Saturday, September 20, 2008

Natalie "Almost" Saves a Buck 2

Our van has been in the shop 9 days getting repaired from last month's "Almost Save a Buck" ballyhoo. In the meantime, we've been driving a Saturn Outlook SUV rental. When I picked it up it only had 20 miles on it and was oozing with new car smell. I like its interior and features but it is a huge gas hog. I truly believe it gets about 1 mile per gallon. I've put nearly $150 of gas in this monster in just a week. So...

In an effort to save a little money on gas and my time, I asked Jim to pick up Brown Sugar from tutoring on his way home from work yesterday. I usually just stay and wait for her, but I really needed to go home and start dinner and I didn't want to waste the gas for a second round trip to pick her up. Jim agreed, however, on my way home from dropping her off, I got pulled over for speeding.

$118.00.

Now Junior had been in a friend's car last week when they got pulled over for speeding. So as soon as the cop came to the window, he started yelling "2 poweeseman, 2 poweeseman" and having a minor panic attack. Then, from either the excitement or nervousness, he wet his pants in his car seat.

When we got home, I dragged him inside, stripped him down and gave him a quick shower. When I went back outside to clean up the car seat, I realized I had locked the keys in the car. The rental keys were locked in the rental car.

No problem.

I called Enterprise and asked if they had a spare set of keys that I could pick up. Apparently, they don't have spare keys.

The man tells me to call Triple A. We don't have Triple A.

So Jim works the phone and net all evening trying to find an affordable roadside assistance plan that will let us utilize its services exactly .1 seconds after we activate it. Did you know that most plans make you wait 48-72 hours before you can use their services?

He has no luck. And he still doesn't want to pay the $50 to have a locksmith come out (there we go again, trying to save money).

So being the good phlegmatic I am, I decide to just ignore the problem for the rest of the evening and decide to figure it all out in the morning.

So this morning I call back Enterprise and ask if the OnStar is working on the vehicle. He doesn't know. Do they have any type of agreement with Triple A. He doesn't know. Then he mumbles something about Saturn roadside assistance that was detailed on the back of my pink paper...which is locked in the car.

Long story short, since the car is brand new, Saturn covers it with roadside assistance for one year. So I called them up and a locksmith should be here within the hour.

So let's review. I was trying to save $3.50 for a gallon of gas.

Speeding ticket: $118.
Roadside Assistance: Free
Trading new car smell for day old pee pee smell: Priceless

5 comments:

Emily said...

Please stop trying to save!!!! Jim's working now. Just spend, spend, spend!

Hands-Free Heart said...

This makes me laugh...

except that I, too, got a speeding ticket yesterday. And had I stopped to eat supper at a restaurant with the boys instead of trying to save money and go home, who knows? I might be $100 richer today for eating out.

But really... I don't want to join your savers club!

Melissa said...

Here is where you and I think alike....I would've also ignored the problem and just gone to bed!

I've had my share of lock outs in the past month, but thankfully there was no urine involved!

Promises said...

I think that I have to agree with Thrills - although your stories are funny...I really would like you to really save money! :)

Anonymous said...

Both my hubby and I each locked ourselves out of the house last summer. Unfortunately, we he did it, I was out of town and he had to call a locksmith. :(