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the ocean always dreamed blue dreams

My no good, terrible, very bad day

Rating: 2 votes, 5.00 average.
15 Comments
by
qimissung
, 04-02-2010 at 12:22 AM (2916 Views)
Yesterday I was on my way someplace when my car died.

Fortunately it died just as I was approaching a Home Depot, so I was able to quickly pull into their parking lot with the last little bit of momentum that the car had.

It was then I discovered that I had left my cell phone at home. Curses! So I walked into the store and they very kindly let me use their phone to call, yes, you guessed it, AAA. They were very nice and sent a tow truck directly out. It arrived about 50 minutes later, which gave me enough time to walk over to the ubiquitous McDonald's and grab a coffee and something to eat.

The tow truck guy thought my car was working at first, and I was afraid I was going to have to experience a "D'oh!" moment, which would have been fine, because I could have then driven on my merry way. But it was not to be. When I got in the car, it was no longer on, and when I turned it on, it immediately died. So he towed me a few miles away to a car place I had used once or twice, and that he swore by. "I don't let anybody touch my cars except JP," he said.

Good to know.

I got there around 10:30 a.m., and around 12:30 they came out and told me that they had good new and bad news. The bad news was that the computer part of my car was no longer working. The good part was that it was still under warranty. O frabjious day! "Be careful," JP said. They may try to get out of it." Big surprise there.

So I called the Toyota place and they sent over a tow truck and we headed out again.The tow truck driver looked over at me. "This is my first day on the job," he said. "Really?" I asked. "What did you do before this?" "Oh I tended bar and did some other things," he replied. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Do you believe me?" he asked. "Why wouldn't I?" He laughed. "No, I'm just kidding you. I've been doing this for over twenty years."

Turns out he has fish. Three giant fish tanks with tropical fish and he's going to Oklahoma to get a giant saltwater fish tank. He wants to acquire some salt water fish.

He dropped me off at Toyota and I made my acquaintance with their waiting room. It was larger than the other one I'd spent the morning in, but it didn't have any magazines. Drat. I'd whiled away the morning with several year-old People magazines. The picture of little Suri Cruise in tiny heels was a high point. This place had one Self magazine and a TV that was showing parts of different shows. It was like opening a large shiny refrigerator only to find one limp celery and a carrot. One show was "Big Bang Theory" so that was OK. It was the episode where one of them is trying to impress the blond girl with his expertise in football and another mentions his selective mutism. So I had a good laugh and that made the day infinitely better. I was getting thoroughly sick of those small uncomfortable chairs, by that point, and I ached all over form doing nothing.

So, I had gotten to the Toyota place around 2 p.m. They came in to see me around 4 p.m. They'd figured out it was the computer and they told me it was under warranty. So I wasn't going to have to pay the $600 to $900 dollars that that would have cost. I did a celebratory dance inside my head while the other shoe dropped. "But while we were under there," the man said, "we found something else." "Of course you did," I thought sourly. "Come with me," the Toyota guy said briskly, so I did.

He and another guy (they shall remain anonymous, mainly because I didn't bother to get their names) showed me...something...apparently my brakes were leaking, and they wouldn't feel safe letting me drive off the lot.What choice did I have? The taller guy was nice enough to call around and get some cheaper parts, cutting the price from $600 to $400.

And when they finished at 5:30 they got another guy to drive me to the nearest branch of my bank to withdraw some money from my savings so I could pay their exorbitant rates. I had some money in my regular bank account. Just not quite enough. This driver was a nice young guy. He and his family had moved here from New York City after 9/11. His mother had thought they would move back, but they never did.

So now the money I had set aside to pay my homeowner's insurance is gone, and what money I have left I was trying to save for my son's birthday, but I was able to drive off the lot with my car. Hallelujah!

Actually, it's not so dire. I haven't done my taxes yet (that's on the calendar for
next week) and I should get something back from that.

So I won't be able to spend money on all those little things that I don't really need, the coffee, the candy bar.

I'm alive, I have a car, and the people I most love are safe. Life is good.

Even if it is supposed to rain like crazy tomorrow. At least I won't have to walk.


