Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for July 03, 2024

I can see it coming…. LOL !

JPuzz’s favorite goofballs are on their way…

Doesn’t Walt’s homeowner insurance cover that?

For those who wondered how Joel and Rufus stay in business.

Way too much. I had a 100 foot tall pine tree taken down and hauled off for 2,000 dollars. The stump grinding cost another 800.

$7,000 to get rid of the tree?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rufus and Joel stopping bye pretty soon.

Was it a sequoia tree?

‘JRB’ Enterprises would happily accept that job for $70 and full jug!

And they would SELL the massive amount of wood they are OFFERING to haul away. Cut up only. See how much that trims off the bill if any.

So it’s Joel and Rufus, then.

Clearly a setup for another Joel and Rufus storyline.

It cost half that to get a big tree off my roof last year.

From today’s Comics Curmudgeon:

I really appreciate the visual storytelling here. As this tree guy says “$7,000,” he’s pointing to the part of his estimate where “$7,000” has been helpfully printed in a large, bold font, which tells us that not only is Walt’s hearing aid acting up, but he needs a new glasses prescription as well.

After storms, the scammers come out. Worse than black flies.

He gets a big down payment,takes off the dark glasses and false beard, and slithers off into the sunset/

Waiting for Becky to kick this phony down the block.

In reality, which has little to do with this strip of course, you always get at least three estimates for this kind of work. It’s not unusual to find one of the bids to be way out of line with others. As noted, this number is pretty high for the work. I think sometimes they take the attitude of, “We’re busy and don’t need this job, but if they want to overpay we’ll do it.”

I had a huge tree very near my house, cut down, removed, and the stump ground down for $2,000. They brought a crane because the branches were hanging over the roof of the house and the garage. Granted, this may have been ten years ago, but $7,000 to remove a tree that is already down, seems quite high.