AAA can suck my cock!

[douglips]

Also Sprach Esprix:

Perhaps I didn’t make it clear in the OP, but I was on my way home at the time - it was about 1:00 a.m., center city Philadelphia.

Oh, I’m sorry, I misinterpreted this statement from the OP:

Now, on the way in, I noticed the battery light was on, and the indicator was just at the very top of the low red zone. Figuring it wasn’t anything to worry about…

Obviously, a red light on the dash and a needle showing “Dangerously low levels of <battery icon>” is nothing to worry about. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that later when you had your lights on the battery was drained very quickly.

And how the hell was I supposed to know it was my alternator? I know zip about cars.

You don’t have to know zip about cars. That’s why the slang term for the light is “idiot light”. It’s not meant to be derogatory, it’s only truly an idiot light when it is ignored.

Kee-rist. Stuff a sock in it, boy.

Surely. Bend over.

[/rant mode]
OK, so I’m being a bit hard on you - I was feeling a bit saucy and this is the pit. In all seriousness, not knowing much about cars definitely hurts your chances of doing the ‘right thing’ on this one. Still, though, if you had mentioned it to Dr. Boyfriend or one of his lesbian co-workers (You know, my battery light was on on the way over - I didn’t think it was a big deal, should I worry?), you may have been spared the AAA gauntlet of frustration.

However, AAA was particularly incompetent in this case and in fact should suck your cock. Or at least felch Regis Philbin’s spunk from Kathie Lee’s rear entry.

DoctorJ:

You realize that these are directly contradictory pieces of advice, don’t you?

Yeah, you got me. If the car is running right this instant, and oh look there’s Joe’s Auto Repair down the street, why not drive it the 100 yards? If you can do any self diagnosis at all you can determine if it is something you can drive to the auto shop or something you need to stop right away for. In Esprix’s and NTG’s cases, it sounds like ‘drive it to the nearest Sears’ would have been OK, but you never know - it could have burst into flames on the way into the parking lot.

The point is to stop as soon as practical. My mom was driving a '65 Valiant (very popular in my family - we had 5 over the years) and saw the oil light come on. She immediately parked in a fast food lot and called my Dad. Turned out the oil pressure sensor had blown, shedding all the oil in the crank case in about 30 seconds. Resulting repair: $20 for a new one. If she had driven home or even to the auto shop 2 miles away: new engine, quite likely.

I’m totally with you on the non-self-service car repair. My '63 Valiant was perfectly designed for DIY repairs, my '90 Horizon (POS) made it tougher, and with my '95 4Runner it is difficult for me even to change the oil.

[douglips]

Oh, and BTW:

if they don’t work, how exactly does one drive them?

Ask Neuro-trash.

I was using the word “break”, not “stop working”. After the car or a relevant part has broken, it is sometimes possible to keep driving until you have broken one or several more parts - poisoning the catalytic converter in Neuro-trash’s case is an obvious example - so is driving on a flat tire until the wheel is damaged, so is driving after the coolant leaks out of the radiator. Sometimes you should stop right away, sometimes you can drive it to the mechanic, but it’s always a good idea to ask someone with at least a microclue whether you should drive it to the shop or not.

[Ruffian]

I’ve had AAA+ for six years, and have needed to use it on entirely too many occasions. I’ve been towed 4 times with two different cars (this is why I bought a new freakin’ car!–once I could finally afford it), had a locksmith come open the trunk when I locked the keys in (whoops), and my last year my little Honda hatchback was totaled by a semi. AAA insurance did such a phenomenally fast, and thorough, job, I don’t know that I will ever switch to another company. I had a check within two weeks of the accident.

But, that’s AAA here in Southern California. They may be great where I am, but, like all businesses, some suck substantially more than others. You were ridiculously jerked around, Esprix, and I would most certainly file a complaint and/or write the BBB. What you went through was beyond absurd.

[neuro-trash_grrrl]

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I did make the connection between “burning oil” and “engine trouble”. I just figured that as long as I kept the oil coming as needed, I’d be okay. Clearly, I know jack shit about cars, and my travelling companions were no different. And now, thanks in large part to that trip, I have burned into my cerebral cortex just what a small amount jack shit can be. All I can say is that I was miles from home, did not know where to go for help, and that it seemed like a good idea at the time. So, yeah, I got into that mess due to my own ignorance and lack of foresight, and AAA got me out. Incidentally, I left this part out of the narrative, but at various points when we stopped to add fluids and let it cool down, I got a lot of advice from people who seemed like they knew what they were doing. Someone said “it sounds like you’ve got a leaky O-ring” and another said “It’s the catalytic converter”, and everybody else pointed to various other things that turned out to be totally wrong or merely peripheral, involving the engine, carbuerator, and various weird gizmos and hoses whose exact functions I still don’t know. In short, if I was confused before, I was even more so afterwards. As you’ve no doubt noticed, microclues are in short supply these days…

[Esprix]

douglips wrote:

Obviously, a red light on the dash and a needle showing “Dangerously low levels of <battery icon>” is nothing to worry about. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that later when you had your lights on the battery was drained very quickly.

Yes, the battery light went on while I was driving into the city. The indicator was just at the bottom of the “normal” zone. First of all, I had to get home after our little shindig, and secondly, usually warning lights are there to warn you, not be the harbingers of impending doom. From what I saw, I figured the battery needed to be replaced. There was no indication it was anything that serious. Either way, I had to get home - I would have no idea where a gas station was in the city, let alone a mechanic (and don’t laugh - there are very few gas stations in center city Philadelphia, and I’ve never ever gotten gas in the city in my entire life).

Still, though, if you had mentioned it to Dr. Boyfriend or one of his lesbian co-workers (You know, my battery light was on on the way over - I didn’t think it was a big deal, should I worry?), you may have been spared the AAA gauntlet of frustration.

Doubt it - he and his friends know even less. Hell, he can’t even drive - whenever we’re forced to use his car, he picks me up and I drive.

The point is to stop as soon as practical.

Agreed - but it wasn’t practical.

Don’t talk down to me, doug. I may be ignorant about cars, but I’m not a stupid person. Certainly I was going to get the car to my mechanic, but as I was nowhere near home and had little choice in the matter, what was I supposed to do?

(And no, I don’t hate you - it is The Pit after all. Now go felch your mother. ;))

Esprix

[douglips]

I was just in rant mode - I truly didn’t mean to talk down to you, but it does read that way, doesn’t it.

If this were any other forum, I’d apologize. :wally