Damn you, car!
My car hates me. It's a long story.
So, Wednesday of last week I noticed that my rear driver's side tire was a little low. I stopped off at a gas station and filled it back up. Upon closer inspection, I found the rim is a little bent, maybe from hitting a speed bump too hard or something. The kind of dent that can likely be safely hammered out, no harm no foul. I figured I'd get that done on the 1st when I get paid.
Then, Friday at lunch, I'm driving to my apartment when one of my tires loses its mind. It's not the typical kind of flat tire where the tire goes flat. This one didn't even go flat, the tire part just ripped open! And what's worse, this is not the one I intended to replace. I'd have to replace this one, too.
So, I'm upset, but I throw on the donut and finish out my work day. On the way home, I decide to stop off at my mailbox to check the mail. When I get back to my car, it doesn't start. The little box under my dash* has mysteriously turned on and made it impossible to start the car. Thank god I had made it back home before it decided to short. I was going to go out of town within the hour, and it being after business hours, there wasn't a lot I could do anyway.
*(Small aside on "the box." If you know the story, you can skip this section. I bought my car at a Buy Here, Pay Here lot. They sell cars to poor people with poor credit. The way they do this is they place a box under the dash with a small keypad. The box will make it so the car won't start unless it gets its code once a month. So you make a payment, they give you a code, you enter the code, and then your car starts for another 30 days. I paid my car off about 2 years ago, and upon entering the final code, I wasn't supposed to have to worry about it again. About 5 years to the day after I bought the car, the box shorted.)
So, Saturday, I call the old dealership to ask what I needed to do. They didn't know exactly, apart from telling me that I needed to have the box removed. After arguing with them for a while, I convinced them that they should pay the tow cost to get it to a mechanic since I had followed the directions, and it was their device that was causing the problems. Surprisingly, they agreed and arranged to have my car towed to the nearest shop.
Oh, the shop. The car got to the shop around lunch on Monday. I got two confused phone calls from them when they first got the car, and then nothing. I called them about 6 (their close time) and they explained that they took out the box, but that the car wasn't starting regardless. They had no idea why and they needed more time to figure it out. I agreed.
Then Tuesday passed. Then, half of Wednesday before they finally admitted they had no idea what was happening. They recommended I have it towed to a Ford dealership since they'd know what to do. So, I called Sam Pack 5-Star Ford in Carrollton. I explained my situation to the serviceman, and he, hearing I had a special circumstance, decided to try to exploit me. He said that since it wasn't in "factory" shape and since another shop had already looked at it, that he'd have to start me off at $300, and that it'd be $100/hour after that to discover the problem. I told him that's a terrible way to do business, and that I'd rather have it towed further to have someone else work on it. I ended up taking it to a Ford dealership in Lewisville who only charges a flat $100 for diagnosis. And now I wait.
I've not had a car since Friday. It's maddening. I'm going to go cry now, knowing I won't get it back tonight, and likely won't tomorrow, either. I can't afford a new car, either, nor a new car payment, should this one be mysteriously permanently poltergeisted. What a week.
So, Wednesday of last week I noticed that my rear driver's side tire was a little low. I stopped off at a gas station and filled it back up. Upon closer inspection, I found the rim is a little bent, maybe from hitting a speed bump too hard or something. The kind of dent that can likely be safely hammered out, no harm no foul. I figured I'd get that done on the 1st when I get paid.
Then, Friday at lunch, I'm driving to my apartment when one of my tires loses its mind. It's not the typical kind of flat tire where the tire goes flat. This one didn't even go flat, the tire part just ripped open! And what's worse, this is not the one I intended to replace. I'd have to replace this one, too.
So, I'm upset, but I throw on the donut and finish out my work day. On the way home, I decide to stop off at my mailbox to check the mail. When I get back to my car, it doesn't start. The little box under my dash* has mysteriously turned on and made it impossible to start the car. Thank god I had made it back home before it decided to short. I was going to go out of town within the hour, and it being after business hours, there wasn't a lot I could do anyway.
*(Small aside on "the box." If you know the story, you can skip this section. I bought my car at a Buy Here, Pay Here lot. They sell cars to poor people with poor credit. The way they do this is they place a box under the dash with a small keypad. The box will make it so the car won't start unless it gets its code once a month. So you make a payment, they give you a code, you enter the code, and then your car starts for another 30 days. I paid my car off about 2 years ago, and upon entering the final code, I wasn't supposed to have to worry about it again. About 5 years to the day after I bought the car, the box shorted.)
So, Saturday, I call the old dealership to ask what I needed to do. They didn't know exactly, apart from telling me that I needed to have the box removed. After arguing with them for a while, I convinced them that they should pay the tow cost to get it to a mechanic since I had followed the directions, and it was their device that was causing the problems. Surprisingly, they agreed and arranged to have my car towed to the nearest shop.
Oh, the shop. The car got to the shop around lunch on Monday. I got two confused phone calls from them when they first got the car, and then nothing. I called them about 6 (their close time) and they explained that they took out the box, but that the car wasn't starting regardless. They had no idea why and they needed more time to figure it out. I agreed.
Then Tuesday passed. Then, half of Wednesday before they finally admitted they had no idea what was happening. They recommended I have it towed to a Ford dealership since they'd know what to do. So, I called Sam Pack 5-Star Ford in Carrollton. I explained my situation to the serviceman, and he, hearing I had a special circumstance, decided to try to exploit me. He said that since it wasn't in "factory" shape and since another shop had already looked at it, that he'd have to start me off at $300, and that it'd be $100/hour after that to discover the problem. I told him that's a terrible way to do business, and that I'd rather have it towed further to have someone else work on it. I ended up taking it to a Ford dealership in Lewisville who only charges a flat $100 for diagnosis. And now I wait.
I've not had a car since Friday. It's maddening. I'm going to go cry now, knowing I won't get it back tonight, and likely won't tomorrow, either. I can't afford a new car, either, nor a new car payment, should this one be mysteriously permanently poltergeisted. What a week.