I woke up early Monday morning to get a start on the long drive. It was about 5:15 and very dark. After going just a few miles I saw a new warning light on my dash… CHECK GAUGE. It has overheated. My heart sank as I pulled over on the side of the road. I have never been stranded on the side of the road, I did not take it well. I pull out my phone but I cannot get google to come up, nothing. It was too early to call anyone, so I waited until 6:00 and I was able to send a text to my friend in Key West, Sheri. I knew she usually got up early, and she was in my time zone, so she sent me the *347 to call for help. They don’t come out until 7:00, but he didn’t arrive until 7:30. He filled my coolant reservoir with water, and told me he would follow me to the next exit to Lake City, which was 8 miles down the road. I watched the gauge and it didn’t overheat. When I got to Walmart, I bought coolant. When I came back and raised the hood, there was no coolant left. I saw no leaking, so where did it go?
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| Kids posing as mechanics. |
I sat on the side of the road for two hours, now I’m stuck in a parking lot. It took a few tries, but I was able to connect to Google and looked up auto repair shops. It’s always scary to take your car to a new mechanic, you don’t know if you will be ripped off or not. I didn’t know the area, so I decided to call someone to come to me. If it was something simple like a hose, that would be an easy fix. I call, the truck shows up about 30 minutes later. These two KIDS jump out! My first thought was that my Explorer is older than they are. But, give them a chance. They said the hose was cracked and they could replace it and I would be on my way. They pulled off the hose and two gallons of coolant poured out everywhere, running down the parking lot of Walmart. This has to be a violation of some kind!
They come back and said they went to three different parts places and it would have to be ordered, there was not one in stock, but they could fix it. They replaced the hose, filled it with coolant… that I bought, and we started it up. It looked like everything was fine, no leaks. I pay them an arm and leg and drove off. Constantly watching the gauge, I got on the highway, drove about 5 miles and the gauge started climbing. There was a rest stop exit right there, so I pulled in. I got out and looked at the green liquid dripping from everywhere! There was an immediate call to A-1 Roadside Repair, and they did not answer. Imagine that! The mailbox was full, so I sent a text. He replied that he couldn’t answer the phone because he was on another call. RIGHT! But he would call me right back. 30 minutes later, I sent another text and did not get an answer. I gave them a few more minutes and then started making calls to shops. I talked to Dennis at Johnny’s Auto Repair. He gave me the number to a tow service and the adventure continued.
Ozzy’s Tow arrived in 30 minutes. He was very professional and got me to the shop in no time. It was 2:00 by this time. They took a look at it and gave me the bad news. There was a crack in the radiator, and it was going to take my other arm and leg to get it fixed. With no other choice, I told him to fix it. It was fixed, trailer hooked up and I was on my way at 7:00pm. I had not gotten 2 miles down the road and I received a text from A-1, “How’s it going?” I was furious! I let him know how I proceeded with my trouble, and I wanted a refund. I knew he didn’t feel the same as I did, but I wanted it in print. I had already called Discover and was told that the charge was pending and that I had to wait until it posted before I could dispute the charge, but at least the call was noted on my account.
It was getting late, and I was too tired to drive anymore that day, so I stayed in Lake City area another night. Tomorrow is another day!
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