Cough …. cough … sputter.
I knew it was a mistake the other day when I boasted about Old Blue’s sterling reliability.
Sputter … gasp. Suddenly I feel the horsepower of a wooden go-kart under my right foot. Cough.
But all is well. Though I’m miles from home, I’m in an area I know. And right there’s the parking lot of a defunct neighborhood c-store. I coast in as the engine finally dies.
After a moment of “Ohshit, what now?” I call R., an old faithful shade-tree mechanic who lives only a few miles from where Old Blue now refuses to start.
“I’m really sorry, but is it possible for you to come out and take a look? And if not, could I have AAA tow the car to your place?”
“Oh, can you have them tow it? I’ve got an appointment in 45 minutes and I’m really running behind. They can bring you and the car to my place.”
“Okay. But … um. Wait a sec. How will I get home if you’re at an appointment?”
We talk a bit about logistics, then R. decides he’s got just barely enough time to come get me. He’ll take me home and I can leave the vehicle for AAA. But by the time he arrives, I’m on the phone with AAA and the rep tells me absolutely not; you must stay with the vehicle. We will not tow it if you’re not there. R. has to leave without me.
R. is having a terrible day. He has to run for that appointment, but nice guy that he is, before leaving me to wait for AAA’s contract towing company, he walks me over to a nearby business and introduces me to a lady there who says I’m welcome to come in and stay warm.
I’m glad to know that both shelter and a possible refuge from sketchy people is available. But I opt to stay out and walk Ava. It’s 39 degrees, but not raining or even particularly unpleasant. I’m dressed for the weather. Besides, how long can it take? There are two towing companies within 15 minutes of me. The AAA rep already told me if they can’t find somebody in my area that they work with, they’ll give me the opportunity to find a tow on my own and reimburse me later. Before he leaves, R. also gives me the number of an unlicensed gypsy tow guy, just in case. I know the man. He still has a giant Ron Paul sign on the back of his truck after all these years. He’s a friendly! So I am ALL SET.
AAA takes a suspiciously long time to text me about towing arrangements. But I’m not worried. I’ve got three places to call if their contacts fail. Then comes the text. I paraphrase: “Some towing company you’ve never heard of will have someone there in an hour and a half.”
An hour and a half? Are you kidding me? I start to call AAA back to say no way am I going to hang out here in this cold, empty lot when there are three tow companies at my doorstep and probably a dozen of them half an hour away in the next county north. At which point I get a call from their chosen towing company — whose driver is already on the way from a town 60 miles from here (much of it on 25-mph roads).
The tow company rep is reassuringly friendly. And practically the first thing he tells me is: “Go home. We don’t need you to be there. No. Seriously, we don’t care what AAA says. We’re from a small town, too, and we understand how it is. We’re not going to make you wait all that time in a cold car.”
But … but … but.
I text R. I don’t ask for his help. I can’t bring myself to impose on him. I just say, “Tow truck on its way from [NAME OF RIDICULOUSLY DISTANT TOWN IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE WHO THE HECK CAN BELIEVE THEY’D GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO FIND SOME COMPANY OFF ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE?]. &^%$#@!” I’m figuring he expects me to go to that business next door and huddle and that Old Blue and I will simply show up at his place much later than expected.
R — I said he was a good guy, didn’t I? — texts right back that his girlfriend will be there to take me home in 10-15 minutes.
Things do not quite work out that way. It’s R himself who comes barreling in 25 minutes later, now in high dudgeon. Not at me; I understand that. It’s merely that between me, AAA, the appointment he’s now late for, and the CenturyTel rep who finally just now showed up at his girlfriend’s house, he’s having “a perfect storm” of a day.
He does not like dogs, but he has taken the extra time to put a blanket in the back of his vehicle for Ava. “Hurry up. Get in,” he barks as I struggle to unclip the dangling flexi-leash from Ava’s collar, “I’m late.”
Once we’re on the road, he apologizes. But there’s no need. I totally get what a wreck of a day he’s having and that I’m part of the wreckage. I’m just thrilled to get so much help from him, especially given the circumstances. He’s very sweet, in fact. A couple of years ago, while researching libertarianism online, he ran into my name and was shocked to discover that his client was “a somebody.” He likes my work and likes that I’ve inspired people. Now he tells me how nice it is that I’m so humble. I tell him I have a lot to be humble about.
