How About a GOOD Dominican Story ???

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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I think I posted this a couple of years ago, but since we seem to be in the middle of RD bashing - yet again - Allow me to attempt a change of direction.

This will please some - not others.

My Jeep won't start.... starts and dies almost immediately.

I keep an army of mechanics on standby... heavy work, electrical work, body/paint work.
Heavy man is the closest... Big Biceps - aka Muscles the Mechanic

He gets the call.....

Diagnosis is a fuel pump failure... he proceeds to remove the gas tank
Remember my Spanish only works in certain limited areas.... auto mechanics not being one.

This is accomplished in my garage.. the removal.
Muscles has no trouble lowering the tank to the ground and removing the pump.
"Rota"..... he'll get a new one in Santiago by tomorrow.

So - stuck... no car, nada

When he returns the next day - he's no dummy, in spite of the biceps,,,,,,,,,, he brings his brother to ayuda him.

Now that brother -- he got the brains from the family.
Siphon the tank for the reinstall... much harder than the deconstruct.
I'm starting to like this guy

I am shown the new fuel pump box.. not remanufactured, neuva bomba.

In she goes and all is well....perfecto
we all shake hands - I pay.

Wifey and I are happy to be released and back on the the road again
Sunset/cocktail cruise to La Entrada and then back to RSJ for dinner.

Celebratory dinner, wobble out just after 9PM... dark and empty on the streets.


No Go Joe.....Jeep starts , stops all over again...... Muscles will be dead soon.
I call him -- no problema.... mi hermano will come.

He comes - I suggest leaving the car as is on the street in nice ,safe, sweet, little RSJ.....
no way..... he fetches something to tow me.

Towed to his house..... its now after 10pm..... get me home.?!!!

We start to get the RD hospitality treatment... invited in, rum, blah, blah , blah
We squirm out of it as best we can

He needs the girlfriend to drive -- most mechanics have no car, or its broken.... fact of life, anywhere in the world.

She and he drive us to Cabrera..... them drinking rum ... offering us a sip every time they have one.

Now , I happen to be a rolling soft liquor store... beer/wine at the ready 24/7/365.

I'm fine in the back seat...I have inventory

They drop us off and disappear.

Having no car - not even in the garage - is a weird feeling, to say the least ---trapped.

They call the next afternoon.... all ready... we'll deliver in 20 minutes.


Car arrives.... they explain what happened - they pinched a little bit of tubing, creating a leak.
Needless to say the repair is totally Dominican.. I'm sure that little hose is a bit shorter than the original...
but.........
It still works today - 2 yrs later


I offer to pay..... Chofer trip RSJ to Cabrera (2x) and the 2nd repair

No,gracias.......... we didn't fix it right the first time... our fault.... no charge!!!!


How's that for a nice experience and a good RD story??

Can somebody share another GOOD interaction??


Watch this deteriorate...... one Mississippi, two Mississippi
 

rogerjac

Bronze
Feb 9, 2012
1,382
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83
Ok you wanted to know. Radiator sprung a leak and I took it to the rad specialist. Preasure tested it and sure enough there was a leak down the left side midway down. Takes it out of the car and procedes to dismantle it. Off comes the top tank (its not soldered. has gasket and preasure claps.) flushes the rad, cleans top tank and then repairs the leak in the rad and finally puts it back together and into the car. Worked fine for a couple days then I noticed a water spot in the marqesina after a hot day and a little city driving. I took it back to him about a week after and he again removes the rad after a preasure test revealed that the tank was leaking where he had dismantaled it. Well he proceeds to fix it and it needs a new gasket so he says. I say fine do it. After it was all done he says that this repair will be 1000 pesos and I remind him that he took it apart the first time for no reason since the original leak was in the rad and not the tank. Since he took it upon himself to do that it was his responsibility and under a 30 day warranty. Also if he would have preasure tested it after the first repair he would have seen the leak he caused. Anyway because he put in a new gasket I gave him 500 pesos and so far it is holding
 

bermyboy

Bronze
Dec 13, 2007
775
1
0
My truck had a crack in the top on the radiator for a few months me being lazy just kept putting water in it and planned on fix it myself with some JB weld this week. Anyway I lend the truck to my father in law last Sunday and he told me I need to get it fixed I said I know I know he says he will take it and get fixed I said nah Ill do it. Anyway Tuesday I come from the gym my truck is gone and his car is parked there so i assumed he has taken it to get fixed and I and glad he did. He comes back about 5 hours later the radiator is fixed been flushed and clean the thermostat had to be replaced as well engine bay cleaned up whole truck washed and cleaned. He shows me the parts that where replaced and I asked how much and he wont tell me and says its a gift. He wont even tell my wife how much it cost!!
 

