yesterday. Worse yet, my lovely and
charming spouse was standing there when I was handed this shocking bit of news. She could not help but notice my sudden change in skin tone as I stood there coming to grips with the harsh reality before me. As wonders never cease, I took it much worse then her. I certainly owe Carol a very nice vacation.
 Let this be a bit of wisdom for those who dream of owning a ur-quattro. If you cannot do 90% of the work yourself get a second job, play lotto or wait before having kids. I have already spent $2700 the last three months and aside from the cost of sending parts out for repair that price tag was with me doing all the labor. Now I can tack on another $1500 (I talked them down from $1800) to boot. Keep in mind I was certain I could get the whole project done for $1500 but now I have a total price tag of $4200. Had I not been able to do nearly all the wrenching that price tag might well be over $6000. The real bummer with this is it doesn't even cover things like fixing ripped seats, broken headlight frames, paint, struts, etc.
 Is it all worth it? I'll tell you in three weeks

Anton J. Gaidos, III
Mentor Graphics, Silicon Valley Headquarters
San Jose, Ca.