Some of you are old enough to remember an inane TV comedy titled, Car 54, Where Are You? Well, we have a sad, frustrating saga we have dubbed Car Number 5, Where Are You?
This tale of woe began last fall when we decided that after five years and over 100.000 miles, we should get a new car. Our ‘old one’ was red, a 2017 Chevy Traverse. It was perfect for our needs, as it had a rear seat that allowed our two rather large Goldendoodles to ride with us whenever they could persuade us to load them up. Usually this meant two trips per day, and both old dog, Paddy, and young dog, Niki, were eager to run out to the garage and climb in.
It was September 2021 we decided to go to our local dealership and place our order for a new one, built to our specifications. Because of our previous experience, we wanted a red Traverse, with a third seat accessible to the dogs, with all the amenities such a vehicle would have. The salesman, Joe (I call him that because his name was Joe) was very accommodating, and he accepted our ‘down payment’ of a couple of hundred dollars for the car. Except, they were not building any Traverses at the moment. But when GM opened up a plant for that purpose, our order would be on its way.
We would visit Joe and the dealership from time to time, and usually the story was the same: no production line of Traverses was up and running yet. But finally, we were told our order was accepted and they were planning on Traverses coming off the line as the factory would be starting about early December.
Now a word about what we were going to do about our ‘old’ car. Our son, who is a missionary in Thailand, returns from time to time to the U. S. for one reason or another, and needs a car to use and our Traverse would be perfect for his use. So, we decided to sell him the old one, with a suitable family discount, when our new car was delivered here to Paris. This plan had win-win plastered all over it, and we were excited to have his needs and our needs both attended to.
However, the saga took a violent turn in October. A young deer came out of the woods as we were driving the short drive home from town and we hit it. Although the deer did not survive the encounter, the car was drivable, but definitely needed repairing. So the next morning, we took the car to our insurance agent, who confirmed that we had hit a deer. Then we traveled to one of the local establishments who specialized in repairing deer dents and set up a time to bring the vehicle in for the needed fixing.
We continued to drive the damaged conveyance, partly held together by zip ties, until in late November we were required to submit said car to the repair shop to get the job done. That meant renting a car from the same repair shop, and we reluctantly accepted an ancient Chevy Impala, which had more mileage on it than our damaged Traverse. In addition, since that Impala was built lower to the ground than our SUV, we found it difficult to get in and out of. Something to do with age, I believe!
But horror of horrors, the lenders of said car told us we couldn’t transport animals in it. This meant that our pups would have no rides until repairs were finished. Explaining this to them was a hard job, as we did not have a ‘woof’ interpreter handy. Given the timeline, it looked like several days would elapse before we were in our comfortable contraption and together as a family.
However, the few days lasted ten days. This was over the Thanksgiving holiday, and we had to drive to Bedford, Indiana, to celebrate with family there. It was an uncomfortable ride, but we survived. Finally, the repaired transportation came home and we were happy again. But, what of the new one we had ordered?
Joe, our intrepid salesperson, was able then to tell us that a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) had been assigned for our new car. Elation reigned, for that meant that it was on its way. But, and there is always a but, the Traverse line had yet to begin work. Finally, it was set — ours was scheduled to be built the week of January 31!
With our son and family due to arrive back in the states on the 8th of March, we realized that it was going to be a close call to have the new one here so they could have our old one to drive. January went by slowly, as we pestered poor Joe to try to find out if things were going apace. He assured us they were; patience was needed, and he made sure we knew that the situation was really out of his hands.
Finally, January 31, a Monday, arrived. We knew it would take only about three days to build a new car, so lit depended on which day they began ours as to when it was done. Coming home from Wal-Mart that evening, an evil deer (you guessed it!) ran into our deer dented repaired car on the other side in the front.
This time we knew we could not drive the car, but the same routine had to be followed. The next morning we visited the insurance office, the repair facility and the dealership. The repair shop said they were swamped with work and the first scheduled date for us would be March 21. But, if we would park the car on their lot, maybe they could fit it in earlier. Since we couldn’t drive it, that was what we did. After the experience of the ancient Impala the last time, we decided to change tactics. We had been a one-car family for over 13 years, but now we decided to purchase a used car to tide us over until our twice repaired, deer damaged five year old car could be ours to drive again.
Back to Joe — we told him we wanted a used SUV with four wheel drive since snow and ice gave us problems in getting into our garage. Here comes another but — but in the year that Joe Biden has been President, inflation has soared to it highest since 1982. And leading the way in price increases (you saw this coming, didn’t you?) were used car prices, at 40.2 % over last year’ figures.
We finally settled on a 2018 Ford Escape. It is a little smaller than the Traverse, but with a little squeezing, were are able to accommodate our furry, four-footed kids in the back so they can ride again. However, another glitch occurred. This car came with only one key. Normally we would have no problem with that, but someone (who shall remain nameless) has actually locked his key in the car and the second one was needed to be able to use the vehicle again. In addition, the front bracket for the license plate was missing (Illinois demands two plates for all vehicles) , since it had been built for a state with more sensible requirements.
Nothing is as simple as it might seem on the surface. In this case, one would simply take the car and key back to the dealership and have a new key made. Nope — this key is on a key fob (whoever thought that up) that would have to be taken, along with the car to Effingham, Illinois, to get the key cut and the electronics lined up in order for it to work.
Our saga continued, as we allowed the dealership to take our newly purchased used car the hour and a half to Effingham yesterday, a Friday. Instead of a rental, our dealer allowed us to use, as a loaner, a 2019 Buick Encore, a small SUV, with no place for dogs to ride again. The expression on their long faces said it all.
We were supposed to get our new used car and new key fob about 4 or 4:30 yesterday afternoon, but once again our car Nemesis struck. When our car arrived at Effingham’s facility, it was discovered that they did not have the software needed to finish the job. Back to Paris came the Ford Escape, with still only one key and fob.
After playing phone tag with the dealer, it was decided we would keep the Buick over the weekend and they would return the Ford (our Ford) to Effingham to have the job finished on Monday.
We have kept our son apprised of the situation all along, and the last time we spoke via Face Time, he had already come up with an alternate plan for their transportation needs when they back to the U. S. in March.
One ray of hope broke through the clouds on Wednesday as we realized that the car repair shop had moved our deer dinged car into the facility instead of having it sit outside. This meant, according to them, that they might get to work on it much sooner than they first felt they could.
Now, expecting to get our new one within the next three weeks or so, we were seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Except, the news from our friends in the frozen north (Canada) may perhaps derail even that expectation. According to reports, the Freedom Convoy which converged on the national capital of Ottawa, had so cluttered the major bridge into Michigan from Canada that parts for cars (and other items) caused General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda to close plants or cancel shifts at their Michigan facilities.
Maybe the Lord is teaching us patience, but our cry from here (augmented by the howls from the disaffected canines) is simple, Car Number 5, Where Are You?