Andy feels the tension…
I’m a bit wound up today. My car is supposed to be ready for me to pick up after weeks in the shop for repairs of damage from my accident in Hot Springs, South Dakota, on September 15th.
My friend Craig’s driving down from Rapid City to take me back to Rapid City, where my car is being held hostage till I pay the bill.
There have been so many (upsetting) reversals in the process – wrong part ordered, knot head who didn’t make an estimate in a timely manner adding a week to my wait, and more – that I, frankly, hope I can be civil when I pay my bill.
Black Beauty in happier times…
[G-Day = Golf Day, as in VW Golf Sportwagen]
Reminds me of the time my Chevy Celebrity had a cracked engine block. For some reason they had to get the new block from Texas (I live in Michigan). They ordered the wrong part (don’t ask). The part they got was damaged. I didn’t think I was ever going to get the car back.
Oh yeah!
Hi Doug, I’m just catching up now, and hope you got your car back!
Yes, and I’m enjoying having mobility again!
I wold miss my car for sure if it was gone that long!
Thanks to three good (and very noble!) friends and two others who offered to take me places if I hadn’t had three others taking care of transportation – whew! – I got along and got around. On the other hand, when I got my car back, I drove and drove it till I got used to the idea it was mine again! It is a fun car to drive and handles amazingly well for any car, let alone a station wagon.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could charge mechanics by the hour for our lost time when they screw up?
Mechanics and other service providers. Doctors, for one example!
They should give you a discount for the aggravation.
Actually, the handover went without rancor or demands. I think I was surprised.
Hope.I can read here when I visit your blog again every thing is ok and you have your auto back
Yes, I drove it back home this afternoon! (October 25th)
few things are as irritating as service repairs on a car. not to mention the fact ….. one always wonders if they’re being told the truth about ..what’s wrong….I actually had a service shop steal the spare tire; then claim it was never in the trunk to begin with ~~~~~~~
I had a situation once where they parked my car on the street. The spot was directly across the street from parking for a business that sold alcohol. One Saturday night, someone apparently came to the store already drunk to buy more alcohol. He or she backed into my parked car, leaving a huge dent next to the driver’s door. When I told the repair shop owner about it, he said, “How do I know it wasn’t that way when you brought it in…” That is to say, he said I was lying! I would have seen that dent every time I approached the car, which had already been in his shop for repairs six weeks at the time. What an a-hole! I never gave him any more business, and told all my friends about how he’d handle his responsibility for my car. Interestingly enough, after that he build a fenced area on his property to store cars waiting for repairs! Coincidence Possibly.
You have to drive all the way to Rapid City to pick up your car?!! That alone would irritate me. I hope the weather is decent when you go out there: no freak blizzards, thunderstorms, heavy fog. And I think the dealership should send someone out to pick you up. In a limo!
Really, it’s not like there’s an Uber running around the prairie. I do remember, you have to have a car just to do basic errands, let alone get to a medical appointment. Hope it all goes well and you get your Black Beauty back soon!
I got it today, October 25th, and it was great getting to drive again! There was a strong wind, but my car handles that well, otherwise the driving conditions were perfect! You are right about the necessity of a means of transportation here since there is only limited ;public transportation. When my Dutch friend came for her visit, for example, the closest she couldf get to Alliance was 57 miles away, and the last 3 and a half hours of that trip was ny airport limousine since the airline flying here and to the next town quit service (went bankrupt) three days before she was scheduled to fly in! I had to drive to pick her up.
Nice car hope they did a great job!
Believe it or not, there are no cars to rent here except one at the Ford dealership, and it was already rented when I checked. My car was in the shop from September 14th through October 25th. Even if a car had been available, my insurance covers only 30 days and I have to rent from one of two rental agencies, neither of which has exists in my isolated town!
I can’t imagine how it took that long! Where I live it would have been fixed in 3-4 days. I’m sure you found patience you didn’t know you had with this ordeal…lol
I guarantee I wasn’t patient! I would have thought a week, maybe two would have been enough since they had to order some parts.
Prayers for a smooth recovery of your beloved transport. I’ve been having chronic internet interruption for quite a while and suddenly in the past couple of weeks it got much worse. After throwing a tantrum they finally sent out a tech who knew his stuff. He called in and said he was replacing everything and promised me he would not leave until I had proper service. So I understand completely your desire to pitch a fit at all the SNAFU’s in the process, The internet is my lifeline, I pay my bills, do my shopping and keep in touch with everyone that way. I am sure the car is even more so a lifeline for you with you medical condition.
That;s how dependent I am on my Internet connection, too~! Anyway, I’m on wheels again, as of October 25th!
