Monday, December 01, 2008

Tire Trouble


Okay. Let's just start by saying we had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's. We got to play with Uncle Joe, play lots of Wii, eat ham, and cuddle with the grandparents. It was a blast and thanks to my wonderful grandparents for a nice time. The weekend was fantastic. Well, at least until the trip home.

Yes. We were all tired but had just experienced a nice family event. We started to drive home (actually Daddy drove, I'm not ready yet) and just got past Everett on Interstate I-5 when it happened. A flat tire. But not just any flat tire. We're talking the full side wall of the tire blew to pieces. BAM! It happened so fast that Daddy had no choice but to pull over as soon as possible which happened to be the left side of the interstate.

Mommy got out of the car to assess the damage. Yep. A tire change was required. So Mommy got out the jack and while Daddy started jacking up the car, Mommy started loosening up the lug nuts of the tire. They were trying to make it quick because we were in a very dangerous predicament. We were on a very small part of the median with no room to move and some very fast cars moving past. Oh, according to the state patrol officer who happened to stop by, it was also one of the busiest driving days of the year and people tend to still have a little alcohol on board if you know what I mean. So, it was clearly not a safe place to be.

As Mommy was loosening up the lug nuts, that is when she discovered it. The car had locking lug nuts. That is a lug nut that requires a special tool to unlock the bolt and get it to move. Mommy and Daddy searched high and low, unloaded to whole car, tore everything apart...and no 'special' tool to be found. Great.

Mommy and Daddy then proceeded to move everything back into the car (Mommy hurt her finger when she SLAMMED the spare tire into the trunk) and a tow truck was called. Oh, wait. Did I say ONE tow truck? Silly me. Since we were in such a scary part of the Interstate and we had two car seats on board, TWO tow trucks had to be called. One tow truck to move the car and the second tow truck to: 1) block the car from being hit while the first tow truck got it ready to move; and 2) to carry the car seats.

Finally the TWO tow trucks arrived. They decided that it was too dangerous of a situation to move us out of the car so you're not going to believe what happened next. They pulled the whole car, including us, onto the flatbed of the first tow truck. We literally piggy-backed the tow truck all the way to the only car tire place open on a Sunday...Walmart. Luckily, we were only two exits away.

$500 dollars, two happy meals, and two VERY grumpy parents later, we were back on the road. But a decision has been made. Mommy's car is going to go. This is the third time in a month this car has cost Mommy and Daddy an exorbent amount of money because it needed a special VW tool or was a repair only the VW dealership could fix. Come on! What ever happened to the day that you could change your own headlight or ....change a tire perhaps?

Bye, Bye Volkswagen. Mommy loved to drive you but you are soon-to-be evicted. It's gonna take a while for Mommy to cool down from this one. Sheesh.

7 comments:

Carolyn said...

Oh my gosh, I'm so thankful that everyone is OK. When you think of what could have happened on a busy highway, frightens me. Kristy, I hope you find a new ride soon.
Hugs,
Carolyn in WV

Michelle said...

We had that exact same vehicle. Same issues with the darn tires. Wanna know something else that BITES about VW? If you lease one, you have a turn in fee when the lease is up - even if you've only used HALF of the alloted miles at the end. Man, I WAS ANGRY when I learned that. Now, we're all Honda. Just picked up my 09 Pilot on Tuesday. LOVE IT! So sorry that you had such a rotten time!

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Cadence and her family live in said...

Oi.
So sorry. I was driving home from Seattle Children's Theater one late night several months ago and got as far as the bridge in Mt Vernon. BLAM!! The same thing happened - shredded tire - though I was eventually able to get over to the right side of the highway. No lights - the kids had busted the flashlight, and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how to get the spare off (first flat in this car). Tim was, of course, in absolute vehicle heaven..... Until I SCREAMED at him to get off the highway and BACK into the car (hello, CPS?? Yeah, there's a kid in the freeway here...). A few phone calls to no avail, plenty of bad words uttered at traffic and tires and direction manuals written in a different country than the car was manufactured in, a few kicks, and dumb luck and I was able to get it off and replace it - driver's side at 10:30pm. So much for nice evening clothes...... And I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff. Grateful, however, that I know how to change a tire. And inhalers for when dead tire fumes set off asthma.......

Good riddance.
Glad you're all safe.
Meril

Eva and her 'rents said...

Oh my gosh! Pitypitypity!

Sandi said...

I love knowing the only family that requires two tow trucks :) Oh, my goodness. I would have lost it. I'm glad you guys are all safe now.

sunshine glynn said...

Um...I know i should be feeling really sorry for everyone, but I can't stop laughing!!!! What a memory this will make!!! The boys will remember the tire blowout (and the happy meals) for a long, long time!