Willie's Village Auto, Stowe, Vermont

BUMP said the sign, just before the bridge, but there was no S at the end of the word,   so after we carefully went over the first bump, Marash Boy put on the gas, and we hit the second, third, and fourth bump at about 20 miles an hour, leaving us and our front and rear axle shaken up!  We were in the middle of nowhere, so we wended our way back to the lodge, and after asking where to go to check out our badly treated mode of transportation, we were handed a list.  The list included Willie's Village Auto in Stowe.  We telephoned. The nice lady on the other end of the line suggested we come right on over.  But it was 4:45, and as we carefully followed her directions, we found ourselves in the middle of the woods on a dirt road, going straight up the mountain.  Where was Willie's?  And although Marash Boy is averse to asking directions (he had followed, he thought, the directions to the T), because it was a mailman that Marash Girl suggested he ask, Marash Boy agreed, albeit reluctantly.  The mailman suggested we turn around and go back the way we had come; that Willie's was at the bottom of the mountain, at the cross roads, on the left.  But do you think they'll notice we're tourists and take us for a ride, as it were?  Well, answered the mailman, if you drive in there with a BMW and New Jersey license plates, I can't promise.  But what if we drive in there with Massachusetts license plates on a 10 year old Volvo?  50/50, answered the mailman.  But the mailman must never have been to Willie's. Read on to learn why.

Arriving at the crossroads at the bottom of the hill, we found Willie's Village Auto.  We drove in, parked our Volvo, wound our way on foot through the cars (in various states of disrepair) in Willie's lot,  and walked up to the office door.  The door was closed, but the key was in the lock.  Fearing that it was already 5 o'clock, and that the shop was closed, we knocked.  The woman sitting at the desk motioned for us to enter, which we did, greeting her with the words, "The key is in the lock of your door."  "Oh, that's okay," answered the young woman.  "We leave it there so that we won't forget where we put it; folks remind us all day long. . . that way, we could never forget!"  And those words were  the beginning of our hour at Willie's Village Auto. 

The owner, the mechanic, and the woman who managed the front office treated us like family, drove our 10 year old Volvo around, put it up onto the lift, found nothing wrong with the car except for the slightest rattle, and charged us what they usually charge their customers for putting a car up on the lift:  $25.00

So here is a shout, loud and clear, to any of you who may find yourselves in Stowe, Vermont, in an automotive quandary.  Call Willie's Village Auto (802) 253-8552 (100 Weeks Hill Road  Stowe, VT 05672-4114)

They tell it like it is and treat you like neighbors (even if you're from Massachusetts)!