Sometimes life sucks. Especially if it hurts: I was about to do a trip to Hamburg to see an old friend again. For keeping things simple I have decided to go by car which would grant me some more freedom.
But due to various things I was able do depart quite late in the evening. But that wasn’t the worst issue. Just as cruising along the highway a yellow light showed up stating a ‘general motor failure’. So I did a POI Search for the next garage.
To be sure to do the right thing I got me the manual of my car and read the passage about the warning lights again which told me that I shouldn’t drive any further. As it’s already past midnight and there was nearly no traffic on the road I decided to push my car. 12 Kilometers – not a big deal but better than waiting.
Hours and Kilometers passed by and I arrived at the gates of the garage but as it was quite soon they were still closed. So I had to wait. If I would have known the answer which was that they weren’t able to help me. But at least I got a new address to push my car to. As I arrived at the next garage the salesman explained me, that I wouldn’t have to push the car as it’s got an emergency program which prevents damage to the engine and it would be possible to drive across a longer distance doing so…
The car gets hooked up to the computer and the diagnostics don’t find a clue except for an entry in the log which gets cleared.
Then I could move on after paying 50 bucks for the service. Slightly pissed I kicked down the pedal to hit the same problem just a few kilometers later.
As it’s already daytime I started by putting on my safety vest. Next step: breakdown triangle and some phone calls.
The car blinked and I had some time to look around me. There was a small parking area and – may it be my lucky day? – a car stopped just as I was preparing the car for being pulled away.
A man got out of that car, looking at me, turning away and walking to a tree for using it as a toilet. Then he drove away again. Some hundred cars passed by – a few ones stopped… but nobody asked if I could need some help. And they did notice me as everybody passing by turned his head. It’s our greedy and selfish society giving their best.
About an hour later I was being pulled to the next garage and my vacation could start at Mixter’s while the car’s being fixed. Two days later I got my car back and I was happy to be able to go back home. I could already feel my bed at home. But that dream ended just 28,7 km later as that damn yellow light showed up again.
As I already know the steps to take, the vest, the triangle… fed up with all that problems I called the Citroen emergency service who sent me someone to tow the car. Hours passed by and nobody cared – same procedure as everytime. The service guys finally called back to give me a status report which wasn’t quite amusing.
They offered me a hotel and a car – but they’d need a credit card number. So I thankfully refused and went on by foot until I was picked up again…
Some days later I got my car back again. The error description was quite fascinating: The plug at the high pressure pump was damaged.
Next time I’d go by plane. Promised.
Grazer says:
siehste, genau aus solchen gründen fahre ich unter anderem motorrad, sinnvollerweise eines, dessen 6 zylinder mit einem altertümlichen vergaser beatmet werden, das einzige, was da mit einspritzung läuft, ist der fahrer!
übrigens, meine tochter (16) blieb vor ein paar tagen mit ihrem roller in graz liegen… kein schwein hat gehalten, bis dann plötzlich ein biker in schwarzem leder stehen blieb und sie fragte, ob er ihr helfen oder sie heim bringen könnte… am rücken prangte das HA-colour…
fazit meiner tochter: “weißt papa, die typen von den hells angels sind echt coole typen!”…
tja… DAS sagt schon alles, oder?
Stargazer says:
Bei den Bikern ist das so eine Gemeinschaft – man merkt es schon auf der Straße. Ich bin mir sicher, wenn ich die Strecke mit meiner Neo’s geglüht wäre, hätte ich weniger Stress gehabt.
Grazer says:
ist anzunehmen… und vor allem hätt die kiste funktioniert! bei einem mehr-als-zwei-räder-fahrzeug ist das heute nimmer so üblich…
Stargazer says:
Sprichst du von ATVs oder Quads? :)
Gina says:
Da feheln aber noch wichtige Details – wo kommt die Hilfe vom Heimatort vor? Weiters fehlen auch solche Details, was dies ganze für deine Holde bedeutet hat :-(
Stargazer says:
Diese Details habe ich ausgelassen um den Leser nicht zu verängstigen.
Grazer says:
stargazer, seid wann bist du so mitfühlend, um nicht “zimperlich” zu sagen???? ;-))
Stargazer says:
Du weißt, ich habe einen gewissen Ruf zu verlieren. Desweiteren würde das Erlebnis aufgrund der Ausdrucksweise wahrscheinlich als FSK90 und nur mit Begleitung der Eltern freigegeben werden…
Gina says:
So nennt man das, die Leser nicht verängstigen – die hätten nur gelernt, dass die Ländlebewohner gelernt haben zusammen zu arbeiten und aufeinander zu achten – was ist daran wohl beängstigend?
Außerdem verheimlichst du eher, wie mitfühlend andere sind, welche zu Hause auf dem Sofa bis spät in die Nacht sitzen und warten bis du selber auch ein gemütliches Plätzchen zum Überbrücken der Nacht gefunden hast. Ich find da nichts beängstigendes dran lieber Stargazer.
Grazer says:
stargazer hat einen ruf zu verlieren? das sind ja völlig neue aspekte… ich muß mal in mich gehen… (andere würden sagen: schau, jetzt bohrt das alte ferkel wieder in der nase rum…) ;-P