Its been one of those weeks. You know, thooooose weeks. In my last post, I lamented about the struggles of the single life, along with the anxiety that goes along with unintentionally purchasing Satan's retired car. He was smart to trade that sucker in. I was a sucker enough to buy it after he had had his way with it. After getting home on Friday evening, I was pretty certain that things had to look up the following day. I mean, if for no other reason than the fact that it was Saturday. .......Right?
After safely arriving at the garage post getting pulled over on the way, I was sure to mark very specifically on the little night owl envelope containing my key that was dropped through the mail slot that I simply must have my car returned to me as early in the day as possible. I woke up Saturday morning with a slump in my heart and sped out the door as swiftly as could be, just to get out. I entertained myself a good chunk of the morning with a book and an iced coffee. Then the walk back home. Then an entire movie. It was now 3PM. And Bethany was not happy. I rather irritatingly phoned Midas to find out what the hold up was. And would you know... "oh, its done. We just hadn't had the chance to call you yet." Awesome. Thanks for that.
20 minutes later found me in the lobby of Midas, signing my soul away on the dotted line of the credit card receipt. My spirits were still pretty low and the price tag of the fixes certainly didn't help. I moseyed out to the Crapwagon, put the key in the ignition, turned it... Yes, the car did start just fine. What was not fine, however, was the indicator light on my dash that said the door was open. Which, by the way, it was not. So, out I went to close all the doors just in case. Key in ignition, turn.... Same thing. "You have GOT to be freaking KIDDING me," I thought to myself. Or perhaps I said it out loud. Who knows. Anyhoo, back out of the car, furiously slammed all the doors again. Back in the car. Key in the ignition, turn.... "Seriously?!?! No... SERIOUSLY?!?!" I'm sure that there were some other choice words in there as well, as I got back out of the car (again), did the "I'm going to kill someone" dance, yelled to my friend Juli (who had very graciously helped tote me back and forth the garage several times that week), and stormed (yes, stormed) back into Midas.
Apparently the tech has noticed the light and they just "forgot" to tell me about it. What? Like I wouldn't notice? Seriously. "Well, you'll just have to bring it back in again next week." Something tells me that if looks could kill, the poor man would have dropped over dead instantaneously. Bless his heart.
After storming back out to the car, Juli and I headed in the direction of the Promenade Shops. I called my mother to vent my frustrations while driving along, minding my own business. Suddenly... "No," I thought to myself. "It couldn't be. It just couldn't be!!" Flashing red and blue lights. Again. "Sweet Jesus, save me!!" I'm pretty sure I said that one out loud.
I love when cops ask if you know why they pulled you over. I mean, c'mon. Really? Naturally, I said "no", just in case it wasn't for my car registration, even though I was pretty sure it was. Ah, yes. My registration had been expired for 2 weeks, and not a single cop had paid any attention to it. Now, twice in less than 18 hours. Naturally, I didn't have the card that the nice officer had given me a mere 16 hours prior, but thankfully, this Mr. Policeman decided to trust me on the fact that I was taking care of the situation. Granted, it might have had something to do with the glistening tear tracks that I'm sure he could see on my face. It was not a pretty sight.
So, the past week has been filled with lessons on patience, thankfulness, and self-control in not physically harming people. My car has been back in the shop since Monday night, and I found out this afternoon that it will not be ready until tomorrow. Apparently, the part didn't come. Yeah, okay. Or maybe you forgot to order it and just don't want to admit negligence. Whatever. I do have to be thankful for kind friends who have close jobs and therefore available cars for me to use. Otherwise, this all would be so much worse.
My advice to you all: be wary of cops. Make sure that your current address is updated with PennDOT, not just on your license, but your registration as well. Always remember that Volkswagons equal the Devil (check in the thesaurus. Its listed right there as a synonym.)
And also, God bless us. Every one.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Decisions of Doom/or Automobile of Death
One of my mother's favorite sayings is "Make the best decision that you can at the time." The key part of that phrase is "at the time." Considering the way that this saying is phrased, it points to the likely conclusion that it is being stated while looking at hindsight. Which means that the best decision that you made at the time most likely turned around and bit you in the behind.
Sadly, I find this statement to be very true in relation to the vehicle that I stupidly purchased 3 years ago. The rear tire nearly came off while I was driving it approximately 10 days after I signed my life away in car payments. This really should have been a very big, glaring sign from God that I should force them to buy the car back. Basically, God was up in heaven booming into His megaphone saying, "BETHANY. SEND BACK THE CAR." Did I listen? No. Granted, I was in a bit of a bind when I bought the automobile of death because my former car had up and died and I was essentially stranded. A decision needed to be made very quickly, and so I made the best decision that I could at the time. What a mistake that was.
About 4 weeks after selling my soul to Satan, an O2 sensor went. Thankfully, I was intelligent enough to purchase an extended warranty on the Deathbox. Otherwise, I would have had a $500 bill before my second car payment was even due. This was not looking so good. A near catastrophe and a sensor blowing within a month? My warning bells were going off. Unfortunately, it was too late. Way, way, way too late.
Over the next 2 years, the silver car of dreadfulness was in and out of the shop on multiple occasions. I think it may, may have passed inspection once without needing any major work. Maybe.