vida

New member
Mar 18, 2010
122
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I recently loaned 10000 pesos to a working young dominican at no interest. He paid it back in two months. He needed the money to repair a truck that he uses in his work.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,069
6,216
113
South Coast
Mr. AE has a cousin who lives and works in SD. We're close to him, he's the only one with keys to our house. It's mostly because he loves it out at the beach, and the rest of the family is indifferent. Long story short, he called us a couple of months before we were flying down there, to tell us not to rent a car, that he had bought a new car and it was ours for as long as we were in the country [only a month this time].

We drove a pristine Lexus RX350 all over DR, gorgeous car. The cousin? Took publicos for a month.

How many Americans would do that for a cousin? I know I wouldn't.
 

rafael

Bronze
Jan 2, 2002
1,633
28
48
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www.dr-tourist.tv
I had a good experience last night. Was walking around colonial zone and heard live music coming from Casa De teatro. Paid 200 pesos each entrada. Band was very good, playing original rock en espanol tunes. 1 am I ask for bill. 800 pesos. I put 1000 pesos in. I figured I would leave the waiter 100 pesos. He was good but 200 pesos would be 25%, likely on top of 10%. . . lol.

Everyone was paying check at same time as they were closing. I wanted to go out and wait for taxi so said to novia, forget the change, let's go. We were outside maybe 5 minutes waiting for taxi.

The waiter came outside and found us to give us change! My novia almost fell down. Good kid. I took 100 pesos and left him 100. I will request him every trip to that bar and hook him up.
 

cjp2010

New member
Mar 25, 2013
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Awesome story. A while ago I had a pickup and one of the tires went flat. Seems simple. Jack the SOB up and take the tire off. Well, the last guy must have put the lug nuts on with an air wrench because they were not budging. I think let's tow it. I'm in a Dominican neighborhood so I call my son in law (at that time I wasn't married so he was just my gf's kid). Before he arrives a fellow I'd seen a few times and played pool with offered to help Soon thereafter he realized the same as I did and said I needed a hammer. I agreed. He had one. so I was ready to start cracking that tire iron with the hammer myself but he wouldn't let me. About 15 minutes later my son in law arrived and I told the guy we would tow it but he kept at it. The tire came off after about 45 minutes. I offered to pay, buy a beer, anything. He didn't want anything more than a bottle of water after cracking a tire iron with a hammer for 45 minutes.
 
Oct 13, 2003
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instagram.com
It's late afternoon; I'm driving back to Gaspar Hernandez from POP

Just before GH (more or less in front of the Las Canas Police post) I have a blow-out. I call my Brother-in-Law (BIL). BIL tells me to park the car at the police station and call me from there so he can talk to the police.

Meanwhile a guy on a moto stops and tells me he'll help me turnt he car around. I slowly turn the car while he directs traffic; little as it is but we're right behind a bend in the road in the dusk, so it's good to have someone looking out for you.

We drive to the police post, where the cop on duty looks incredulous then talks to my BIL, who is a local judge. Eyes turn bright, he nods.. car can remain parked under vigilancia of the NP...BIL tells me to secure paperwork and valuables and to leave DR$50 with the PN for dinner... moto guy also knows BIL and offers me a ride to his place.. I hop on the back and get delivered to the front door, when I offer him something for gas he tells me no.. but he'll take a fria next time we meet up...

