Bad Car Day

Last Sunday Manolito (my car has a name, and that name is Manolito) decided to pull a stunt on us. We were doing the usual going to Safeway to pick up groceries for the Argentine and for a pumpkin pie I had requested. We left the grocery store get in the car and it refuses to start. We try one more time, it refuses to start again. I start to panic, but the Argentine starts thinking, he thinks it is the battery, and that all we need is for someone to jump start the car. We call Geico and we wait [this post now goes into a linear mode to fully express what happened]

3:30 pm we waiting for Geico tow truck
4:30 pm no truck in site, luckily for us a AAA truck just came into the shopping center, so I go flag it down, he jumpstarts the car. Yay !! all is good, he tells us drive for 20 minutes or so, until the battery recharges
4:50 pm we drive, drive a little more, we even go to Autozone, where they tell us we need to bring the battery in for them to check it
5:00 pm we go back to the Argentine’s
5:01 pm try to start the car, and it died again
5:10 pm decide to check the battery at Autozone, we start by tacking it out of the car, well the Argentine does all the work, I look and cheer and bring the tools (ha,ha,ha). No seriously he is the butch one.
5:30 pm get to Autozone, where they tell us the battery is not charged. Decide on buying a new one, they do not have the one that my car needs, so they tell us they will charge the battery for 30 mins. We wait, and wait and wait
6:00 pm leave Autozone and go try the battery, guess? Yes the battery did not charge.
6:15 pm Drive to my place to get my jumper cables
6:45 pm Try to jump start the car in the hope of driving it to my place where it can be parked and not moved for a week, the Argentine’s street is cleaned Tuesdays and Wednesdays so the car could not be just left there.
6:50 pm Manolito’s electrical system is fine, the windows and the lights turn on and function but the engine is just not starting.
6:53 pm Call Geico to get another person to come help
6:55 pm Eat dinner chez Paradigm, the stew was really good
7:30 pm Tow truck person calls, only he is not in a tow truck he is in a green Cadillac,
7:45 pm we loose all hopes, even after jump starting again, Manolito shuts down within 2 minutes
7:46 pm I freak out
7:47 pm the Argentine helps me keep it all under control and we decide to leave the car there and he will try and get a new battery Monday

… (this means 16 hours go by)

11:00 am the Argentine suggests we call VW Road Side Assistance, since he car is under guarantee.
11:10 am I call and presto, they will take the car to a dealership in the DC Area for free
11:20 am I call the dealership in Tysons Corner, the car is under guarantee
11:30 am try the dealership in Friendship Heights and see if they will take my car, since I usually go to the one in Tysons, they say Yes
11:40 am call VW Road Side, tell them to take the car to the DC Dealership, they say the tow truck will be there within an hour. Give them the Argentine’s number (no silly thoughts, this was all business) and since he is home it should not be a problem.
12:40 pm No sign of the tow truck (actually a flat bed one)
1:00 pm VW called the Argentine to say they had sent another one since the first company had not dispatched the driver
1:10 pm I call VW to get the information on this new company and email it to the Argentine
2:20 pm the first company shows up and they pick up Manolito and take him to the dealership

End of the ordeal, so as you can see it took a full day to resolve the issue. To say I was nervous, anxious and worried sick is an understatement. Then to top it all off I had to travel, so Monday was all done via phone, email and good vibes sent back and forth between DC and the corner of Broadway and 38th. I know it can be much worse, so I am just stating the facts and thanking my man, for helping me out.