Thursday, February 7, 2008

Lucky Me!

I took my car in for it's quarterly oil change recently. The auto shop is just across the street from work so I can actually be productive while I wait. This particular afternoon I received a call from the shop's receptionist.

"Ma'am, your something* belt needs replacing."
"Is that what causes the awful squeal each time I start my car?"
"Yes."
"Go ahead and replace that. My short term fix of turning the radio up louder wasn't working anymore."

So I shelled out the cash and had the belt replaced.

That Friday I headed out to meet with some friends. Mid route, my car started making a horrible thumpTHUMPthumpTHUMPthumpTHUMP sound. I didn't stop because it was dark and I was almost to my destination. I cringed and silently hoped I would make it. I did arrive and noted that the sound had stopped. A brief glance under the hood revealed nothing.

The next day I told P2 about the noise. He looked and found that my belt - the newly replaced one - had split in two. I'm no car expert - in fact, I'm no car anything - but I don't think having two belts where there should only be one is a good thing. I made a mental note to take the car back to the auto shop on Monday and have them replace the faulty belt.


Sunday I went to church. No big surprise there. However, coming out of the building and walking to my car I saw something shiny glinting from my rear tire. As mentioned above, I'm no car expert - or tire expert - but shiny objects should only be on jewelry or prom dresses from the 80's. I knelt down and found a screw embedded in my tire grooves.


Boy, aren't I the fortunate one! ...and don't think the posts regarding my car are done. The luck continues!

* I don't remember the name of the belt and the receipt is in the other room. I'm too lazy to get that information.

15 comments:

Shankar said...

It's a sad reflection on the declining standards of workmanship nowadays that turning the volume up on the radio cannot fix a simple squeal.

Actually, that something* belt looks awfully (emphasis on the "awful") like it is made of duct tape.

RED MOJO said...

You are lucky in a way. The belt thing hasn't left you stranded somewhere, and the shop is obligated to replace it. The tire could have gone flat inconveniently as well, but you can get that hole plugged and be fine. If it's in the sidewall you have to replace the tire. So it might be an unlucky kind of luck, but still...

Charlotta-love said...

Shankar: The belt is actually duct tape free.

Mojo: Good perspective. I had the belt replaced. It runs smooth now. The screw actually didn't puncture my tire so I didn't even have to get it plugged. My car may be old but it still gets me where I need to go.

robkroese said...

I'm no car expert either. But I do know that a hole in a tire is generally easy to fix. Just get a can of that spray sealer stuff. You attach it to the valve and just spray until the tire fills up and the goop seals the leak. Easy-peasy!

Beth said...

Well, I lucked out this week. Had my oil, filter and inspection done and nothing is wrong!
If you have even more sad car stories to tell, you are having a serious run of bad luck.

The Dally Llama said...

I would be most likely the fan belt, timing belt, or serpentine belt. I'm guessing serpentine.

Anonymous said...

Just another random fact!! If you are in a pinch and need to replace your serpentine belt (not saying that was the belt that you broke!) you can do so with pantyhose. Just hope that you have some in your car at the time. And yes it really does work! And yes I know this from experience! The mechanic in Florida told us to do it.

Anonymous said...

You sure it wasnt a thumpthumpTHUMPthumpthumpTHUMP sound? Those are easier to fix.

Coordination Queen said...

sometimes i hate cars. especially when you have to take care of them or fix them... apparently as i was driving home from work one day, i drove over someone's idea of a joke - a box of screws that were thrown all over the road. i didn't see them. i got off the freeway and had to call my husband... i had 3 flat tires.

Sincerity said...

Oh no! That's terrible! Ugh... cars.... they have a way of making life difficult sometimes!

And what unhappy luck to get a tire impaled! Who left nails on the road?!

Kelly said...

I got a flat tire the other day in downtown dallas. The guy found part of a house key in it. Weird.

Jared and Katy said...

I'm completely feeling you on the car problems! And I like the pictures you found, good visuals!

Charlotta-love said...

Diesel: There is a guy here that plugs tires for $3. Sad that I know him so well.

Beth: One more story on the way. Hopefully the last for a long while.

Llama: Serpentine and timing.

ldybug: pantyhose? I did NOT have any on hand in my car.

Joe: no...THAT would be sooo much easier to fix.

Queen: that royally sucks.

Sincerity: at least the tire wasn't impaled. It was just in the groove.

Kelly: a key?! hopefully not yours!

Katy: those pictures are from MY camera from MY car.

Unknown said...

Stupid auto mechanics. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard them do. No. Maybe it isn't. But at least that bolt in your tire will be an easy fix.

Charles said...

The worst thing I have had go through my tire is half of one of the ceramic discs they glue to the road to separate lanes (where they don't have to plow the roads).