Last November brought along inspection time. I hate inspection time. I relate it to going to the dentist. There is just that dread and feeling of doom. One can never tell what trials and tribulations that inspection time might bring. The fact that I was smart enough to not wait until the last minute like I normally do should have been a neon sign in the sky that I was going to have some serious issues. I can't even remember everything that was wrong with it, but I do know that major things, like the mass airflow sensor and the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The aforementioned extended warranty did cover much of the damage, but I still paid out quite a pocketful of cash. I was also minus a vehicle for a vast portion of the month. I had an entire week of vacation during that month. Most of which was spend in my living room because I had no car. It was a great vacation. Best ever. *Ahem* I nearly lost my sanity that month. I seriously considered setting my car on fire or hiring a hitman to "take care" of it.
So, here we are again. November. I've been shuddering at the thought of it since September. "What ailments will this inspection time bring this year?" I've been pondering to myself. I also tried to ignore it in hopes that it would just go away. It didn't work. I dropped my car off at the garage last night, and waited in awful anticipation for my phone to ring all morning. When I saw the Midas number on my caller ID... My heart nearly stopped. "Oh no!" I thought to myself. "What messages of doom will Midas manager Kevin have for me today?!" Gingerly, I answered the phone and tried to make jokes, hoping that it would put him in a good mood and he'd forget all the bad news that he had called to give me. This didn't work either. Midas manager Kevin rattled of a very long list of everything that they had found wrong with my car. "Ugh." I thought. "Maybe I can pay off Kevin to take a blowtorch to it." However, the idea of going to jail for insurance fraud sounded a bit more awful than a big bill. I decided against it.
A thousand dollars. One thousand dollars. And that's just to fix the requirements for inspection. Not including everything else that needs to be fixed, but just not right now. I will now spend the weekend waiting to find out how much my warranty will cover, and also banging my head against the corner of my kitchen table, asking myself why on earth I had to buy that particular car. One of the worst decisions I ever made, right up next to my high school boyfriend. I have no idea what I was thinking then either. But, alas and alack, we can only make the best decision that we can at the time, regardless of how bad it may be later on. I suppose that its all a part of learning life lessons and whatnot. And I also suppose that one of my father's favorite sayings is also true... "Have car, will spend money." I hate that saying.
Sadly, I find this statement to be very true in relation to the vehicle that I stupidly purchased 3 years ago. The rear tire nearly came off while I was driving it approximately 10 days after I signed my life away in car payments. This really should have been a very big, glaring sign from God that I should force them to buy the car back. Basically, God was up in heaven booming into His megaphone saying, "BETHANY. SEND BACK THE CAR." Did I listen? No. Granted, I was in a bit of a bind when I bought the automobile of death because my former car had up and died and I was essentially stranded. A decision needed to be made very quickly, and so I made the best decision that I could at the time. What a mistake that was.
About 4 weeks after selling my soul to Satan, an O2 sensor went. Thankfully, I was intelligent enough to purchase an extended warranty on the Deathbox. Otherwise, I would have had a $500 bill before my second car payment was even due. This was not looking so good. A near catastrophe and a sensor blowing within a month? My warning bells were going off. Unfortunately, it was too late. Way, way, way too late.
Over the next 2 years, the silver car of dreadfulness was in and out of the shop on multiple occasions. I think it may, may have passed inspection once without needing any major work. Maybe.
Last November brought along inspection time. I hate inspection time. I relate it to going to the dentist. There is just that dread and feeling of doom. One can never tell what trials and tribulations that inspection time might bring. The fact that I was smart enough to not wait until the last minute like I normally do should have been a neon sign in the sky that I was going to have some serious issues. I can't even remember everything that was wrong with it, but I do know that major things, like the mass airflow sensor and the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The aforementioned extended warranty did cover much of the damage, but I still paid out quite a pocketful of cash. I was also minus a vehicle for a vast portion of the month. I had an entire week of vacation during that month. Most of which was spend in my living room because I had no car. It was a great vacation. Best ever. *Ahem* I nearly lost my sanity that month. I seriously considered setting my car on fire or hiring a hitman to "take care" of it.
So, here we are again. November. I've been shuddering at the thought of it since September. "What ailments will this inspection time bring this year?" I've been pondering to myself. I also tried to ignore it in hopes that it would just go away. It didn't work. I dropped my car off at the garage last night, and waited in awful anticipation for my phone to ring all morning. When I saw the Midas number on my caller ID... My heart nearly stopped. "Oh no!" I thought to myself. "What messages of doom will Midas manager Kevin have for me today?!" Gingerly, I answered the phone and tried to make jokes, hoping that it would put him in a good mood and he'd forget all the bad news that he had called to give me. This didn't work either. Midas manager Kevin rattled of a very long list of everything that they had found wrong with my car. "Ugh." I thought. "Maybe I can pay off Kevin to take a blowtorch to it." However, the idea of going to jail for insurance fraud sounded a bit more awful than a big bill. I decided against it.
A thousand dollars. One thousand dollars. And that's just to fix the requirements for inspection. Not including everything else that needs to be fixed, but just not right now. I will now spend the weekend waiting to find out how much my warranty will cover, and also banging my head against the corner of my kitchen table, asking myself why on earth I had to buy that particular car. One of the worst decisions I ever made, right up next to my high school boyfriend. I have no idea what I was thinking then either. But, alas and alack, we can only make the best decision that we can at the time, regardless of how bad it may be later on. I suppose that its all a part of learning life lessons and whatnot. And I also suppose that one of my father's favorite sayings is also true... "Have car, will spend money." I hate that saying.
