When it rains...

Called dealership first thing. She said it sounds electrical, bring it in, and it should be okay to drive it up there. Started to make noises as if it might be whole instrument panel. I nipped that in the bud with "started less than 24 hours after I picked it up from you having it for a month. Inexcusable." We'll see what happens. Informed I would bring in after taking Smog to doctor.

What you say? Someone set us up the bomb? Yeah, you heard that right. Smog has developed this bizarre rash over his chest and legs (but not his back or arms) that I at first thought were bug bites, but now I'm pretty sure they aren't. The coupled with vomiting at 4 in the morning on Sunday morning had me worried enough that I want him seen, so to the doctor he goes. His appointment is at 9:30.

So, plan for day is as follows:

Go to bank to deposit money brother paid back after borrowing this weekend.
Go to doctor's office. Insist on samples or reasonably priced medication.
If Smog is not contagious, take him to school.
If Smog is contagious, he has to go with me and infect the car dealership.
Take car to Tulsa.
Try not to throttle anyone.
Pick up copy of warranty while there.
If Smog free, perhaps meet with Naamah and Batcheva.
If laden with Smog, return home, preferrably in a fixed car.
Try not to have panic attacks along the way.
Report back here with news.

...it pours.

Yeah, look back at my neatly optimistic list from earlier. How naive I was!

Went out to get in car to take Smog to doctor. Car wouldn't start. Very much acting like a dead battery. Hmph.

Walked 6 blocks, with child in tow, to Tisha's house, and borrowed her car to take Smog to doctor's office.

Can't find insurance card. Great. Agree to bring it back later.

Smog sees doctor. Doctor sees Smog. Smog has scabies.

Ugh.

Drive Tisha's car to Walmart for overpriced (but only available) treatment for scabies. Smog gets to stay home today.

Go back to Tisha's house, and ask her to follow me over to jump car. Car won't jump. Car is dead, Jim. Totally dead. Decide I will bite the bullet and replace battery and see if that will fix the problem, or at least get car to Tulsa to fix problem. Search for battery. Can't find battery. Battery has to be replaced by dealer or mechanic, according to the manual. WTF!!!

Scream. Tear out hair. Bid Tisha on her way, as she has an appointment she has to get to. She will check in later.

Call mom. Manage not to cry. Freak out a bit.

Call dealer. Explain car will not start at all, and have tried to jump, and can't replace battery. Dealer is very sympathetic. Dealer, to her credit, immediately says, "Well, we need to get someone out there to you, then! Let me get your address and number and call our wrecker. I can't guarantee how quick he can get there, but let's get this started."

Dealer calls wrecker, wrecker calls me. Wrecker will try to be here by 1 pm, or a little before.

Smear Smog down head to toe with overpriced cream. Begin process of washing all bedding in hot water and drying in hot dryer.

Realize I've been awake for five hours and haven't eaten anything. I think I'll go remedy that right now.

The end to a very expensive day.

I'm not happy. I'm not angry. I'm just kind of resigned to being cornholed at every possible opportunity when it comes to my car.

Received a call from Bob Hurley at 3:20 this afternoon, from the Service Manager. She informs me that the problem was, indeed, the battery, which I had suspected might be going bad, and that since it wasn't related to the problem the car was brought in for, I was responsible for the replacement battery and the towing.

*sigh*

I asked how much a battery would be, and she told me $100, plus $45 labor to install it.

I then asked how much the tow was going to be, and was informed it would be $194, before markup. I am proud to say I did not flip my shit and go all customers_suck on her, but it was a near thing. I did cry. I told her that was completely undoable, as I had just given them $5000 on Friday. I explained the situation, including the fact that people all over America had raised the money to pay for the first repair, and that I was tapped out. She started crunching some numbers, trying to find ways to whittle the number down without losing her job. First, she eliminated the normal markup on the tow, and then she said she could sign me up for the preferred customer program (which is new) which would give me a $25 dollar credit, and then she could backdate that so I could get the maximum credit of $100 for the money spent on Friday. Then she gave me the battery at cost and took 10% off the parts and labor. I have to say, I think she did the best she could, and in the end I wound up paying $218.03, including the $194 for the tow, which she couldn't get reduced because it was done by another company.

So now I have a 6 year battery. And I have my car back. And while it isn't the perfect resolution, it was at least (barely) workable, though it puts me further in debt to my mother, who really didn't have it to spare.

Add on to that the $60 office visit for Smog, and the $35 dollar cream, and it has been a very expensive day.

Still, for $313.03, I have a child on the way to being healthy and a car on the way to being completely rebuilt, so I will call it a win and eat Ramen noodles.

I'm still planning on trying to come to KCRF, though my budget just got whittled from shoestring to death march. I hope to see some of you there.

EDIT: Please, don't think I'm trying to solicit donations! That wasn't the point of this post. So many of you have already given so much that I figured you had a vested interest in this car, and deserved to know what happened. I definitely wasn't angling for more money! We'll figure this out.