car breakdown ordeal

lifeinamerica · 20th November 2006, 00:08

I'm an immigrant and student living in America. I had bought AAA for my car. Unfortunately, my car broke down at the beginning of the semester when i was driving to school. I called AAA, and almost 1 hour later, a guy came, and he took my keys (apartment keys, car keys, mailbox key all together) to start my car. Despite my REPEATED requests to take the car to my apartment, he towed my car to a AAA-affiliated repair shop which charged an astronomical amount for an INSPECTION, before the REPAIR. At the repair shop, I asked for my keys back and the tow guy told me he lost them. All of them. I panicked and told him to go look for them. He refused. I called my dad (living across the state from me). He was angry when he heard what had happened, and argued with the AAA guy on the phone, who hung up on him. Eventually I had my car towed to another local repair shop and had it fixed there for A FRACTION OF THE COST than the AAA shop.

Afterwards, AAA at first refused to do anything but eventually agreed to change my car lock when my dad threatened lawsuit if I ever become injured as a result of house break-in or theft (if the keys were in the wrong hands). I slept on the floor with my head against the door for nights before the door lock was changed by the apartment. Needless to say, the quality of life was not great in those days.

While changing my car lock, the AAA tech guy was still bitter about it, saying, "Now your dad can finally get off AAA's back, and you off mine."

I wonder how you would have handled the situation differently because obviously I didn't handle it very well.

I'm sorry for this vent but I just had to get it off my chest because it was a revelation of how superficially kind but truly selfish Americans really are. It seems to me I was treated the way I was because I didn't know much about American laws or how to defend myself, and they took advantage of my naivety. Someone told me, "Americans would apologize when they step on your foot but shut up like a clam if they damage your car, if they are at fault." My Vietnamese friend was the only source of solace as she offered to come out and stay with me through the ordeal.

Triton4 · 20th November 2006, 00:48

Dude listen to me - never EVER get insurance from AAA - they are motherfucking slandering douchebags. The only good thing they do is, when you call them, they come in just 15 mins to repair. That is how they became popular. But they are really assholes and thieving wankers!!!

One day I rented a Chrysler for a weekend & what happened is my friend accidentally put the key into the trunk along with other stuff & slammed it shut - there was no way to open to trunk or get into it from inside the car. We were panicking becuase we could do nothing without the key. We were stranded there for hours. Then I called Enterprise (the ones who rented the car to me). I had a tiring long talk with them when they eventually told that the overall cost would be $105 plus whatever the locksmith charges. I said I'll call them later if I needed help. Then my friend had a AAA membership card, he called AAA & a girl was talking with him for a long time - she said the cost would be $50 dollars for the whole thing. We were about to call them for help when the phone battery went down

Then we got hold of a public phone & called AAA again - this time a guy was talking & he said it will cost $75!!! Then we got into a big heated argument after which he agreed to do it for 50 bucks. Then AAA sent a locksmith in 20 minutes - he took time to set up his stuff, then he made a duplicate key for the car - we were very relieved, but then we had the ultimate shock of our lives when he said: wait! it's 70 bucks for the key!!! We were like wtf??!! We told him that we made an agreement with AAA to get the whole job done for 50 bucks & why was he acting like that - he said that price was only for the setup cost & the key costs 70 bucks separately, for opening the trunk. He was talking like a moron & in our frustration we nearly felt like killing him. But he said that he is just a local locksmith (not affiliated with AAA) & he was sent by his boss to do his job (who in turn had been ordered by AAA). We ended up paying that twat 70 bucks.

Moral of the story: Never trust AAA, ever. And I'm not sure how other companies like GEICO are, either.

Too-DAMN-Much · 20th November 2006, 00:54

lesson learned : if you weren't born in the US - STAY THE FUCK OUT!

lifeinamerica · 20th November 2006, 00:57

Too-DAMN-Much:
I rest my case.

