– It won’t start, – Pino frowned thoughtfully. The car had been parked outdoors since autumn. Besides, the Renault itself had been manufactured at the end of the last century. A rust here, an oil leak there.
– Let me try! – I said in English and took the wheel.
All right. Battery’s charged at home. Voltage’s OK. Fine. Starter’s cranking. Probably Pino forgot to depress the clutch, as it was common in old manual cars, I thought. The Renault started. White fume came out of the pipe, smelling of smoke and oil. But after a while, the car warmed up and ran smoothly
— I thought it was impossible to start it anymore. We can go, follow me! – exclaimed surprised Pino. I got behind the wheel and started to move. The car shuddered, the slightly corroded brakes thumped. The old gearbox was shaking the lever when I released the clutch, but it worked fine. To drive this car, however, we first had to pass the technical inspection. My task was to deliver it to the mechanics.
After we parked the car beforehand, Pino and I inspected it ourselves. Everything we needed to pass the inspection was in order. The lights, brake lights, even the wipers stopped squeaking after I sprayed some WD-40 below the shroud. Under the hood I found a rotten air intake hose, which I immediately “fixed” with reinforced tape. I also repaired the fallen off window lowering handle with my fist.
Only the CO test left some concerns. However, there was no other option. We gave the car to the mechanic and went to get some coffee from the machine in the waiting room. A few minutes passed, that was too short to get a sticker indicating that the car had been inspected.
— Señora Montalvo, Renault Clio! – the speakerphone announced. Pino approached the window with a sad look. After a short conversation she came back to me with a very surprised look and a sticker of the passed inspection in her hand.– Got it! For a year, – she said briefly.
I nearly got burnt by my coffee. She took the car and gave me the keys. This is how, Sveta and I were able to get a vehicle for almost two weeks.
It obviously had cost me some effort. During the first days of our stay in the house of our friends, I had time to do a lot of useful things: to fulfill their requests for housework, minor repairs and electrical work. Moreover, Sveta and I had managed to build a warm and trusting emotional climate in our tiny circle.
And then one day at dinner I asked:
– Guys! Do you, by any chance, have a car that we could use to travel around the suburbs of Madrid, to go to the city and shopping, to visit parks and museums outside of our village, where there is no transportation?
Nacho shook his head negatively, took a sip of wine and then suddenly remembered:
— Darling! – he said to his wife in Spanish, – I believe your mother had that old car that they no longer used and were going to sell?
— Right. Mom hasn’t sold it yet. We might try to convince her if Ben manages to get it started and fix it if anything’s broken, – Pino said.
I said yes. And that’s what happened. Having built a good relationship, we got a vehicle that would have cost us an armful of money to rent if we were tourists.