So on Tuesday night our minivan wouldn't start after piano lessons. Spencer, Josh, and I all sat in sort of stunned silence as I turned the key and the lights in the car just flickered.
Josh started to slightly panic. Spencer said something... loudly... I'm not sure what. Because I was silently praying "Please don't let this be too expensive!"
I knocked on the Easton's door and asked if McKay could give us a jump start. I felt extra guilty because Sheri was trying to get her boys into bed and I was only adding unnecessary excitement. (On top of that, she was hosting Mom's Group that night, so she really needed them to go to bed!)
It was bitterly cold with huge wind gusts, but at least it wasn't torrentially raining like it had been an hour earlier! We got everything set up, but the battery wouldn't jump. By this point I freezing, annoyed, and increasingly worried about how much this mystery repair would eventually cost. That old saying about how once you pay off a car you start paying it off again through repairs kept going through my mind.
The Eastons were kind enough to let me borrow their van so I could drive Spencer and Josh home. I dropped the boys off, with instructions that they needed to get Tess and Cole into bed.
Side note - um, it's pretty dang awesome that I now have children who can be left without parental supervision. And not only can they be left alone, but they can be trusted to be put - and go - to bed! Having older kids is life changing, people!
Anyways, I dropped the boys off and then Lance followed me back to the Eastons in the Camry. It must be noted that all the way home and back again I kept trying to come up with plans for this dang car. It would need to be towed tomorrow. What time? How would I get to the Eastons so it could be towed? Who would pick me up from the car shop? Etc. Etc. I was kinda driving myself crazy. But that's what I always do in situations like these - plan for the worst. (Like, literally, plan. I had a schedule in my mind by the time we got back to the Eastons.)
Once there we did some Googling and decided that it probably was the battery, and not the starter as McKay suggested. Once again we had to bother the Eastons (sorry, guys!) (We owe you!) to borrow some tools to remove the old battery. We figured running it down to Auto Zone couldn't hurt. We got it out and then raced down to Auto Zone, getting there 20 minutes before they closed.
Turns out we were right - the battery was totally dead. Dead dead dead. Stupid battery. Why is there not some sort of indicator or light in my car that can tell me when my battery is getting ready to die?! My phone can tell me. And my FitBit. And even my thermostat! Catch up, car technology.
While we were there I decided I might as well pick up some wiper blades for the van, an errand I had been putting off for weeks. They guys there were so nice, looked up the info in the computer and grabbed them off the shelf for me. (After checking with me if the price was right.) ((I'm a mid-range kind of gal when it comes to wiper blades, in case you were wondering.))
We get back to the van, switch out the battery, and finally get home. Phew! What a chore. It was a annoying and a little expensive, but it could've been a whole lot worse and a whole lot more expensive! So all in all I felt pretty blessed. (Could you imagine what would've happened if I had been in the middle of nowhere, or far away from home? Yuck.)
The story should end here, but it doesn't.
This morning I finally get around to putting on the new wiper blades. Only this is what they looked like.
Um, I'm no expert. But I'm pretty sure that's not what they're supposed to look like. In fact, on the way home from Auto Zone that other night I had paused, thinking that I was pretty sure in the past I had bought 2 different sizes of wiper blades. But so much else was going on that I decided not to worry about it.
So dang. These blades were OBVIOUSLY the wrong size. Hanging off the car and tangling up with each other and whatnot. So I put the old ones back on, hurried to get ready (because of course I had tons of stuff to do today), and hurried over to Auto Zone to get replacements before I had to be at the school this morning.
It was raining on my way there. My old wipers were no bueno. All I wanted were new ones that were the right size so I could be on my merry way!
I walked in, politely explained that someone from the other night had told me these were the right size, but that they weren't. That, in fact, I really needed 2 different sizes. So the guy looked up the information again and proclaimed, "Nope, the 28's are the right size. It says right here."
I looked at him a bit incredulously. Um, no. Apparently there is something wrong with the information in there because they Do. Not. Fit.
He didn't believe me.
I showed him the picture above.
He was a bit abashed. But then started on some story about how they often change the sizes for various reasons, and that they (Chrysler) probably decided that the bigger sizes worked better now. His spiel lasted a couple of minutes and was quite condescending. His tone basically said "What do you know, you're just a woman. I, as a man, a man who works in an auto parts store, know infinitely more than you."
I looked at him like he was crazy. I was in No Mood for this. I mean, yeah, I don't know a ton about cars. But I can freaking tell when wiper blades don't fit.
I told him I would like to return the wiper blades.
The manager walked by - "Would you like to get some different blades? Sometimes the [more expensive brand] ones fit better."
And I noped right out of the there.
Jerks.
Fortunately for me, there's an O'Reilly Auto Parts store just across the street from Auto Zone. I'll be the first to admit that I thought it was dumb when they moved in there. Who needs two auto parts stores across the street from each other? I had never been in because I had always had good experiences with Auto Zone.
I walked in, explained the what Auto Zone had done, and asked them if they would like a new customer. I'm not usually so blunt or straight forward with people I don't know, but I was ticked.
It totally worked the way I wanted it to.
The guy who helped me was above and beyond helpful and friendly. And not condescending in the least. He looked up the blade size in the computer and scoffed when it said the blades needed to be 28". And then thanked me for bringing this to his attention! So he went out to my van - in the rain - and measured the blades. Then he found the right ones, took them out of the boxes and double checked to make sure they fit - and one of them didn't! And then he put them on for me! I told him I could totally do it - I had lots of experience from just this morning! But he was adamant. So I bought a back windshield wiper, too, because I needed one and because it felt like the right thing to do.
And I told him he had a new loyal customer, which his manager, who was nearby, overheard and appreciated.
So that's my story. I don't know if there's a moral or anything other than don't treat me like an idiot if you expect me to spend money in your store, stupid Auto Zone. And we plan to run our cars into the ground, which means lots of repairs and lots of trips to the auto parts store. Big mistake, Auto Zone, big mistake.
Growl.