Nice car! Wishing you good luck and succes…
I love it! It isn’t the fanciest of cars, but the Golf is a fun car to drive. I can only imagine how much more fun it would be with the optional 220 hp engine given the 170 hp engine in this version is suffiecient to make me vulnerable to speeding and getting to know all the local state police and troopers and their American-made Dodge Chargers with police modifications (think Porsche)! I use the cruise control on the highways because this car wants to cruise at the top of the speedometer, that quirk of German-engineered cars. Anyway, thanks! (Hope my favorite Belgian kitty, Mr. Bowie, is coming along well with his eye. That always is a scary thing with cats. Dougy had feline herpes that periodically requires eyedrops.)
Well, here in Germany we have stretches of our highways that have no speed limit at all … that is why Americans usually are quite scared to drive here.
I found it safer even at the higher speeds. For one thing, Germans are much better drivers than Americans, and (mostly!) are very good about lane discipline. Of course, you have to take long courses on driving, laws, etc. Here, once you pass your first exam (which includes driving a short distance, a simple eye exam, and a simple written exam) you take a written test with 25 simple questions and get a 5-year license if you pass. If you don’t have any tickets in that five year period, you can renew your license without taking a test (written or driving)
What a nice vehicle! It’s a beauty!
Thanks! It is a fun car to drive and has the added advantage of being a station wagon, which makes it very handy when I have to take the kitty boys to the veterinarian or the groomer. (How are your pets doing these days?)
They’re fine. Sally (my dog) is a little bit wild this week and Smoky is getting fat (I tried to stop my mom). Thanks for asking! I wish I had more time to post on my second blog.
Still trying to get your Mom not to over-feed poor Smoky, eh! Tell her one day, you will be off to the university or a new job, and poor Smoky will be an old kitty with diabetes and arthritis that she has to treat, both the result of ove3r-feeding poor Smoky! (Or, maybe you should print out something from the Internet that tells what happens to over-fed kitties so she doesn’t think you are being a smart mouth! One m-needs to be respectful of our parents, after all!)
Yes! I showed her this comment and she said she would give him lesser food! Yay! thanks for the comment! It was funny too. I think you’re a funny guy!
I hope she remembers that when she gets stuck taking care of your pets when you leave home… LOL!
I hope that would happen…
Mothers are agreeable this way, though you will hear about how you left the pets for her to take care of after you left for the university, then for a fantastic job that took you all over the world! (You will hear about it regularly till you are an old man, though your Mom will still love you!)
XD!
Hope it all goes smoothly.
So does Liberty Mitsubishi-Volkswagen of Rapid City, South Dakota, where their founder (Ernest Padnoe) stated the business objective of the company is “We smile when you come, you smile when you leave.” So far, there have been more frowns than smiles. While I have had excellent service up to this point, people with my health issues could be dead in the time they took to fix my car. (Not to be too melodramatic about it.)
Good luck ! Here’s hoping all will finally be sorted out. Say hi to the boys from me.
As noted on leggypeggy’s comment, the better hope I’m happy! I am a terror when I’m pissed. I even scare myself! LOL!
As for the kitty boys, they are much appreciative of the extra attention they get because of people like you! They enjoy all the “skritching” they can get, and I do pass on “skritches” and other well wishes from their fans. Good thing they have tons of fur!
You do? Then give them some extra skritches from me.
Will do! The will appreciate it!
Great that our contacts help you all.
Absolutely!
Gah, sorry to hear that! Mind you, losing your temper doesn’t do yourself or anyone any good, so keep smiling and think positively and good things will happen! 🙂
Unfortunately, that is exactly true, Barbarella. I say unfortunately because I would like to wither them to cinders with my vitriolic rants, but that neither gets the car fixed any faster nor makes for better service in future. I hope to keep my tongue civil, therefore!
imagine instead of the sun a big a$$ will rise tomorrow and it will sh*t on the head of this guys…that’s what I do when I have to be polite while a volcano is bubbling inside of me… good luck!
When I get up there, I suspect they will be very polite and apologetic, so I’ll work on being gracious and civil!
I wouldn’t count on an apology, so hold onto your hat, take care of business, and, as is written in the book of Matthew, shake the dust off your feet as you leave! 🙂
Actually, that’s pretty much how it went. I was so glad to see it sitting out in front of the dealership, that all my anger went away.
sorry to hear of those problems – hope all comes out well in the end
Thanks, Maureen! Today is the end of those irritations, and the start of the freedom that having a car gives. I live in a part of the US where being carless is extremely impractical and makes simple things like doctor appointments difficult to make. While there is a bus service operated by the city that is almost like a taxi (you can schedule a pick up) and only costs A US dollar one way to anywhere in town, things like my dialysis schedule require me to be at the hospital before the service starts for the day. I’ve been dependent on friends to get places, and can never understate how thankful I am for their good will!
Brilliant!