He drops me in front of his shop (which is on his girlfriend’s property) then runs, literally runs, for his appointment.
I have a nice talk with his girlfriend in her warm, wood-heated house while she waits for the CenturyTel guy to finish up. After that the very nice lady, a cat rescuer, drives me home. Eventually the tow truck driver — who took somewhat longer than predicted to arrive — calls to see whether I need a ride. I tell him I’m all set — and I am.
Warm and safe in my own house now.
R. thinks Old Blue’s problem might be an ignition coil. Or not. We shall see. If it’s a medium-sized repair, we’ll do it. I’ll also have R. take a look at that funky blower motor. If it’s a big repair, Old Blue goes to the junk heap. But really, for a $700 car, she’s had a pretty good run. This is 17 months to the day since I bought her and until this afternoon, she never gave me one second’s trouble.
However, this is the second time I’ve had AAA go bad on me. I mean, I’m hugely grateful for their very existence and all. A year of their service is less than a single tow would cost me out of pocket. But when they mess up, they really do. Thank heaven for friendly small-town rescuers.
Tried AAA back in the day. Wouldn’t go back if they paid me.
You might want to check your auto insurance company. Roadside assistance on my policy is $12/year.
I called them from my gun club once for a flat tire, more to see if the range emergency directions worked than anything. (In 22 years we’ve never had to call first responders for anything else.) The wrecker company they use here had their tow truck (big enough to haul a small RV) on scene in 35 minutes, about five minutes faster than I can drive it.
And the very first question they ask when I call is, “Are you in a safe location?”
YMMV.
AAA has saved my bacon several times over the years. Mostly for tows, once for a battery, once to just tighten a nut on a battery cable (talk about feeling stupid). Always upbeat and friendly…always late. By the time they arrive, I usually am so glad to see them that I could kiss them full on the lips. I’ve resisted that urge, but you get my meaning.
I’ve used AAA only once – the ignition lock broke trapping the truck in park and I needed an automobile-knowledgable locksmith Super-ASAP because it broke when we had driven to the 300 meter line to change targets during a match – and got very expert results within 25 minutes, in a rather remote location to boot. I keep them only because I pay for RV Plus coverage, supposedly guaranteeing a flatbed with tie-downs for the motorcycle (I still carry my own tie-downs…) and a longer tow distance.
I do keep paying for my insurance company’s roadside coverage because it’s cheap (cheaper than AAA’s RV Plus, actually) and I insist on maintaining a Plan B. AAA seems to have a “national service provider’s list” on which every provider’s abilities is universal and supposedly identical, and also completely unknown to AAA. I’ve never used the ins co’s service, but have talked to them to find out how they would handle a help request and the rep I spoke with knew which local tow company was which and what equipment they had. Whether that would be the same if the vehicle took a dive 30 miles from East Nowhere I don’t know, but having two phone numbers is better than having only one. Worst case, I figure one roadside service can get me to point A, whatever’s within the tow distance limit, and the other can get me from there to Point B or home.
I’m still trying to grok that you have helpful and competent service people in your small town. Could you send us your surplus?
Joel, we have a few helpful and competent people here… but no surplus. Sorry. 🙂
I’ve had roadside assistance for the past several years, included on my car insurance from Geico and it’s bailed me out more than once. They’ve provided good and prompt service.
AAA has always come through for us, and usually very promptly. But we live in a more urban area….Still, bragging about your auto, or your kids, is sure to result in unpleasant surprises….
I’m still trying to grok that you have helpful and competent service people in your small town.
We have lots of good service people here.
Could you send us your surplus?
Sorry. “Here” is a very friendly small town with a warm, dry climate. A great place to live and raise kids. You’d have to offer a bribe larger than what they could make down the road in San Antonio, if their families were willing to move there.
Hope you don’t have to hoof it awhile, Claire. Winter is a bad time to be without a car, even in an easy-to-get-around-in small town.
AAA has worked for me, too. Only once was the character a jerk and I reported him in clear terms.
I read an article a long time ago in the sports section on the superstitions of athletes. In one part of it they quoted a “sports psychologist” whose last name ended in “ski.” He said that while athletes can be quite superstitious, the only things that really matter are their natural abilities and their level of preparation. I immediately thought of the Howard Cosell line and knew for certain that he never played the game.
