My Day
Posted: 09 Apr 2024, 21:57
We left town at zero dark 30 and dropped my son off at SFO to catch his flight to Barcelona.
So now we're in San Francisco, let's have some lunch.
The Beach Chalet is a good place out on the Great Highway, far from the urban doom loop blight of downtown SF.
We ordered Clam Chowder which would have been excellent if it wasn't cold, but we were hungry and ate it anyway.
That was mistake #1
We go back to the car and the key won't turn. Neither of our keys will turn in the ignition switch.
So we call AAA and all they offer is an automated system.
here is no option for key won't turn
Mistake #2
AAA sends a battery truck. The driver doesn't speak English very well and wears a covid mask. We tell him what's happening so the driver checks the battery anyway and tells us we think that our battery is good. We tell him to start the car with the keys, and he says we think that the ignition switch is worn out. The nearest dealership is in Colma, nine miles away. Our standard AAA membership only covers towing for five miles, so there will be an added charge, besides the driver isn't in a tow truck. The driver says we think, he'll call the tow truck company.
It'll be here in an hour. Suzelle calls the Volkswagen dealership to let them know we're coming.
Suzelle gets a text from the tow truck company that they be here in 10 minutes
35 Minutes later, there's still no to truck.
Mistake #3
Suzelle's phone battery is dying. She can't recharge it because we can't start the car to use the charger. She gets through to AAA, they tell her that company doesn't handle tows in that part of SF.
Mistake #4
and they'll send another company's tow truck. A half hour later it arrives. The driver doesn't speak English so we have to use the Google translator on his cell phone.
The driver is able to get the car in neutral without starting the engine, so it can be pushed out of the parking stall but it takes time.
Meanwhile a Brinks Armored car and about a dozen cars are lined up trying to get into the parking lot, plus one employee who ended his shift can't get his car out since the tow truck is blocking the parking lot.
Now our car is hooked up and ready to go, the driver (through his Google translator) tells us he can only take one passenger in the cab of his tow truck.
Mistake #5
I ride with the driver while Suzelle returns to the restaurant to call an Uber that reeked of curry) and we all meet up at the dealership in Colma. BTW, Colma is a necropolis, founded in 1924 when San Francisco ran out of room for cemeteries. I wonder how many residents of Colma buy cars?
So we're at the dealership waiting for the car to be looked at. The ignition switch is shot, they need parts, so sometime this week it'll be fixed.
So we walked a block to a car rental agency and rented a Chevy Spark to get home, leaving the bay area at the height of five o'clock traffic.
Mistake #6
It takes us 5 hours to drive home in a pregnant roller-skate (the Spark) in a mostly bumper to bumper traffic jam.
What an Adventure!
So now we're in San Francisco, let's have some lunch.
The Beach Chalet is a good place out on the Great Highway, far from the urban doom loop blight of downtown SF.
We ordered Clam Chowder which would have been excellent if it wasn't cold, but we were hungry and ate it anyway.
That was mistake #1
We go back to the car and the key won't turn. Neither of our keys will turn in the ignition switch.
So we call AAA and all they offer is an automated system.
here is no option for key won't turn
Mistake #2
AAA sends a battery truck. The driver doesn't speak English very well and wears a covid mask. We tell him what's happening so the driver checks the battery anyway and tells us we think that our battery is good. We tell him to start the car with the keys, and he says we think that the ignition switch is worn out. The nearest dealership is in Colma, nine miles away. Our standard AAA membership only covers towing for five miles, so there will be an added charge, besides the driver isn't in a tow truck. The driver says we think, he'll call the tow truck company.
It'll be here in an hour. Suzelle calls the Volkswagen dealership to let them know we're coming.
Suzelle gets a text from the tow truck company that they be here in 10 minutes
35 Minutes later, there's still no to truck.
Mistake #3
Suzelle's phone battery is dying. She can't recharge it because we can't start the car to use the charger. She gets through to AAA, they tell her that company doesn't handle tows in that part of SF.
Mistake #4
and they'll send another company's tow truck. A half hour later it arrives. The driver doesn't speak English so we have to use the Google translator on his cell phone.
The driver is able to get the car in neutral without starting the engine, so it can be pushed out of the parking stall but it takes time.
Meanwhile a Brinks Armored car and about a dozen cars are lined up trying to get into the parking lot, plus one employee who ended his shift can't get his car out since the tow truck is blocking the parking lot.
Now our car is hooked up and ready to go, the driver (through his Google translator) tells us he can only take one passenger in the cab of his tow truck.
Mistake #5
I ride with the driver while Suzelle returns to the restaurant to call an Uber that reeked of curry) and we all meet up at the dealership in Colma. BTW, Colma is a necropolis, founded in 1924 when San Francisco ran out of room for cemeteries. I wonder how many residents of Colma buy cars?
So we're at the dealership waiting for the car to be looked at. The ignition switch is shot, they need parts, so sometime this week it'll be fixed.
So we walked a block to a car rental agency and rented a Chevy Spark to get home, leaving the bay area at the height of five o'clock traffic.
Mistake #6
It takes us 5 hours to drive home in a pregnant roller-skate (the Spark) in a mostly bumper to bumper traffic jam.
What an Adventure!