I HATE STARLINGS! Now I have ONE MORE reason: Contrary to what Yelp's system told me at the time, pic's I shot of my damaged mirror DID post after all; I'll add more anyway. I've been using this particular Shell station since I don't know when. I save money on a lot of things where I'm willing to settle for "lesser quality", but when it comes to my CAR, that's NOT an area where I scrimp. I'll digress for a minute here, but I have some good advice for ya (don't worry; we'll discuss the mirror): AVOID CHEAP GAS AND OIL! Avoid it like the PLAGUE, if ya ask me. I got over 250,000 miles outta my last "factory" engine, using nothing but Shell gas and Valvoline oil. There ARE other good brands of GAS, just stay away from the "cheap" stuff, cuz it's not necessarily cheap, if it fu*ks up your engine! "Brand name" gas is less likely to contain contaminants, water, etc. A few cents/gallon more is WAY less expensive than replacing your engine. I ALWAYS use the SAME gas station when I'm in town, and if out-of-town, ALWAYS the same Brand Name (in my case, Shell). That way, if you ever DO get a "bad tankful", you'll know EXACTLY who to blame. ALWAYS get a receipt, and ALWAYS hang onto it, at least 'til ya fill up again. There are other good brands of OIL too; "regular" oil is pretty good, ya don't hafta spend big bucks on "blends" or "pure synthetic" oil (though you don't have to change 'em as often, so they're really NOT more expensive if ya look at it that way). But DO avoid the "Pennsylvania" oils, such as that "Quaker" brand, or that "Penn" (z)oil one; they have a HIGH PARAFFIN content, which can cause VARINSHING in your cylinders (bad). Or, DON'T listen to me, I don't care! Back to the matter at hand: So I take myself out to Applebee's on Christmas Day (this is NOT Applebee's fault, btw). There WERE other parking spaces, a little farther away, & I DON'T mind walking a bit more (hell, I need the exercise). AND I've lived in Austin long enough to KNOW you DON'T park under a tree! What does "idiot" Larry do? Yup, I did! I have a nice dinner, & when I walk out, I HEAR the Starlings ("cockroaches of the sky") before I even look at my car. I already KNOW what I'm gonna see: BIRD SHIT! Fortunately, they missed the paint; it was all on the glass, so I know it can wait awhile. Otherwise (if on the paint) it would have been an IMMEDIATE trip to the car wash. If ya wait, it doesn't come off at all, except with a lot of elbow grease. If you have a WHITE car (I do), it'll eat right through the clear coat, and stain the paint if ya don't get if off right away! So today, I fill up at my "regular" Shell station, & I go through the car wash, one I've used literally probably FIFTY TIMES or more, with no problem. "Uh, Shell, we have a PROBLEM!!!" Just as soon as the brushes hit my mirror, it just plain BROKE! I didn't even wait for the cycle to finish; as soon as the brushes got to the rear of the car, I drove out; otherwise, it would've gotten torn completely off. I went inside and talked to "Tank", who says he's the Owner, and he starts to point out the "WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE" sign, and I explain I've been through the car wash many times before, with no problems. He's offered to make good on the repair, at least to some degree. He said he'd replace it himself (NOT gonna happen; I have a good mechanic). I'm gonna look for the replacement part myself, and he gave me every impression HE'S gonna look from his end. It's an older car, so parts can be hard to find (he'll find that out when he starts looking). But I "have a guy" who can find practically ANYTHING, regardless of age of vehicle. If ya ever get stumped, let me know; I'll be glad to turn ya on to him. I'm posting this, in part, so I'll have a PUBLIC RECORD of the incident, but this is also a cautionary tale. I think, from now on, I'll be using those "touchless" car washes, ya know? So, since it's a Friday, it'll be good ol' DUCT TAPE for the weekend; I'll keep ya posted on how the repair goes, and what I wind up with in the way of reparations. One more piece of advice: NEVER take those "We are not responsible" signs at face value! If you incur damage, COMPLAIN! If you're one of those meek souls who can't bring yourself to do it, call ME! I DON'T enjoy it, but when the need arises, I'm GOOD at it, and more often than not, I get RESULTS. Remember, you are a YELPER, and we ALL have yer back! The "TWO-STAR" rating may change, but I'm already hacked that they can't seem to EVER fill up their windshield station with WATER or TOWELS for seemingly WEEKS at a time, so this is just adding to my frustration. Pretty SAD, when you're surprised those times when they DO have water. But these days, anyone who expects anything else but GAS from a "gas station" is crazy. That's why they don't call 'em "Service Stations" any more. Let me say it one more time: I FU*KING HATE STARLINGS! (Not too fond of car washes today, either!) :-/ larrythediner . read more