I bought my first car (used) the day before yesterday, and was pretty excited. The dealer even gave me a deal and threw in brand new winter tires and a new battery. I spent a bit more on it than I wanted, but I hoped it would be worth it. Then this light with an exclamation mark in a circle came on as I was driving, and I asked my brother when I got home what that meant, and he said it was the parking break symbol. Whaaat? I drove home with the parking break on? How embarrassing.
Go outside the next day, and ALL the tires are flat. All of them. Turned out that was not the parking break symbol, it was the tire pressure one. I was pretty mad, because they were supposed to be new tires, and I was afraid I'd been scammed. One tire flat, maybe... but all four?? But after calling the dealer, they sent someone to fill the tires with air so I could drive it back to them and they found out what was wrong and fixed it, all for free. It had been an honest mistake on their part. Whew. Thank goodness for honest people. Well, that is a good way to run a business, because I will probably go back to them now if anything needs fixing later.
And that was my adventure yesterday.
So, do share your own crazy or embarrassing car stories. I know you have them!
When I first got my car, I was constantly driving with the hand brake on, I think I was so nervous about driving on my own that I just forgot! It hasn't caused any lasting damage, that I know of!
ReplyDeleteBuying myself a car was the best thing I ever did though, I love my car and I love driving :)
Yeah, I never use the hand brake, so it shouldn't be a problem. I love driving too!
DeleteI think you would've noticed had it been the parking brake! Glad they fixed the tires for free.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your first car! Go celebrate by seeing how fast it will go.
haha yeah, I thought I would have noticed too. Ok, I'll get right on that street racing :P
DeleteAt least they fixed them. When I got my car before the one I have now, it was leaking oil. It turns out when they did an oil change before I bought it that they accidentally broke the oil cap. They fixed it for no charge. Most places are pretty good about that. And yes, the exclamation light does refer to the tire pressure. :)
ReplyDeleteWell the sign for the hand brake is an exclamation point in a circle too, apparently. Confusing.
DeleteOh my gosh! I can't believe ALL four were flat! Man, thank goodness they fixed it for free! That would've been sooooo frustrating. (I'm not a fan of real life ickies, lol)
ReplyDeletehaha yeah, they were a little embarrassed as well. I'm glad I didn't have to be anywhere urgently that day.
DeleteI'm not a driver - it's the shoelace express for me all the way :) Glad they sorted everything out for you :)
ReplyDeleteJamie
haha well if I could walk everywhere, I certainly would! Gas and insurance is expensive. Alas, this city is too big and freezing cold in the winter to walk.
DeleteAll four tires? Yeah, that would have me calling the dealership up too. Sounds like they did the right thing, though, and will have a loyal customer because of it. Congrats on your first car. I hope it's a sassy red like in the picture. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I certainly wouldn't have minded the sassy red (and it is easier to find in the parking lot too!) but mind is blue.
DeleteCar dealers have a bad name, especially if you're a woman, so I'm glad you found some honest ones! Happy driving :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I made sure to take an uncle who is a mechanic to check it out for me, because I am the stereotypical woman who knows nothing about cars.
DeleteI'm glad they fixed it all for free!
ReplyDeleteUmm, my most embarassing car story happened because of my occassional desire to brag. My dad taught me to drive in snow and ice in a rear wheel drive with a stick shift. I drove to a nearby ski area to work on the weekends in high school. So fast forward many years later and there's snow falling out of the sky where we go to homeschool co-op. My car has bad tires on it, but it's a stick shift so I still feel confident about my abilities. I tell everyone I can drive home from our co-op with no problem, because I'm a "great" driver in the snow. Yeah, right. I only made it a few miles, and got stuck on a hill. My daughters and I were picked up by some friends with a 4 wheel drive and driven home. Then, a few hours later the sun came out, the snow melted and I returned to get my car out of a pile of slush. So, my pride definitely set me up for an embarassing fall.
haha thanks for sharing that! I had a pretty embarrassing time after I just got my license in high school when I backed into a ditch after youth group and all the guys had to come out and push me out. Oh, fun times.
DeleteOh man, I have several. I am not the best driver, mostly because I ride my bike everywhere. Let's just say I should NEVER go in reverse!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I am tagging you for the "Next Big Thing" blog meme. My post will be up in a few. If you want a list of the questions written out, email me at shell0flower at gmail. :)
Thanks for the tag!
DeleteI'm looking into getting a new car myself. Lots of research, and good for the dealer to be cool about fixing those tires. Good dealers are hard to come by (or so has been my experience). :)
ReplyDeleteYes, good dealers are hard to find! Best of luck!
DeleteI need to bring someone savvy with me, because the salesmen are like sharks scenting blood when they see me. I know nothing about cars! Glad your situation worked out and that they fixed everything for free!
ReplyDeletehaha, that is how I feel too.
DeleteI went and bought a car, the only issue was he had a rip on the interior hidden with a poppy pin (it was near remembrance day so I didn't think anything of it). Aside from that no crazy car buying stories.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky the dealer is an honest man. It would have been frustrating if they didn’t admit their fault and made you look for someone to fix the tires. I think that’s one thing that’s important for car dealers – that they provide services to their customers without second thought. That should encourage customers to come back should there be a problem with their car.
ReplyDelete~Carry Demaggio