unexpected adventure
Sunday, Feb. 13, 2005 - 1:52 p.m.
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Yesterday morning the husband and I woke up, I made us a nice breakfast, and we proceeded to shower and get ready for the day. We didn�t know what we should do so the plan was just to get in the car and take it from there - sometimes it�s just fun to drive around and get out of the city for a bit. We ended up heading south and decided, as long as we were heading this direction, that we�d go visit my grandparents a mere 60 miles away. So we�re driving along having a good time, good conversation, etc. when finally we arrive at the freeway exit we need. We pull off, pull up to the stop sign, look both ways, attempt to go and THE CAR STALLED! WTF? Every single light in the dashboard display came on and the car was off. After what felt like forever, but was probably only 45 seconds, the car started but lurched out and we just went with it (like we had a choice?) and continued on our merry way. We drove for a few more miles discussing what that possibly could have been as we haven�t been having any car troubles. We arrived in the town of our destination when suddenly every light in the dashboard display came on again and the car completely crapped out - AGAIN! Only this time we had no control over important car features like steering and breaking - thank goodness we were in an small empty town and only going 15-20mph so at most we would have taken out a mailbox. The husband flipped on the hazzards and got out of the car and as he was doing so a girl (who it turns out I know but she didn�t recognize me and I didn�t say anything) pulled up next to us. I assumed, this being a small town, that she had noticed our troubles and was going to ask if we were ok. WRONG! This girl (ok, not really a girl-girl as she�s a year older than me, but still) was all, �didn�t you see me back there?!?� Turns out our car lurching out at the first unexplained car trouble caused us to pull out in front of her and she proceed to, quite firmly, tell us that she had to slam on her breaks and that her Kleenex box had flown from the front seat to the back. The husband apologized and explained that our car was having problems and that it was beyond our control. At this point I assumed she was going to apologize and then ask if we were ok or if we had a cell phone. But no, she opted to lecture my husband in a tone that a mother would use with her misbehaving 4-year-old and said, �well, you�re lucky no one was hurt...maybe you should get your car fixed...ok?� I wanted to smack her but she drove away. Seriously - in the uncomfortable moment of just having had NO CONTROL OVER YOUR CAR the last thing you want is some yappy blonde in your face so I was glad when she finally left. I mean, seriously - it�s not like we were driving recklessly or not paying attention - OUR FUCKING CAR JUST DIED YOU BITCH! Thankfully she was the only nasty person who stopped. Once the bitch was gone (ok, maybe I should cut her a little slack as I�m sure her adrenaline was going just as must as ours was as I�m sure she too thought she was going to be in an accident but that was no excuse to talk to my husband like he was a child) the husband took out the cell phone and called up AAA while walking back a little bit to get the name of the street we were on. Yes, I know this is the town that my grandparents live in but who REALLY knows the street names in small towns - especially when they�re all in Danish? As I mentioned we were in a very small town (population: 368) so within the first two minutes of that bitch being gone FOUR other vehicles stopped to offer assistance and while waiting for the tow truck at least that many more also stopped. So while the husband was on the phone with AAA a car full of nice guys had me put the car in neutral and steer while they pushed the car to the side of the road and out of the curve that our car had died on. AAA might sound like it�s a good thing to have but they�re very selective and very picky about what they will and will not cover. They agreed to send a tow truck but informed us that they only pay for 5 miles of towing - beyond that it�s $2 per mile out of our pockets. Did I mention that we were over 60 miles from home in a small town in the middle of nowhere? We told them to go ahead and send the truck because, well, what else could we do? They told us that someone would be there within the hour and since we were literally 2 blocks from my grandparents house I figured I�d walk over there and at least say hi and let them know that we tried to visit. They were, of course, shocked to see me - especially alone because a) I don�t drive and b) no car pulled up in the driveway. So I explained the whole situation, used their bathroom, took a can of soda, and said my goodbyes. I didn�t wanna leave the husband out by the car by himself because, well, that would have been mean and unfair. So the tow truck guy showed up right on schedule and before he put the car up on the lifty thingy he had the husband try to start up the car so he could listen. He guessed it was the fuel pump as apparently when those are ready to go they just up and croak on ya...that was until he learned that our car has less than 50,000 miles on it. Tow truck guy�s shop was a mere 8 miles away from our location but he flat out told us that getting parts is a problem in that area and that we could end up being stuck there for a few days - fuck that. He offered to look anyway but really, by the time we would have gotten there, unloaded the car, had him look at it and tell us he couldn�t fix it in a timely fashion, and reloaded the car we could be home. So we all got in the truck and started our 67 mile BUMPY ride to Krenzen. The mechanics at Krenzen, of course, don�t work weekends so they just had us leave the car there until they could look at it on Monday (a.k.a. tomorrow). Some of the sales guys took guesses as to what it could be. They suggested things like the electrical system, the alternator, the serpentine belt, and a myriad of other parts basically known as anything in the car. In the meantime we asked if we could arrange to have their courtesy service drive us home or if we should start calling around to see who was available to pick our asses up. We were told that all of their drivers were busy at the moment but we said we had no problem waiting as we could just look around the showroom. The husband and I had mentioned buying a new car sometime in the not too distant future anyway but figured if the repairs for current car aren�t worth it that we might as well just trade it in for what we can get and buy a new car now. So we looked around a little, test drove a few, and found one that we both really liked. Living where we do we had decided long ago that our next vehicle would have all-wheel drive - this one does. And we plan on starting a family not so long from now so it was important that our next vehicle have all the appropriate safety features like LATCH - this one does. We both like that it has all the things we�re looking for without being an SUV - it�s just a normal car with all the right stuff! So I guess it all boils down to what we find out about current vehicle tomorrow. If it�s a simple repair for a couple hundred bucks or less, it�s worth fixing and driving for another year or so. If it comes back that the car is dead and will cost $2,000 to revive? Fuck it, new car it is! But with my luck now that I�m totally in love with this car and falling even harder the more I read about it, I�m pretty sure the mechanic will tell us the car can be fixed for less than $50 and I�ll not have to worry about it... |