Friday, July 11, 2014

And more stuff

So I took my car out early this morning for an oil and filter change. And I asked them to check the other fluids and the battery, etc. And they pronounced everything good. (This is at the dealer. I take my car there, even though stuff is more expensive, because I have not heard of a trustworthy independent mechanic in this town - or at least, everyone I know who has cars from this dealer take them THERE for service rather than to an indie guy).

Went over to school, worked a while. Leaving to go to lunch, it took a bit more effort than normal to start the car - it didn't turn over IMMEDIATELY and so far that has been the case, except for one fluke time shortly after I got the car when the battery was defective (but under warranty, so free to me to get it replaced).

I thought, "Meh, it's hot out" and didn't think too much of it. The rest of the day, the same - harder than normal to crank it.

Then I ran to one of the local pharmacy establishments for a few things (including a new nail polish) and went back out to my car.

And: click click click click click click click. Nothing. Wouldn't turn over. I wondered: could something they did this morning have screwed it up?

So I called the dealer, thinking they'd slap their forehead and go "My bad!" and take care of it. Instead, the response was more on the order of "I don't know WHAT went wrong." But they said they'd send a guy out with a "battery box" and if that didn't do it, I'd have to arrange for a tow. (Incidentally, this is all going down at 3:30 on a Friday, which added to my unhappiness.)

I waited. And waited. And waited. The dealership is NOT far from where I was, I could have walked there and back (well, if it wasn't 96 degrees out and humid) in the time I waited.

I will say an interesting sociological observation: people were coming in and out of the parking lot the whole time. Two of them offered to help me or at least asked what was up: The widow of our beloved former dean (I sent her on her way but she gave me her number and told me if they couldn't get it sorted, to call her, she'd come and drive me home) and a lady in an older-model van with a number of pre-teen girls. I don't like to judge but from their dress I do not think they were among the richer folks in town. However, lots of other people in nicer cars just kind of gawped at me and drove on. (I thanked the lady for her concern, told her help was on the way, and thanked her again and told her to have a nice day.)

So at least I knew one person was willing to be a Good Samaritan even though she didn't know me, and that I had a firm promise of a ride if I needed it.

Anyway, the guy finally got there. I was hot and agitated and tired. (I had thought of going back into the pharmacy and waiting, but I was afraid of not seeing him). He told me I could wait in his truck (which he left running with the a/c on) so I could cool down. So I did, and decided this was an experiment in relinquishing control over a situation - normally I'd hang close to the car and watch what was being done and silently worry it wouldn't work - but I was hot and tired and agitated and just wanted to sit down. I assumed he had one of those jumper boxes that allow you to start a car without having to use another car (where I was parked, there would be no easy way to get a car close to the hood of mine; I was pointing in and what was in front of me was a grassy slope. And there were cars of other patrons of the pharmacy close on either side)

It took a while, and I began to despair of it working. Then he came back and said, "It's all fixed. Sometimes these batteries short out unexpectedly" which in retrospect, I should have realized what he did. He said, "Did you settle up over the phone or will you need to go back to the dealer?" and also didn't seem to understand my question of "Do you think I should take it in and have them look at it again?"

Well, grumbling to myself - "They probably messed up the battery somehow this morning and now I have to pay for a jump"

So I went to pay.

$140.

Holy horse apples, $140?!?!

I grumbled to myself that that was awfully expensive, but didn't push the issue - what do I know, I've never had to had an emergency jump start before. Well, in the future I'll make sure to park where someone can get at me. (And dangit, now I remember: I had a set of cables in the car. I never use them so I forget they're there.)

I didn't really look at the receipt, which will become important later on. (As I said: hot, tired, agitated, and kind of over a barrel - I had no other real choice if I wanted to get home with my car)

Well, anyway, I paid it and counted it as "learning money" (There's a word, larpengar, maybe? In Swedish that means "learning money"  - that is, the money you wind up paying out when you do something idiotic and you learn not to do that thing again as a result).

Grumbled all afternoon. And worried about my battery: would I be able to get out to get groceries tomorrow morning (I was only going here in town, but still, even the Green Spray is too far when it's this hot out and you need a few heavy things). And what about Monday morning? I need to bring soil to campus for lab! I decided then that if my car just died on me, I'd walk to campus (it's early so I probably wouldn't die) and see if someone would be willing to run me home at lunch so I could get the soil. (I can walk to church if I need to, it's really close)

I also ran out and periodically started the car to check on it. And I decided that after dinner (a baked potato with cheese on it, a salad, some peaches), I'd go across town to the Braum's and get a cone. Because I have to test out the car, right? And doesn't driving a car you had to jump help charge up the battery? (Or is that just one of those things dimly remembered from when I was a kid in the 1970s that no longer applies?)

Every time it started fine,  just like before I had the trouble. Started fine when I went to get the cone.

Anyway, I drove out, trepidatiously, expecting the car to die at every stoplight. (Of course, it didn't.)

Got my cone. ("Birthday cake," which is one of the weirder flavors Braum's does - it's blue with bits of cake in it, and it tastes like either cake batter or frosting. I will try many weird ice cream flavors at least once. I have never had green tea or sweet corn, but have had Japanese sweet red bean (it's actually really good))

Drove home. Decided to leave the car out overnight, on the assumption that it's easier to tow a car from a drive than a garage. And also assuming that the kids who had been shooting out car windows with bee-bees a couple years ago had been caught or had moved on to other things.


Then I grabbed the receipt, to see how they broke it down to justify the cost of a $140 jump.

Uh.

$109 of that was a NEW BATTERY.



Okay. That makes sense. "Battery box" is apparently Southern Oklahoman for "car battery." (Even though I thought a "battery box" was where you MOUNT the battery in the car) And his comment about "I know we told you it looked fine this morning but sometimes these things short out unpredictably" makes more sense (and now I know not to worry about the battery dying again, at least as long as it's not a wiring issue). And the way he brushed off my "Do I need to take it in and have them look at it again?"

He didn't jump start the car, he put in a whole new battery. I didn't watch what he was getting out of the back of his truck but it did sound and feel like he lifted something heavy out and then put something heavy back in. I guess I assumed that was the "battery box" (I pictured it as being like a quick charger), but it was actually him changing out the battery. 

So yeah. I didn't pay attention and got irritated at my dealer for nothing. (They charged $20 for his labor, nothing for his coming out to do it, and then there was sales tax.)

If I really wanted to be untrusting, I could go and open the hood and look at the battery - I got a good look at the old one while waiting on the guy. But meh, I trust these guys and anyway, I put the car away in my garage after figuring out that it will almost certainly start tomorrow morning.

Also: the clock lost the time setting and all my station pre-sets (and I had a bunch, as I have Sirius XM) were lost. I found most of the stations again and reset it, but the "search" feature now only gives me the Canadian channels for some reason. Oh well, whatever.

2 comments:

Charlotte said...

Was the battery that died still under warranty? Did they give you a warranty for this battery? Might be worth checking.

CGHill said...

Actually, the "box" generally refers to a mobile quickie-charge unit; the guy also brought a new battery because, well, it would be silly not to have one if he needed it.