My Toyota Prius has the annoying habit of reminding me when the car is due for maintenance. The dashboard throws up a message that says “Maintenance Required”, blocking the fuel efficiency gauges I’m used to seeing daily. This could be something very serious. Like the boy who cried wolf, I may in time become immune to these warnings. Since it happened at the 5,000 mile mark, and because maintenance is free for the first 25,000 miles, I made an appointment at the dealership. I had to wait outside for about half an hour for a service manager to become available. Once the paperwork was done, I was assured that the service would be a top priority rush. He threw in a complimentary car wash to make up for my wait outside.
The waiting area had a flat screen TV, couches, tables and even a cafe. This is a brand new Toyota Dealership and no expense was spared. I started to sketch the Toyota Camry parked in the dealership lobby. Sales agents all had on red polo shirts. I sketched quickly. Before I was done, my service manager let me know that my car was ready. That was fast!