Too-DAMN-Much · 20th November 2006, 01:01

gaekwad2 · 20th November 2006, 01:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Too-DAMN-Much
lesson learned : if you weren't born in the US - STAY THE FUCK OUT!

[obligatory]

[/obligatory]

Too-DAMN-Much · 20th November 2006, 01:02

i lol'd

ScorLibran · 20th November 2006, 01:09

Ignore the legal recourses.

This is 2006. Almost every merchant on the planet takes major credit cards or debit cards. Providers of both types protect you from fraud by allowing you two outs: (1) reporting a fraudulent charge. Complicated. Takes a long time. Provides the merchant with an opportunity to argue the allegation. This is the non-desirable approach. (2) Report the card lost or stolen. Clean. All charges on and after the date you say the card was lost or stolen are repaid to your account, whether it's a credit or debit card. No merchant gets any chance to argue the action. In fact, they don't even know about it until their payment is rejected by the credit card company. Catch is that they can sue you for the balance they say you owe them. Another catch - this one in your favor - is that almost any litigation by the merchant costs at least a couple of thousand dollars in attorney retainment during initiation of the suit. No merchant is going to gamble that money if the amount owed is equal to or less than that. So your risk is mitigated.

Therefore, always pay with major credit card. If things go bad with ANY merchant, call the card in as lost, get a new card (with a new card number) within a week, then manually repay other merchants who may get caught up in the stoppage of payments, leaving the bad one dangling in the wind.

I've played this game for two decades, have never been sued, and have always recoved anything I determined to be a wrongful payment - I determine, not the merchant. You should do the same. Because it's your money, not theirs.

Mattress · 21st November 2006, 13:29

hmm, interesting idea, Scor. I'll have to remember that.

Quote:

by Too-DAMN-Much
lesson learned : if you weren't born in the US - STAY THE FUCK OUT!

It's amazing what people will type when they know the readers are out of fists' range.

...

swingdjted · 30th November 2006, 06:02

Nice catch.

[EDIT] although after thinking about it, and after reading the "america fucking sucks" thread, you might want to reconsider, just for your own good...

nah, it's ok here, we just have a few things to fix - stick around; you'll be amused by our drive up braille bank machines[/EDIT]

rockouthippie · 30th November 2006, 09:36

Quote:

Originally posted by lifeinamerica
Despite my REPEATED requests to take the car to my apartment, he towed my car to a AAA-affiliated repair shop which charged an astronomical amount for an INSPECTION, before the REPAIR.

Yeah, this is where you screwed up. You should have insisted. This is where you lose your better manners and become an american asshole.

Something like: "Look, cut the bullshit. Tow my car to my fucking house or call somebody else".

Mostly shops like this count on the fact that you will be a guppy and take getting ripped off. A lot of people do.

When in Rome, my friend

This brought to mind something that happened a few months ago. I needed a new starter for my truck. I called the auto parts guy (it's a pro shop, not really open to the public). He quotes me $90. I send my girlfriend of the week down there and he charges her $137.

We had a few words..... He figured he could soak her an extra $50 because she was a gal.

Welcome to America.

dlichterman · 30th November 2006, 20:37

Quote:

Originally posted by rockouthippie

This brought to mind something that happened a few months ago. I needed a new starter for my truck. I called the auto parts guy (it's a pro shop, not really open to the public). He quotes me $90. I send my girlfriend of the week down there and he charges her $137.

We had a few words..... He figured he could soak her an extra $50 because she was a gal.

Welcome to America.

Welcome to American cars. Toyota FTW!

swingdjted · 30th November 2006, 22:50

Toyota sells more american-made Toyotas than Chrysler sells american-made chryslers, both in totals and in percentages. Toyota will likely pass up Ford in this way too.

One of the lower-priority reasons I like buying Toyotas is because the models I buy are made here in the states. My Tundra was built in Texas and my Camry in either Kentucky or Tennessee (I forget which, but one is correct).

