Is there such a thing as a competent/honest mechanic anymore?

We just found out today we’ve sunk well over thousand dollars into a car that won’t ever run again.

My wife got a tune-up and had the brakes and window motor fixed last month so we could close it and drive the damn thing in the coming North Dakota winter.

Then the damn thing broke down in a town about 40 miles east of here. Fortunately it was in front of a garage. How convenient.

Turns out it needed a new fuel pump. Bummer, another $350-$500. More than the Chevy Lumina is worth, but what the hell, we already put $500 in it to fix the window, and Obama’s Cash for Clunkers program has resulted in a shortage of decent cheap beaters, so…

Well they replaced the fuel pump – but it was still running kind of ragged. They said the oil was old and cruddy. OK, change the oil and filter.

Then they did a compression check. The cylinders are shot. The motor is junk.

IS THERE ANY FREAKKIN’ REASON NOBODY THOUGHT TO DO THIS BEFORE WE SUNK THE GODDAM MONEY INTO THAT PIECE OF $#!+

UPDATE: The last garage very nicely waived all fees for work and parts and took the van off our hands. Bless them, that’s better than I hoped for. Which still leaves the question of how the last place we had a tuneup done didn’t catch the problem. Cylinders don’t go kaput overnight and you’d think after a tuneup the car was still running ragged they’d think to ask why, or at least recomment you look into it.