“He burns pasta.”
Jason said:
“Thank you.”
Evelyn smiled.
“I have a proposition.”
“That sounds expensive.”
“It is.”
“Go ahead.”
“I want you to audit our fleet repairs.”
Silence.
“How many?”
“Ninety-three active.”
“How many historical?”
“About two hundred over six years.”
“That's not a small job.”
“I know.”
“I run a three-bay garage.”
“I know.”
“You want me to shut down customer work?”
“No.”
“I want analysis.”
“Records.”
“Parts histories.”
“Replacement patterns.”
Jason turned off something sizzling.
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything that doesn't make mechanical sense.”
“That is extremely broad.”
“Three hundred fifty dollars an hour.”
Silence.
Chloe whispered loudly:
“Say yes.”
Jason sighed.
Evelyn laughed.
He asked:
“What authority?”
“Complete fleet records.”
“Vendor invoices?”
“Yes.”
“Telematics?”
“Yes.”
“Original diagnostic logs?”
“If we have them.”
“What if I disagree with your staff?”
“I expect you to.”
“What if I disagree with you?”
“I'd rather know.”
He was quiet.
Then:
“No editing my findings.”
“Agreed.”
“No executive summary written by somebody else changing the meaning.”
“Agreed.”
“Access to drivers when needed.”
“Within reason.”
“Then yes.”
Chloe cheered.
Jason said:
“You are not getting a pony.”
“I didn't ask!”
“You were thinking it.”
Evelyn smiled after the call ended.
She had not smiled much since Fifth Avenue.
The audit began Monday.
By Wednesday, Jason found the first anomaly.
Hartwell had replaced the transmission in a three-year-old executive SUV eighteen months earlier.
Cost: $26,400.
Jason requested the removed unit.
Gone.
Core returned.
He requested fluid-analysis documentation.
None.
Diagnostic logs showed a low-voltage fault before transmission communication errors.
The battery had been replaced three days later.
Jason called Evelyn.
“Transmission probably wasn't bad.”
“Probably?”
“I can't prove it without the old unit.”
“Next.”
A service van received a complete differential replacement.
Jason found a wheel-speed sensor fault appearing first.
Another sedan received a $17,000 electrical harness.
The original complaint began after water intrusion in a single connector.
An executive coupe had its turbochargers replaced.
Two months later, the same fault returned and was solved by replacing a boost-pressure sensor.
Jason built a spreadsheet.
Vehicle.
Complaint.
Dealer diagnosis.
Repair cost.
Independent probable cause.
Disposition of removed components.
Salvage buyer.
Patterns emerged.
Expensive assemblies replaced when cheap electronic components could plausibly explain symptoms.