Yeah, the notepad trick is solid. I started doing the same thing but on my phone notes app. Lets me take a quick picture of their truck, type a line about the noise, and save their contact. Then I text them a link to a good video or forum thread the next day. It gets me off the hook for an instant diagnosis and they still feel helped. Honestly, half the time they never follow up anyway, they just wanted to vent about it in the moment.

@the_blair's point about leather cracking hit home, my uncle had similar trouble with his fishing waders. They'd go from flexible to brittle after storage, no matter how he cleaned them. Sometimes the gear made for the job isn't as tough as it claims to be.