After fiddling with the dipstick for a few minutes we walked up to the used car dealership and asked to use the phone.

"Are you having car problems?  Do you need a mechanic?"

"We really just need to use your phone."

"We have a mechanic here.  He's really good."

"That's okay, could we just use your phone?"

"Why don't you let him have a look?"

"What will that cost us?"

"It won't cost anything to look at it."

"Well, I guess..."

The "mechanic" came out and asked for the key.  I handed him the one and only original VW key that came with the bus.  He proceeded to get in the bronco, put the VW key in the ignition and...   snap!  he broke  the VW key off in the ignition of the bronco. Great.  Now we had two cars that weren't going anywhere.  You're probably wondering why we didn't stop him before he put the key in the ignition.  I've wondered that myself all these years.  Firstly, I think that I assumed he was going to try and use the bronco to jump the bus.  We'd already had battery problems;  It seemed logical for him to start with the simple things.  Secondly, I don't like used car dealers.  In general, they're a little to slick for my tastes.  It was impossible for me to believe that a used car dealer would offer free assistance to a weary traveler in need.  I suspected ulterior motives.  I suspected that they were going to try to cheat us somehow.  What better candidates than a kid and his mother who didn't know any better than to drive a car with no oil in it.  We had the "mechanic" pegged as an idiot before he ever reached the car.  I think I let him make the mistake knowing it would be a good defense against being cheated.  How could anyone try to rip us off if it was blatently obvious that he was as dumb as a box of rocks?  But, I digress.  After the key broke off the used car dealers let us use their phone.  Meanwhile the mechanic disassembled the ignition and got the broken key out.  My step dad came and picked us up and we had the bus towed to my brother in law's tire store where it sat for a few weeks.  Fortunately a locksmith was able to cut a new key from the broken original.  But the story doesn't end here...

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