Driving Me Car Crazy

• Background
• Attempting to Leave
• Beating Around the Bushings
• License to Pay
• Attempting to Leave, part 2
• Let Me Axle You About Your Hub
• Take Me Home
• Pick Me Up
• License to Pay, part 2
• Exceeding the Recommended Daily Limit
• Isn't Science Wonderful
• Isn't God Wonderful

Background

Last October, some friends from church gave us a '94 Chevy Corsica. Shortly after we'd gotten it, we noticed that it had this odd way about it. The right front tire area would wobble and "bounce," creating a lot of noise and shaking the car.

It wasn't bad enough for us to really do a lot about it, so we just lived with it. Over time, we noticed that the wobble only occurred between 30 and 55 miles per hour. Below and above, the car behaved almost normally.

Attempting to Leave

This past Thursday morning, when my wife came home from work, she said that the car was sounding really bad. A little concerned, I prepared to go to work anyway.

As I began to drive, I could understand what Jennie had meant. Instead of heading toward the highway, I headed for one of the nearby auto repair places. I saw a Midas, and I took the car there.

Beating Around the Bushings

I handed the owner/manager the keys, and he had a mechanic pull it into a repair bay. After he lifted the car a bit, he checked the right front wheel and called the manager over. After a brief moment, the manager called me over to take a look. The wheel was close to snapping off, and the car was definitely unsafe to drive in its current condition.

It turned out that it needed something called "sway bushings", which are somehow related to the steering assembly; they had broken and were no longer useful. I told for them to go ahead with the repair and called my work to tell them I would be late by a few hours.

I decided to wait in their lobby, watching television, and thinking about the application I've been developing at work.

License to Pay

After the repair was completed, the owner/manager gave me the total cost, and I gave him my driver's license so that I could use the car to go to the ATM to get the money. We don't have a credit card, and the Midas didn't take personal checks.

Attempting to Leave, part 2

I withdrew the $240 needed from the ATM, returned to Midas, and paid my bill. As I started driving toward the expressway, I noticed that the wobble was still there. I could tell that something was fixed because it sounded a bit different.

I stopped to get me some breakfast/lunch, and then I returned to the Midas. After I told the owner that the car still sounded bad, he had the mechanic who'd worked on the car earlier go for a short ride with me. He had test-driven the car earlier, but only in the Target parking lot. As I got up to normal driving speed, he heard and felt the wobble. We returned to Midas.

Let Me Axle You About Your Hub

He pulled the wheel off, and took a closer look. The manager returned to the waiting area and told me it looked like it could be a problem with the axle or the wheel hub.

I knew from an experience several years ago that replacing the axle was not cheap at all. The manager and mechanic later deduced that it was probably the wheel hub.

Take Me Home

After giving me the estimate, I told the manager to go ahead with the work and asked for them to take me home, since I didn't feel like waiting around. The mechanic said he would take the car on the highway to test it out this time. I called work and told them I wasn't going to make it in after all.

The driver and I started toward our apartment, and, about two-thirds of the way there, I realized that the apartment keys were still with the car at the shop. As we turned around to head back to the shop, I chuckled at how silly that was. I'm glad I had a sense of humor about it. I left the ignition key with the mechanic, and the driver took me home.

Pick Me Up

I went inside and went to bed for a nap. Jennie returned home from some training at her work, having gotten a ride from a friend. After a few hours, Keisha came home, and I was able to meet her when she got off the bus. We were home for a short while when Midas called to tell me that the car was ready. I told them to send the driver to come pick me up.

License to Pay, part 2

When we got back to the shop, the assistant manager gave me the total. I left my license again, needing the car to head to the ATM to get the money, approximately $200.

Exceeding the Recommended Daily Limit

I returned to the credit union I'd gone to before. They are not affiliated with our credit union, except for the fact that they have the same type of ATM, and we don't have to pay a fee when we use it.

I drove up to the ATM, and tried to withdraw the $200. I got a message stating that I needed to contact my institution because the transaction could not be completed. I went inside the credit union, and the teller told me that, since they are not in any way affiliated with my credit union, there was really nothing he could do.

I drove home and called the credit union's toll-free number, and I told the representative about the situation, including my needing the money for a car repair, leaving my license, and so forth. He said that the additional $200 would put me over my daily limit of $300, yet he would set the account up to authorize it for this occasion.

I hung up and returned to the ATM to try again. This time I the message on the ATM slip stated that the "Amount Requested Exceeds Daily Limit". Perturbed, I returned home and called the toll-free number again.

The rep I spoke with the second time said that it was probably because they didn't set up the addditional amount on my wife's ATM card as well. I gave the woman that number and she said I should be okay.

Since we needed to get some groceries, Jennie and Keisha climbed in with me. We drove back to the ATM, and I tried with Jennie's card, but the ATM wouldn't even read it. I tried with my card, and I got the same message as before.

Seriously frustrated, I went inside to talk with the teller. I told him that my credit union had supposedly authorized me to get the additional money. He told me again that they were not affiliated with my credit union and that it usually takes some sort of nightly update for something like that to take effect.

Isn't Science Wonderful

Deflated, I returned to our car, and we drove to Midas. I went inside and spoke with the assistant manager. I told him that I had a handful of ATM slips telling me that, despite my credit union telling me the contrary, I was unable to get the money at that time.

My biggest concern was that they would think I was trying to steal from them. Since they had my license, all they'd have to do is call the sheriff, and I could get arrested.

I asked them to hold my license until Friday morning, when I could get the money to them on my way to work. They agreed.

On Friday morning, I was able to get the $200 cash, pay for the repair, and get my license back. Isn't science wonderful?

Isn't God Wonderful

As I've reflected on this series of events, I've been able to see how God was blessing me through it all:

• I was able to get to a repair facility before the car broke down. I could have been on the highway when the right front wheel snapped off. Then I would have been in a much worse situation.
• We had the money to pay for the repairs.
• The repair facility was very understanding in letting me leave my license while I drove the car to get the money.
• These events took place during a slow part of my work week. Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are the days when I'm most needed at work.

And I know there are other ways that God took care of me that I haven't mentioned.

It's nice to drive the car without the nasty wobble. It's gotten so that I've nearly forgotten it was there at all.