That car is in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"Why?" you ask. I will tell you. The following story may be one of the worst nights of my life.
The original plan was to fly home, find and buy a car, and then drive back to Utah. It was flawless. On the Friday before I left my dad and I found a beautiful 2002 Nissan Altima, took it for a test drive, and I handed over a check. We drove it home that night so I had it for a couple days before I had to leave for Utah. Monday was the day of departure.
The dealer agreed to change the oil and check something else Monday morning before I hit the road. While the car was there I got it registered. It was back from the dealer and ready to go a couple hours later. I finished packing up and loading the car and planned to leave after lunch. I said a sad goodbye to the family, took a few pictures with my new car, and hit the road with a long way to go.
Everything was going great. I couldn't believe I was driving my new car back to Utah! I had my music blasting while I sang at the top of my lungs and I was making good time. It seemed too good to be true.
It was.
I was just outside Lincoln, Nebraska (about 5 hours into the drive), when I heard a sound. I still had my music up pretty loud but it was a very loud banging sound from inside the engine followed by another strange noise. I decided to pull over immediately. Then the car started smoking. I was just about to exit so I pulled over on the shoulder of the exit ramp.
I called my dad. He didn't answer. I called my mom and immediately asked for my dad.
"Is everything ok?"
"I think something happened to the car."
"Bad?"
"I'm not sure. There was a noise and then smoke."
"Ok, here's Dad."
I told my dad what happened and he told me to check the engine. I couldn't see anything wrong. The belt the dealer replaced was still intact. Everything seemed fine. I checked under the engine and noticed a wet spot on the ground. I tried to see what was above it and it looked like something was torn. I could see pieces of torn fiber of some sort (I don't know anything about engines so this was all described to my dad very roughly). He couldn't tell what was wrong and said he'd call AAA. I got back in the car to wait.
It was so hot. It was a little after 5 in the afternoon, hottest time of the day, and the sun was beating in through the windshield. I couldn't start the car to get a/c or roll down the window. I thought I might die waiting in my car. My dad called me back and said AAA would call me so I could tell them where I am and they'd send a tow truck. AAA called me and said the nearest service is in Lincoln but it was closed for the night. It would open at 8 the next morning. I said I'd just go back to Lincoln for the night and get the car looked at the next day. I told them where I was and they said they'd call back with more information.
Waiting.
My mom called and said she reserved a hotel room for me in Lincoln right by the repair shop.
Waiting.
Phone dying. No power. Car getting hotter. Sweating a lot. Trying to stay calm.
Call from AAA: "We are trying to find someone to come get you but we can't get a hold of anyone so we'll call you back in another 10 or 15 minutes with more information."
Waiting.
My sister called to keep me company (bless her heart). I couldn't talk because my phone was dying and I had to save power for the call from AAA.
Waiting.
"We still can't get a hold of anyone so we are going to try a different place so we can get someone out there to tow you."
Waiting.
Waiting.
"We got a hold of someone. He's on his way from Lincoln. He'll be there in 15-20 minutes."
Twenty minutes later he showed up. (Twenty minutes after that phone call, that is. I was waiting on the side of the road for almost two hours total.) He was great. He asked what happened then told me he knew of a 24-hour repair place and asked if I'd rather have the car taken there. I said yes. He told me to go sit in the air conditioned truck where he had a cold bottle of water for me while he loaded the car. I called my dad to tell him they came and he asked to talk to the guy who came after he loaded the car.
Phone died.
When he finished loading the car and came back to the truck I asked him to call my dad from his phone. The conversation went something like this:
"There's a big hole in the engine. I thought it would just be simple like a belt or something but it doesn't look good."
(Stay calm, Amanda. Stay calm.)
"We'll get her back to Lincoln. I know the guys at this place and I'd recommend it to anyone. They'll take care of her."
I think I was in shock for the ride back to Lincoln. My little introverted self could not have a conversation in the state I was in. I didn't even bother trying.
We pulled in to the repair place and I heard the tow-guy tell the repair-guy, “There’s a hole in the engine about this big.” I grabbed my stuff and headed inside. Told them my phone was dead and called my dad from their phone to tell him I was in Lincoln and they were going to look at the car.
They had some big leather couches so I went and sat down. I realized as I grabbed my stuff from the car that I was missing part of my phone charger that plugged into the wall. Luckily I had my laptop and could charge my phone from that. Do you think my phone was holding a charge? No. It wasn’t. Anything else want to go wrong for me? I dare you.
I sat down and waited.
(part two coming tomorrow)
(part two coming tomorrow)
2 comments :
That is a horrible story. I am so sorry that you had to go through that.
This is THE most terrible story ever. You are seriously amazing.
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