What Even Is This? - Turbocharged #3

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our technicians dumb car questions so you don’t have to. 

Asking dumb questions is a tricky thing. You might know a ‘dumb question’ as a customer in an auto shop, trying as best you can to describe what’s wrong, out of the norm, or just weird with your vehicle. 

Asking a dumb question isn’t about the question. It’s about the feeling you get in asking. You feel dumb. But you are not. And that’s the point of this blog. 

I ask dumb questions on this blog—I give myself permission to be perceived as uneducated, slow, ‘dumb.’ Of course it doesn’t feel comfortable, I want to be perceived as capable and intelligent. But I’d rather look dumb now than look dumb on the side of some backcountry road.

My background includes how to tell a good story, to educate, and to bring people up to date with good thinking practices. Ironically, the one area I DON’T have expertise in is automotive repair.

If I could give you a short list of car repair topics I’m above average proficiency in, I think it’d be as follows: 

1. If the car is dead, put gas in it, or jump the battery. Or call my auto tech at Sage Creek.
2. If it’s shifting gears funny, check the oil sticker and get an oil change accordingly. Or just go cuz the transmission is  expensive.
3. If it’s foggy inside my car, turn on the defroster. If it’s hot, turn on the AC. If AC doesn’t work, drink cold water. 
4. Also, I can change a tire in 15 minutes flat with minimal-to-no cursing. No biggie. 

There’s something else I have in my arsenal, something that allows me to talk to you about what I’ve been learning from the techs at Sage Creek. That’s curiosity. 

Curiosity can help buff, or even remove the nerves that come from ‘looking dumb.’ Curiosity might be motivated by your desire to lower your bill at the end of the service. It might be motivated by your well of knowledge you can use later, to speed up a repair. It might be because you just have a morbid curiosity with how things work, like I do. In my case, my curiosity is aimed at you, to share what I’m learning with you, so you can avoid the pitfalls of auto repair. 

Curiosity in itself can be the means of saving money in the long run, speeding up a future service or repair, or even learning how to do something new yourself. I share knowledge freely so people like you can be empowered to make the best decisions for you and your family. 

Good questions are never dumb, anymore than increasing a lack of knowledge is. In fact, deepening your knowledge on a subject is about the smartest thing you can do. Here’s to you, you car-repair brainiac. 

Thanks for reading! Schedule your next service here:  https://www.sagecreekrepair.com/#