Spare Me
I bought my gently used Camry just shy of a year ago. I’ve been sooo happy. She came from a reputable dealer, was checked out by my own trusted mechanic and is indeed, a smooth ride. I came to find out, however, that I missed an important detail in looking her over before purchasing.
Well, Tuesday evening, I ambled out to the driveway, headed for a client appointment, only to find the rear tire on the passenger side, flat as a pancake. The AAA guy came in record time, took one look at the flat and pointed to the large screw lodged there (now how does that happen?) He opened the trunk took one look at the spare and said, "Oh look, a matched pair." There was a large screw in the spare and it was also flat, flat, flat. The purchasing process passed before my eyes. I had opened the trunk, found it to be spotless, just like the interior, but I hadn’t checked the spare tire.
So what’s the lesson? Well, we can’t drive around without a spare tire in good condition. It should be on the list when buying a car. I know we all have many more important things to think about, but at least once a year we should have our spare checked. A good time might be during a maintenance check, or getting the snow tires put on.
What happened to me? I had to reschedule the client appoinment. The AAA guy was able to fill the tire with air. I drove to town and got the flat fixed. I had to buy a new spare as that was unfixable. Ouch! But you know, it can always be worse….
