Spencer Solves It: Search for auto repair shop to help struggling single mother with engine trouble

HOUSTON – In the gritty, blue-collar town of La Porte, Texas, where hard work is a proud tradition, Raquel Aguillon has been working hard her entire life in a whole host of different jobs.

Her goal has always been to provide a comfortable home for her five children whom she has raised singlehandedly, ever since she left an abusive marriage.

Raquel said she still remembers the final attack that pushed her to finally leave her husband.

“I was 4 1/2 months pregnant with my youngest daughter Madison, when he punched me in the stomach, while the baby was inside me. I mean I was pregnant,” Raquel said.

Since then, Raquel said she has dedicated herself to working hard and raising her five beautiful children.

“They are the most important thing in life,” Raquel said.

She has worked at petrochemical plants, she drove a school bus for 10 years and she has driven shuttle vans to transport people.

But five months ago, that legacy of going to work every day came to a screeching, halt.

Raquel lost her job as a personal driver for an elderly Houston woman due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was devastated because God has brought me so far. Now, without a job it’s devastating. Going a week without pay hurts. A month without pay, forget about it and now it’s going on five months with no pay,” Raquel said.

To add insult to injury, two months ago the engine on Raquel’s 2008 Chevy Cobalt gave out, so she has had zero transportation.

When she had the car towed to a dealership and had it inspected, she was told that the engine was shot and the cost to replace it would be just over $5,000.

“I don’t know what to say, I need a car to get a job, so I can get to and from where we need to go, you know”, Raquel said.

Already struggling mightily just to pay her normal bills, Raquel said there was no way she could even come close to paying for the cost of that new engine.

So that’s when Raquel decided to contact Spencer Solves It.

“The cost is just too great this time around for me. I can’t do it on my own, let alone not having any income coming in since COVID-19 hit,” Raquel said.

Now, the Spencer Solves It team is working on finding a trustworthy, honest, auto repair shop to donate both a new engine and their labor costs to give Raquel a new engine.

We haven’t solve her problem yet, but we are working on it diligently.

For a woman who has worked so long and so hard, we think at Spencer Solves It think it is high-time someone step-up and help her out for a change.

We hope to have new engine installed in Raquel’s car within the next 4 weeks.


About the Author:

Emmy-winning investigative reporter, insanely competitive tennis player, skier, weightlifter, crazy rock & roll drummer (John Bonham is my hero). Husband to Veronica and loving cat father to Bella and Meemo.