Hoofing it for a while wouldn’t be too bad, even in winter. But it sounds as if the fix might not be prohibitive: valve cover gasket and ignition coil: $175 parts & labor. I’m also going to have R. look at that blower motor I mentioned last week and the brake light, which has been coming on intermittently (with no brake symptoms).
I’m impressed that your car even has a valve cover gasket. [Oops – see the correction below.] I used to replace those (and the points) all the time; now no one but us old fogies even knows what they are!
I’ve used AAA for DECADES, and wouldn’t be without it. Sometimes a little slow getting there, but usually not too bad (admittedly I live in a non-rural area, but my experience has been good even in rural ones). And they do have other services as well. I use their maps (yes, I still like paper maps even though I have a GPS and Waze on my phone; see the “old fogies” point above!), and on those rare occasions where we travel somewhere unusual on vacation (a cruise or something) I like that service, too.
Actually, upon reflection I was thinking about a distributor cap, not a valve cover gasket. Of course your car has one of those. Silly me.
For most of my driving life, I’ve driven what my brother in law coined, “shit boxes”, 🙂 older cars that are cheap in price. As a result, I’ve done my share of shade tree mechanics to keep them running. I’ve done oil changes, tuneups, brake jobs and other PM type work and part replacements, but it was done on the older model cars where one could actually get to the part to be replaced. Late model vehicles are another thing and I take my vehicles to an honest mechanic whose shop is within walking distance of my place. It costs me more but saves my knuckles and back!
My entire family boycotts AAA, but the roadside assistance offered by the insurance company has always been great.
Back when I was little, my dad was working as an architectural engineer. He put a lot of work into one of the local AAA buildings, including turning away other customers so he could focus on getting his part done on time. Then they refused to pay him. They claimed it was because his drawings weren’t right, but after refusing to pay they still continued using them. A lot of contractors on that job got stiffed, but for my dad, it was the last straw that cost him his business. He declared bankruptcy right after that.
Mom still makes an ugly face whenever she sees a AAA ad.
Glad to hear that you and Ava made it home safe.
Small towns seems to me to have a lot more good people than the large one’s do, that is percentage wise at least, maybe because they, the good people, are easier to find when there are less people or maybe because there are just fewer bad people to run into first.
I do believe in what comes around also goes around and your R IMHO has good headed his way because of his goodness too.
Today is my Braveheart’s last day, he was a very good dog who lived his 13 years in happiness, rarely ever barked unless for a really good reason, minded his own business pretty much, but love more than anything to just have someone give him a rub now and again. There was never a better friend that one could have.
Wow, Ellendra. What an awful story. I’m surprised he didn’t sue AAA — not that it would have helped much after he’d already gone bankrupt.
Strictly to do with vehicles, I’ve had five (IIRC) dealings with AAA. Two were great. One less so but no big deal. One fairly terrible but it was the towing company’s problem while AAA did their best. Then yesterday’s fiasco, which was a complete failure of both common sense and customer service but ultimately got the job done.
I don’t know whether I’ll keep my membership after this; the three negative experiences all related to either living in a rural area or traveling through one and that’s my everyday reality. But AAA definitely offers a lot more than the minimalist roadside assistance I could get via my insurance company.
Hey Claire,
I’m glad the repair looks like it will not cost an arm, leg and a torso. As for the heater, having had to help my brother-in-law with replacing the heater core of his truck the biggest issue is taking the whole dash apart. That is a time consuming, being a contortionist, bit of work.
Your mechanic sounds like a keeper. I understand where Joel is coming from. It took years to find the guy I’m taking the truck to for service.
Your story of the time until the tow truck arrived sounds about right. Sometimes it may take a while but the alternative can be worse. I live in the middle of nowhere and the average walk is looooong and in winter can be very nasty in a cold/snow/ice kinda way.
“As for the heater, having had to help my brother-in-law with replacing the heater core of his truck the biggest issue is taking the whole dash apart. That is a time consuming, being a contortionist, bit of work.”
Yes, I assisted once with an operation to replace a heater fan or heater core (can’t recall which). It not only involved taking the entire dash apart and removing the steering wheel, but when the job was done there were … parts left over. About a dozen of them. Kind of alarming.
The fan has actually been working okay the last few days. I’m betting on nothing more than a loose or corroded wire or a bad switch.
Claire wrote: “but when the job was done there were … parts left over. About a dozen of them. Kind of alarming.”
