Tammi's World

My Christmas Miracle

Wow. What a day.

Started out very early this morning. Then over 300 miles worth of driving HAD to be accomplished. No choice. Had to be done.

So the beginning of the day, while not perfect, wasn't bad. Then, as I'm pulling into a town called Sterling Illinois, IT happens.

Actually I was at a stop light and turned right when IT happened. Some horrible loud POP. Then....then the car drove like crap. Shaking and creaking. Making the most horrible of noises. I had to keep the wheel pulled so far to the right (like I was still trying to turn) just to keep it in a straight line.

Not good. Not good at all. I've got a lot of driving to do these next few days. And I've been told all along that it's my brakes giving me all these problems. Those are scheduled for replacement on Christmas Eve.....4 hours from my home.

This? This was not a car that was going to even MAKE it home, let alone 4 hours east.

Now, I have to tell you. There is NOTHING that makes me freak out more than having car trouble. Seriously. And I was having a melt down.

So I did what I always do in these situations. I started praying. Now, I'm not silly enough to think God would "heal" my car....what I needed was a bit of luck. It's Christmas, money is tight (to say the least) and I have no time to be stranded an hour away from Paradise.

My hope was that I could milk the car home. And then, as stupid as this sounds, I was hoping I could limp it over to Mama Vi's where the guy could look at it.

That...was MY plan.

Well, I finished my sales call and got back in the car. Just trying to pull out of the parking lot I knew....there was no way. The drive back from Sterling is long, and VERY rural. I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it.

So I pulled into a little station across the street from my dealer. Steve's Auto Sales & Quick Lube. Now, I'm just about hyperventilating at this point.

A very nice guy came out and asked how I was. My response? Bad. Really REALLY bad.

Then I told him what the car was doing. Or at least I tried too. Yeah, he took it for a drive.

Bad. Really bad.

So after a bit of investigating they tell me it's the CV Axle. Then they tell me what it's going to cost.

I'm rather proud that I didn't vomit in front of them.

But it had to be done.

Bad. Really bad.

So they fixed Lana. And then charged me 1/2 of what the estimate was.

AND made sure I knew my brakes are in PERFECT condition. AND I don't need new tires.

In fact, Carl told me the car is in GREAT shape (other than she needs a good cleaning).

Half folks. They charged me half.

Half I could afford. Barely. Sorta. But I could do half.

And Lana drives/rides better now than she has since I bought her. Quiet. Smooth. Perfect.

Not only that but they made sure I completely understood - my brakes are FINE. No problem at all. Pads? Almost like new. They need NO WORK at all. AND - my tires are in fantastic condition.

THAT is My Christmas Miracle. As much driving as I did today, that could have happened anywhere. They showed me the axle, what parts were not missing (yes, there were pieces missing) were not where they were supposed to be. If that puppy had broke anymore, well.....it wouldn't have been pretty.

So the guys at Steve's Auto Sales & Quick Lube are my angels. Period. I'm down there every month, and I promise they will be the ones that get my business.

Now I'm home and going to make a pot of soup and just relax. My guardian angels have worked overtime today....I don't want to push my luck.

Posted by Tammi at December 21, 2007 06:01 PM | TrackBack