Flattened

Yesterday was a cluster of inconveniences. I went out about noon to check the mail and discovered the Grand Cherokee had a flat. Remarkably, I did not swear. My drive slopes toward the street. It is not all that steep, but more than I want to worry about jacking up a big old SUV. 

I dragged out my little tiny air compressor and plugged it into what old phartz like me call the cigarette lighter port, even though cigarette lighters in the car disappeared years ago. I blew the tire up to about 25 psi and backed the car into the street and parked next to the curb. I decided to see what happens. I moseyed back out thirty minutes or so later and the tire had lost maybe a pound or two of pressure.

I filled it up some more and drove a couple of miles to the tire store. They said they could get to it in a few hours. I called the wife and she picked me up. 

The tire store called to tell me the key for the locking lug nuts was nowhere to be found. Only one other place has ever touched the vehicle; the dealer where I get it serviced ( it came with three years of free oil changes). I had the wife drive me there. I was willing to buy a new lug nut key. The company would pay, it’s their car. 

Dealer parts guy says can’t help me. Suggests I talk to service. Service guy shrugs and says he can’t help me unless I have the car. I keep my cool and tell him there is no way I’m paying to tow a car when they lost the key. He shrugs. Standoff. I swear under my breath as I tell the wife to take me to the tire store. 

I find the package of lug nuts they replaced with the locking nuts and the empty slot where the key went. The kit was a Mopar kit. Of course the Chrysler Jeep dealer can get the key. I swore some more. Tire store filled up the tire with air and I managed to get the car to the dealer. 

I triumphly shoved the package in the service guy’s face pointing to the empty key space. “We can’t get to it until tomorrow,” he tells me. It is now 5:45. I’m not surprised at all. I tell him to change the oil while he has the car, it is due in about 1000 miles anyway. 

“And while you are rotating the tires, put the regular lug nuts back on,” I tell him. I never wanted the fancy locking SOBs anyway. The dealer added those as a way to jack up the cost to the leasing company. I don’t want to deal with it going forward.