I pulled to a stop at a light while on a trip to pick up pizza and I heard a loud “thunk” from the rear of the car. I assumed that something had fallen in the trunk – I keep emergency supplies, an umbrella, and an ice scraper back there – but when I got somewhere safe and popped the trunk, nothing was out of place. Any nothing seemed loud enough to have made that amount of noise. The car generally seemed louder on the drive home and I got a little more worried.
When I got home I took the pizza in and ate while it was still hot – then went out to check the car again. This time, I squatted down and cranked my neck to see under the car. And my muffler was hanging down at a jaunty angle.
Crap.
This was a Friday night and when I went back inside I hopped online to make an appointment with Midas. They had an appointment available on Saturday morning at 10 and I booked it – only to get a message that it wasn’t really booked until got a confirmation.
Since this was well after hours I didn’t know how that would work or who would be confirming that, but about 20 minutes later I got an email confirming my appointment – then a text message reminder too. I have no idea why there was that extra step since it wasn’t human-initiated.
Saturday morning I was up early and got to the repair shop a few minutes before 10. They took my keys and I waited in the lobby with a book while they worked on an estimate.
When the estimate came around, it was more than I was expected. Which, really, I should have expected. (Ha!)
The tech asked if I wanted to proceed with that and I had a wild thought about asking if it might just repair itself. But, I didn’t ask that insane question – not knowing if the guy would appreciate the attempt at humor – and agreed to the repairs.
It was about 10:30 and they said it would be done by 1:00. I had considered waiting if it was shorter than that, but my book wasn’t long enough. I also thought about walking over to the mall since it was nearby, but that was still quite a while to wait.
So, I started walking home and called Jim to see if he could bring me back. I was fighting a cold and while I was sure I could handle the walk home, I might not have the engry to get back.
He told me to wait and that he would come pick me up. We arranged a location, he picked me up, and we went home to eat an early lunch.
By 11:45, the car was done and I got a text. I could have just waited and saved Jim a couple of trips if I’d known, but he took me back to pick up my car.
I paid the bill, got my receipt and lifetime warrenty emailed to me, and drove my quiet car home.
I’m lucky that I could afford it, that I could get it scheduled, and that it went quickly.
And, all in all, cheaper than a new car payment.