Updated 04-02-2010 at 09:24 AM by qimissung

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Comments

  1. applepie's Avatar
    I hope today will be better for you Qimi. Broken cars never come at a convenient time, and why is it that something necessary for so many people in the U.S. cost such a bloody fortune to fix? I threaten to roll mine down a hill on fire at least once a month or so. Much Love, Meg
  2. Virgil's Avatar
    So wait, Qimi, you're brake fluid was leaking? How old is the car? Was the resovoir with the brake fluid low? That sounds a little unusual for a car who's computer is still under warrentee and the brake fluid to be leaking. Did you feel the brakes requiring a more aggressive push on the pedal? I've had cars over ten years old where the brake fluid never leaked a drop.

    Well, I hope today is better. Cars are a money pit.
  3. qimissung's Avatar
    Thank you Meg and Virgil.

    Virgil, my car is only five years old. That's what makes me so angry. Last year at exactly this tme I paid $600 to have my brakes redone. But that was my fault. I had not had the pads replaced or probably done the proper maintenance.

    It's a Toyota, and ergonomically I like it better than my old Honda, but I keep having to do stuff to it that I never had to do for my Honda.

    And you are so right, Meg. That thought keeps running through my head. Because you know the mark-ups on the parts are really steep. It shouldn't be so difficult. I would love a shorter commute, but I also like my job, my co-workers, my students. It's difficult.

    Thank you both for your kind thoughts.
  4. Virgil's Avatar
    Qimi, what did they do last year for $600 and not have the pads replaced? And I'm not sure that would be related to brake fluid leaking. We should ask Skib. He might know. Hopefully he'll see this.
  5. PrinceMyshkin's Avatar
    I did not know until now that you were a practicing goofball! But although your experiences were dire and expensive, your way of presenting them was very funny.
  6. qimissung's Avatar
    I don't think there was any connection between the brake work I had to have done last year and the brake work I had to have done this year, Virgil. I'm just mightily annoyed that I have had to spend such large amounts on the brakes in two consecutive years.

    I think I could have prevented last years problem; maybe they replaced the pads. Apparently I haven't kept the paperwork. But I think if I had done a better job of maintenance then maybe I wouldn't have had such a major problem with my brakes last year. I don't know if I could have done anything about the brake fluid leaking.

    I try to have the oil changed every three months or so. I guess I need to have the transmission fluid changed. It's so annoying because I don't quite have the money for these things, yet not taking care of them would have drastic consequences.
  7. qimissung's Avatar
    Thank you, Prince. Since that was my intention, I'm glad you found them so.
  8. dizzydoll's Avatar
    Better safe than sorry. I love your picture, nice neighborhood. Happy Easter. :auto:
  9. qimissung's Avatar
    Thank you, dizzy. It is a nice neighborhood, but it isn't my neighborhood! I found this on Google images. Ever since I learned how to include pictures on my blog, I have done so at every possible opportunity.

    And a Happy Easter to you.
  10. mtpspur's Avatar
    I'm very suspicious of those 'brake' jobs and the cure to that would be--towed to another place for a second opinion--maybe a Midas dealer or something. But that was hard earned experience. Great entry.
  11. qimissung's Avatar
    Well, I was at the Toyota dealership, since the original reason for being there was to have the car's computer fixed and it was, thankfully, still under warranty. They brought me out to show me the place where it was leaking.

    Normally I would not even consider having any work done at a dealership, Rich, as I have found them to be incredibly expensive, but at this point it was late in the day, and I really needed my car back. Other than that, you are absolutely right.
  12. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    Sounds like a miserable day, but at least it is over now. And you still have your sense of humour and optimism so that is a good thing.

    Cars huh? That's why I drive a bicycle
  13. qimissung's Avatar
    You are obviously the smarter person, Fifth. I actually own a bicycle. The problem is that Dallas is not a bicycle-friendly city. I have read letters to the editor on a regular basis about some poor cyclist almost getting hit by a car. Or actually getting hit by the car. Drivers here do not think bicyclists should share the road with them.

    And other than being an expensive day, things could not have worked out better.
  14. DanielBenoit's Avatar
    Oh I'm sorry qimi what a pain in the ***! Well, at least it's over.

    Things have been going surprisingly smooth with my sister's car insurance after the crash (I am about certain you read my blog). As a matter of fact, she just got a new used car for around six-thousand, most which was covered by the money from the insurance. A wicked deal considering what good shape the ten year old car is in.
  15. qimissung's Avatar
    I'm glad for her. At least insurance works some of the time.