So, what could be an unfortunate experience, stranded in the DR countryside after a blowout was quickly and very nicely resolved
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
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I bought a vehicle from a guy in SD. He spoke English perfectly and we went through the sales process together and got the car title in my name. He is also affliliated with a rental car company out near the airport and I have sent him some business from time to time. Last season when I left to go back to the States I asked him if I could leave my car in the gated rental lot. He said know problem and that someone would meet me at the airport to pick up the car. Great guy. Car is safe, no charge!!!!

LTSteve
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
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We're bucking the trend here -- swimming upstream -- keep it up.

I lost the rear view mirror -passenger side - from a rental vehicle years ago. Just east of Cabarete.
Within minutes I had 4 helpers looking for it...... found ! 100 p to the winner.

I took the car to the local glass guy in Cabrera who replaced the glass.... just bathroom mirror, not "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" mirror.
It was a 'while u wait' repair.... rapido

He insisted on no charge..... saved my keyster with the rental company.

I could keep going....... but why don't you all continue.


We'll know we're winnimg when Criss Cologne chimes in........ that will be the day hell freezes over.
 

jabejuventus

Bronze
Feb 15, 2013
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One day around 2-3 years ago, I had invited my siblings and their fams to visit some land we had inherited in the Higuey area. Except for one, all the sibs were of PR parents born and raised in NYC. The exception was born in PR, but also raised in NYC. Pre-existing cultural prejudices combined with the problem-laden history of our dad's time in the DR to form anti-DR biases and apprehensions that varied within the individuals in the group. I was somewhat less affected, although I've never completely been cured (I met and married my Dominican wife in NYC and had traveled the DR extensively previously).

We holed up in Casa del Mar, Bayahibe. We left the hotel for Higuey in two cars (rented @ SDQ) early on the day of our visit to the property. We spent most of the daylight hours on our land until I decided to head back. I thought to impress my group by stopping in beautiful Boca de Yuma to eat and enjoy the view and ambiance. It turned dark before we began the trek back from the road connecting the coastal town to the main road that would lead us back to Bayahibe.

Although I knew the road out was filled w/potholes, I thought I could navigate it w/o incident. I was driving too fast. Both cars hit a hole. I heard 3 pops (tire blowouts). I had 2 blowouts, the other car had 1, and there were only 2 spares. The math screamed out. We were leaving from SDQ the next day so were immediately concerned w/the question of whether this incident would compromise the timely and long drive back into the airport. Clouds had set in and with no road lights it was really dark (nothing but campo tall grass on either side of the road). My sister's husband, another Nuyorican, shouted out "we're f____d."

Long story short, the first car that came by, in not too long a time I may add, stopped to help. The male driver was accompanied by a female. He immediately assessed the situation and proposed a solution. The 2 spares would be used for the car with the 2 blowouts and that car would leave to Bayahibe w/my wife and the more timid of the group. The gentleman offered his spare for the car w/1 blowout and suggested a drive back to the "gomerio" in Higuey with the hope that they would still be open. The plan was then to return his spare, fix the 3 blown tires, and then head back. We got to the gomerio in plenty of time. The gentleman's spare was returned. I thanked him and asked how much I should pay him. He said nothing. I offered a tip. He wouldn't take it.

I got back to the hotel and shared the outcome. We were all taken aback. This singular incident had a greater impact on tempering our worldview of DR than any number of volumes of rhetoric could have. While we remain cautious, we are more realistic; after all, we are from NYC, and anyone that knows about the town knows that problems are not exclusive to any geographical location.
 
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william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
Good one.....My wife and her friend were headed for the SDQ airport early one morning... the friend driving.

This friend is a slowpoke..... no gas in the car at 6am........
No problem... stop at the bomba and have the watchman call the gas pumper...... he comes fills and they're on their way.


Try that another place in the world..................
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
Took a beautiful teenage Dominican prostitute to a "Cabana".
Left my money in my other pants.
She gave me great sex for free.
What a country!
Another "Dominican Fairy Tale"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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granca

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Aug 20, 2007
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A refreshing and enjoyable collection of tales, makes a nice change from the usual type on this forum.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
Took a beautiful teenage Dominican prostitute to a "Cabana".
Left my money in my other pants.
She gave me great sex for free.
What a country!
Another "Dominican Fairy Tale"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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