The Challenges of Vehicle Ownership

Things are much better for me now than they were the same time last year: I've been employed with Danfoss for over a year, I live close to my job, I'm living within my means, and I have a much nicer car that's also in my name.  And while that last point is true, it was tested a bit last week.

After a good workout at the gym, I stopped at a grocery store on the way home to pick up a few essentials.  It was an uneventful trip, until I got in the car to go home.  I turned the key, but the engine wouldn't start.  It seemed like a low battery, except that my headlights, dome light, and wipers all worked.  I called the closest repair shop and asked them if they could see me that night.  They couldn't, but they invited me bring my car in the morning (the man to whom I spoke suggested that the working lights and wipers could mean that the battery charge was too low to start the car but high enough to operate the peripheral).  In the meantime, I still needed to get home.

I called my friend Erin and asked if she had a set of jumper cables.  She didn't, but her parents did and they were on their way to the church for tithing settlement and were happy to swing by to give me a jump.  After about fifteen minutes, they arrived and we hooked up our car batteries.  My car started right up.  I thanked them for their help before I drove around for twenty minutes in an attempt to charge the battery.

The next morning, my car wouldn't start again.  I didn't want to trouble my neighbors, so I walked over to the main office and asked if for a member of the maintenance staff to come and give me a jump.  The guy in the office is a bit of tool and said that he would pass the message along, but refused to give me an estimate on when I would be helped.  Two hours later, one of the maintenance guys knocked on my door.  He was very polite and more than happy to jump my car.  I, of course, went straight to the repair shop.

Since my car isn't that old and hasn't had any trouble with the battery before, I paid extra for an electrical system diagnostic, which simply proved that the problem was with the battery.  The guy working the desk was the manager and felt bad that I needlessly paid for the service, so he gave me a discount on the battery itself -- not for the full price of the diagnostic, but I still appreciated the gesture.  It took nearly two hours before my car was ready, but it hasn't had anymore trouble starting.

While this was a frustrating experience, I'm grateful that I have friends on whom I can rely for help and that I have the means to take care of unexpected emergencies like this when they arise.  When the last car I drove started breaking down, it proved to be a huge burden.  This time, it was merely an annoyance.