Been there, done that, have the T-shirt, Claire! 🙂 The trials and tribulations of shade tree mechanics!
When my sub $1000 European import died on me a few weeks ago I had to get my wife to pick me up and bring me home. Then I had to hookup my trailer and go retrieve it myself. In 35 degree driving rain. Towing insurance was looking like a good idea that day. I’m going to have to look into how much my insurance company will charge me for towing insurance.
I used to take emergency road service calls for AAA. There are a few things to remember.
Individual regions are essentially individual franchises. They don’t call them that, but thats essentially what they are. Complete with their own variations on the rules. So some areas will rock and some areas will suck.
When I was taking calls, although we really wanted the member with the car, I had the authority to say “yup, weather sucks, as long as you’re willing to leave the keys in the car for us you don’t have to stay”. Note, the more of an asshole you were the less likely I was to agree to variations. Also, be honest. Telling me upfront that your kid (who’s not on the membership) took the car and is now stuck was far more likely to get me to agree to bend the rules than trying to lie to me and getting mad at me when I catch you.
You can ALWAYS pay for a tow and get it reimbursed via AAA. That is always an option.
When the weather sucks the wait is going to be longer. The reason is that they have to guarantee their contracted towers a minimum amount of business during good weather, which means that they don’t have enough towing service for bad weather. See comment above about paying and getting it reimbursed.
Also, they will always prefer service to folks stuck on the side of the highway, so when weather is really really bad they’re going to be constantly running to THOSE calls, and have no time for the “stuck in a lot where I can wait inside the store to stay warm ” calls. See comment above about paying for service and getting reimbursed.
Ruth — Thank you for that important piece of education! The bit about slower service during bad weather (even if the weather isn’t bad enough to be causing delays in itself), was particularly interesting.
If I’m ever broken down in this area again, I’ll be very sure to remember always to arrange my own towing and ask for reimbursement later!
I found Ruth’s comment very interesting, too. One question: if you arrange for your own tow and then ask for reimbursement, will AAA reimburse the actual cost, or merely what they would pay their contract drivers in the area?
Between race cars and shade tree work, I’ve done major engine rebuilds somewhere around a hundred. Plus all the other maintenance stuff. During my desert wanderings, twenty miles and more from the pavement, my in-truck tool box had enough to rebuild most anything. So, spare ignition parts, fuel pump, radiator hoses, fan belts, jumper cables, tire-fix stuff…
Only problem I ever had was on I-10, forty miles west of Ozona, Texas. Fuel pump quit. No spare, that trip. So, thumbed to Ozona, bought a pump, thumbed back and did the fix. Surprisingly, my thumbing luck meant I lost less than three hours. Amazing! Got home and installed a parallel electric pump, “in case of in case”. 🙂
The “el cheapo” tire inflators that are powered by the cigarette lighter are good to have with you. They’ll let you cripple to a fix-it place if the leak’s not too bad.
I have two of those in Old Blue. A real El Cheapo for “limp to the fix-it place” quick fixes and a larger, faster one that also has the option of filling the tire with Slime at the same time for a longer-term repair.
The latter is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
And here’s a versatile, heavy-duty version.
“I’m glad the repair looks like it will not cost an arm, leg and a torso.”
Old Blue just came home. Didn’t cost an arm, leg, and torso. Just the appendages and maybe a couple of ribs. $345, which included the valve cover gasket, ignition coil, a fuel filter, a new blower motor, and some miscellaneous tinkering with bad door handles and such.
Still have a couple of bad window cranks, a window regulator that no longer works, the funky radio, and the brake light on when there’s nothing wrong with the brakes. But at least I know know what the latter is: a false reading from the doohicky that senses the brake fluid level. And of course, it’s still held together mostly by Gorilla tape. But we’re running again.
The intermittent cut-outs in the blower motor were apparently due to a short within the motor itself.
Laird, I didn’t see that side of it, but my understanding of how it worked was that they would reimburse actual cost for services that your membership would have covered.
So you have a standard sedan and you have it towed 3 miles, even if the tower charged twice what AAA would have paid for the service they’ll reimburse.
But if you have a sedan, and have it towed 50 miles, and your membership only covers the first 5 miles, they’ll only reimburse the hookup fee and five miles worth of the tow.
If that makes sense. I’ll note, its been almost 4yrs since I was doing this, so I can’t swear that things haven’t changed, and also, see my comments about individual area “franchises” for AAA……