First off, I apologize to Chop Shop Diesel as I intended to have this written before now, and well, things were going good and I forgot. We all do that sometimes, don’t we? Nonetheless, I do apologize for not letting you know about these fantastic people before now.
So we were driving toward Ocean Springs, just past Hattiesburg and our check-engine light had been on for a minute, but all seemed well – until it wasn’t. We had reached some hilly areas and the truck was struggling to pull the 5th wheel to the top. Then, it didn’t pull it up, it lost power rapidly, but Dave was able to get over to the shoulder where we lost power altogether. No smoke, no overheating, her giddy up just got up and went. Bad day, but it could have been much worse.
I get the phone out and Google “Diesel Repair near me” and call the first on the list. It’s Friday afternoon. Good Friday afternoon and I knew it was going to be hard to find someone willing to come out and take a look. The first place, while super nice, was “covered up” and gave me the name of another place. By this time, the truck was running again. The shop owner also told me if I couldn’t find anyone else, “Worst case scenario” to call him back and he would do what he could.
So I called the place he had recommended. After answering a lot of questions, this man, who again was very nice (love that southern hospitality) said it was probably a fuel filter and it would cost $100 just for him to come out, if he had a filter that would fit it and could fix it on the road. So I said ‘thank you very much” and hung up.
After looking at the map in the direction we were heading, I found the little town of Wiggins and CHOP SHOP DIESEL. Expecting the same song and dance, especially at 3pm on Good Friday, I decided to give them a call anyway.
A very nice lady answered the phone and I told her our dilemma. I must have sounded stressed because she told me to come right on in and they would get us fixed up. I didn’t believe it and planned to spend the night in Wiggins.
About 45 minutes later we rolled into Wiggins and found CHOP SHOP DIESEL. Not a big shop, which in our case, was good, especially as they didn’t seem to lack for business. Plus, I had read the reviews online and was impressed. The tech came out and ran all kinds of diagnostics on the truck and was coming up empty. Finally he told Dave “Let’s take it for a drive.” So they did and the diagnostic indicator confirmed what we had experienced.
Upon bringing it back, the owner suggested we get something to eat at the “Frosty Mug” just down the street while they worked on the truck. We were gone about an hour and had a tasty meal of burgers and shakes. We could see the truck and 5th wheel from our viewpoint at the Frosty Mug. CHOP SHOP DIESEL went to work right away and were done before we even finished. It was the fuel filter and they had the parts needed to get us back on the road in record time. They even gave us a nice discount!
This is a locally owned shop and they stood behind what they told us. They were friendly and fast and the discount was a very nice touch that we didn’t expect. We highly recommend CHOP SHOP DIESEL for your emergency or non-emergency needs, if you happen to be in their area. We don’t think you will find any nicer, more competent people around, who care about you and getting you back on the road.
If you are between Hattiesburg and Gulfport, MS and find your check-engine light on, hurry right on down the highway to Wiggins, MS for top-notch care, but call them first.
Thank you CHOP SHOP DIESEL, the truck is running fine.
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