Good to Go

An uprooted metal bolt in a parking lot tore the splash shield under the 2004 Camry. I reported the damage to the attendant, but it was obvious that being able to recover repair costs would take a long time, if I were lucky.

When fixing a car worth a few thousand dollars, one has to take into account not only the instant cost but the probability of future repairs as well as the remaining useful life of the car.

The splash shield isn't as critical as the engine or transmission, but dragging the splash shield until it fell off didn't appear safe.

This is admittedly a personal failing: I refuse to spend a couple of hundred dollars on labor to replace a $40 part on a car that's good for maybe another two years. So I spent the afternoon under the engine, duct-taping the splash shields together. The tape should hold for a few months.

It's not pretty, but no one's looking under the vehicle. We're good to go.