Does Santa Claus do oil changes?

Posted 12/24/20

Coulter Car Care was the scene Wednesday of a random act of kindness. That’s when Robert Neff took his 2004 GMC diesel pickup in for an oil change. His wife had alotted about $25 for the work, …

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Does Santa Claus do oil changes?

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Coulter Car Care was the scene Wednesday of a random act of kindness. That’s when Robert Neff took his 2004 GMC diesel pickup in for an oil change. His wife had alotted about $25 for the work, but the couple knew, because it was a diesel, the bill would come to more than that.

Neff was concerned, because in addition to the oil change, an air filter and fuel filter were in need of replacement. There were also two check engine lights on, and they needed to be diagnosed as well. On a diesel, especially, that work does not come cheaply.

While waiting, Neff struck up a conversation with another customer, an English teacher, who was there with her baby son.

“We talked about how she was going to pursue her master’s [degree] because it came with a salary increase. And we talked about the value of English in education,” Neff said.

But another conversation went on that Neff was not privy to. The young woman overheard Mick Gonzalez, the owner of the car care center, explain to Neff what was needed to fully maintain the pickup. Neff was going to wait on some of the work and only have the basic oil change.

The anonymous young teacher, however, pulled Gonzalez aside and the two hatched a plan to split the costs of the work. Employees Nate MaGill and Chasnee Zeller were in on the kindness prank as well.

When Neff was ready to go, he was floored by the fact that the bill for all the needed work had been paid in full. The cost was about $180, Gonzalez said. He knew the identity of the young woman, but kept that Christmas secret.

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