My old Chevy truck still gets around like a lot of old work trucks do. No need to replace it if it’s running good, passes smog tests and is safe.

But, Heaven forbid anything fails because we are at the mercy of a higher governmental authority; the same one that initiated the seatbelt laws.

My seatbelts once worked great, but after 100,000 miles the center lap belt failed to click, click or click. I tried using a lubricant, hoping it would come back to life.

A short while ago, the passenger side quit. Now all I have is the driver’s side working properly. After calling the dealership, it was obvious this wasn’t going to be an easy matter to resolve.

Because I need the vehicle to get around in, especially after the car developed issues and needs some serious mechanical TLC, I need functioning seatbelts, all of them working.

It used to be in the old days you went to the wrecking yard and wow, what choices and great prices. Any old seatbelt was available in most any color. Not today. They are like finding “hen’s teeth,” as my mother would say.

I called a local dismantler thinking I was talking to the local shop, as it was a local phone number. A guy answered and put me though to another guy who was the sales representative. I explained my plight, needing the seatbelts that go through the bench seat to the floor where they are bolted securely. This part of the seatbelt is the “buckle.” The sales rep said there are two such types in the year vehicle I have, but they stay the same in the next eight years of that model. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?

He even said he had what I needed in the same color I needed. Great, I thought. I paid over the phone and he sent his yard guy to the vehicle to retrieve and send to Redding, what I ordered.

That’s when I asked him where he was located. Stockton was his answer.

Are you sure your guy knows to get the Bendix version of the seatbelt that goes through the seat to the floor. I told him half of the system was fine – just need the double buckle for the center of the seat. He assured me no problem and I trusted his answer.

The next day the order was in will-call in Redding. Well, not exactly. I insisted we open the box and check to be sure all would match. Wrong. I had a beautiful set of shoulder Bendix belts that of course were working fine in my vehicle.

Great, now what do we do? The guy in will-call was apologetic but I was pretty upset.

He assured me they had a vehicle in that yard and if I waited he’d pull them for me right away. I told him color was not an issue, just wanted them to work. About 30 minutes later he came in from the yard with three buckle belts that were a grey color. Awesome! It was close to my blue set.

The next day was Saturday – the only time of the week I could address the relatively simple installation. After all, a socket wrench was all that was required. First of all the nut holding the old belt in place wouldn’t budge no matter how much effort I gave it. Secondly, that was a good thing. I went to double check that the buckle portion would accept the good half. No way, no how was that buckle receiver going to accept it. Guess why? It was not a Bendix but had another name on it. I guess that’s why we consumers must take the bull by the horns and double check everything about any order before we leave the premises.

You can’t trust anybody today. Long story short, this multi-chain shop had their chance. I finally called another local shop that had the buckle belts in a vehicle. They were tan.

After cancelling the third order from the first shop and requesting a refund, I was now headed down the road to get what is promised to work.

Actually, after all of this a good lesson is learned. Pray to God that your seatbelts never fail because after a vehicle has some age on it, you are in trouble. Even the dealers have to do what I do and hope somewhere out in the country there will be a miracle waiting in a wrecking yard.

It’s not getting any easier to repair things at an affordable price, and it depends on availability. So it boils down to supply and demand.

Well the problem is solved, but I was almost to the point of exhaustion just wading through conversation after conversation with the people who are supposed to know what they are doing. We’ve come a long way from horse and buggy. Imagine having seatbelts in a covered wagon.