An Honest Mechanic

A couple of Thursdays ago, the battery light came on in our car.

The Cav’s been with us for seven years, and it’s not uncommon for those little red signals to flash intermittently, regardless of whether anything needs to be fixed. The vehicle had been serviced back in July, and a dear friend installed a new battery for our last birthday. So we ignored it.

Then came the loud clicking noise from our dashboard on Friday afternoon. The radio beeped, then died; the speedometer needle went limp. Our plans for the weekend went out the window, accompanied by a cigarette butt. We lit a fresh one.

When the car wouldn’t take a jump, the frustration began. We got a ride home. On Saturday morning, a co-worker texted us mechanic Byron Huhmann’s phone number. You might recognize him as the tattooed frontman for the Dark Circles (and former member of Onward Crispin Glover and Anvil Chorus), but he’s also the owner of Mobile Auto Science — meaning he comes to you. He agreed to meet us that afternoon. An hour and a half and less than $140 later, we and our newly installed alternator were on our way. We couldn’t care less whether you like the guy’s music. Huhmann is polite, professional and inexpensive. Most important, he makes car trouble — which blows, always, no way around it — easy as pie. And that’s invaluable.

That’s why this week we love Byron Huhmann.