Mechanical

Put a broken computer in front of me, and it's pretty clear to me whats wrong with it, what can be done to fix it, and I'll get it done for you.

Put a broken piece of software that I'm familiar with, and I'll do the same.

Put a broken engine, or something mechanical in front of me, and I'll just stare at you blankly. I'm not much of a mechanically minded person.

It's why I bought extended warranties for both my cars. It's why I still drive to the dealership for their service every 5000 miles or so (of course, their prices are competitive, they are very personable and have yet to give me cause for complaint, which is why I go back).

When I bought my ride on mower (a John Deere LA120), for some reason I never really thought about servicing or mechanical mainenance. I didn't when I bought my push mower, and it's doing just fine. But of course, a $2000 mower is a little different.

So when the LCD on the mower starts yelling "service! service!" I figure, how hard can it be?

Hard, apparantly. Checking the service manuals out, and reading around, it's not something for the non mechanical to take much part in. oil changes, blade sharpening, belt and bolt tightening.

So I gave the nice guys at John Deere a call, and they do me a good price on a service plan - a couple of on site servicings in a year, and an extra year on my warrantie. Can't argue with that! Now I just need to remember to park it under the deck on the day they come, so I don't have to give them access to the garage.

Wish I could justify a cart for it now.