And There She Goes...

James and I spent the most of the day just trying to get the car towed.  He WAS able to drive it up the hill,  to our house this morning but came in saying, "I don't think it's safe enough to drive to the shop!" So, we called ADAC which is close to, but not exactly the same as AAA.  First, they send out someone to try to start the car.  Well, the guy had attitude exuding from him as it was. He hopped in the car and, of course, it started up.  The problem isn't with the starter or the engine...or anything like that.  Then he starts going off on James because we don't have snow tires. In Germany, they either have summer or winter tires. Ours are all-season tires, but they technically aren't winter tires so there you have it. (By the way, we're getting winter tires for both of our cars, ASAP!)  James continued to try to explain that there was a problem with the cars steering.  The guy starts yelling at James telling him that this is winter and in the winter the car is going to handle differently and feel differently.  At this point, I am catching all of this by watching out the kitchen window.  I know we are mere minutes of having this guy leave us so I look out another window and see that my German neighbor that speaks great English is home.  I called her up, quickly explained the situation, and literally as the guy is signing the paperwork and getting into his car, Simone saved the day!  She went head-to-head with the ADAC guy for a good five minutes trying to convince him that there really was something wrong with the car.  It was heated.  Finally, she convinced him to get in the car and drive it.  He drove around the block and came back and told us it was unsafe.  Really?  What do us dumb Americans know?  The funniest part about the morning was while he was away, James asked Simone if the guy was angry at us because it seemed like he was, and her reply was, "No, it's just way Germans are." Pretty funny coming from a German!

So after the first ADAC guy deemed the car unsafe, we waited for the ADAC tow truck to arrive. He came 1 to 1 1/2 hours later.  This guy was much nicer and the process was quite smooth.  He towed my car to the shop where we had James' windshield replaced about two weeks ago.  This place caters to Americans, but it is a German business.  We went down and processed the claim through our insurance and will know better what's going on by Wednesday afternoon.  Best case scenario, the car will be gone for two weeks.  If we need parts, they'll have to be ordered from the States and shipped here...who knows how long that will take!  (Well, I do have a good idea, because of a friend, who said it took three weeks just to get the part from the States when she got into a fender-bender earlier this year!)  Even though I drive a Kia and they have Kia here, because my car has "American specs" it is still best to get the parts from the States in most cases.

For right now, we have a beat-up loaner car from the insurance office.  I'm not sure if they'll let us keep it until the car is fixed, but it is better than nothing.  We could manage on one car if I didn't drive Thomas to and from school every day...but I do. 

Until later,

Emily