20th November 2006, 00:08	#1
lifeinamerica Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 2	car breakdown ordeal I'm an immigrant and student living in America. I had bought AAA for my car. Unfortunately, my car broke down at the beginning of the semester when i was driving to school. I called AAA, and almost 1 hour later, a guy came, and he took my keys (apartment keys, car keys, mailbox key all together) to start my car. Despite my REPEATED requests to take the car to my apartment, he towed my car to a AAA-affiliated repair shop which charged an astronomical amount for an INSPECTION, before the REPAIR. At the repair shop, I asked for my keys back and the tow guy told me he lost them. All of them. I panicked and told him to go look for them. He refused. I called my dad (living across the state from me). He was angry when he heard what had happened, and argued with the AAA guy on the phone, who hung up on him. Eventually I had my car towed to another local repair shop and had it fixed there for A FRACTION OF THE COST than the AAA shop. Afterwards, AAA at first refused to do anything but eventually agreed to change my car lock when my dad threatened lawsuit if I ever become injured as a result of house break-in or theft (if the keys were in the wrong hands). I slept on the floor with my head against the door for nights before the door lock was changed by the apartment. Needless to say, the quality of life was not great in those days. While changing my car lock, the AAA tech guy was still bitter about it, saying, "Now your dad can finally get off AAA's back, and you off mine." I wonder how you would have handled the situation differently because obviously I didn't handle it very well. I'm sorry for this vent but I just had to get it off my chest because it was a revelation of how superficially kind but truly selfish Americans really are. It seems to me I was treated the way I was because I didn't know much about American laws or how to defend myself, and they took advantage of my naivety. Someone told me, "Americans would apologize when they step on your foot but shut up like a clam if they damage your car, if they are at fault." My Vietnamese friend was the only source of solace as she offered to come out and stay with me through the ordeal.

20th November 2006, 00:54	#3
Too-DAMN-Much The Big Bad Boots (Forum King) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: 420 Big Buds Way Posts: 3,951	lesson learned : if you weren't born in the US - STAY THE FUCK OUT! I hate everyone, so you don't have to.

20th November 2006, 00:57	#4
lifeinamerica Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 2	Re: Too-DAMN-Much Too-DAMN-Much: I rest my case.

20th November 2006, 01:01	#5
Too-DAMN-Much The Big Bad Boots (Forum King) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: 420 Big Buds Way Posts: 3,951	I hate everyone, so you don't have to.

20th November 2006, 01:02	#7
Too-DAMN-Much The Big Bad Boots (Forum King) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: 420 Big Buds Way Posts: 3,951	i lol'd I hate everyone, so you don't have to.

20th November 2006, 00:48	#2
Triton4 Major Dude Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: CA Posts: 1,307	Dude listen to me - never EVER get insurance from AAA - they are motherfucking slandering douchebags. The only good thing they do is, when you call them, they come in just 15 mins to repair. That is how they became popular. But they are really assholes and thieving wankers!!! One day I rented a Chrysler for a weekend & what happened is my friend accidentally put the key into the trunk along with other stuff & slammed it shut - there was no way to open to trunk or get into it from inside the car. We were panicking becuase we could do nothing without the key. We were stranded there for hours. Then I called Enterprise (the ones who rented the car to me). I had a tiring long talk with them when they eventually told that the overall cost would be $105 plus whatever the locksmith charges. I said I'll call them later if I needed help. Then my friend had a AAA membership card, he called AAA & a girl was talking with him for a long time - she said the cost would be $50 dollars for the whole thing. We were about to call them for help when the phone battery went down Then we got hold of a public phone & called AAA again - this time a guy was talking & he said it will cost $75!!! Then we got into a big heated argument after which he agreed to do it for 50 bucks. Then AAA sent a locksmith in 20 minutes - he took time to set up his stuff, then he made a duplicate key for the car - we were very relieved, but then we had the ultimate shock of our lives when he said: wait! it's 70 bucks for the key!!! We were like wtf??!! We told him that we made an agreement with AAA to get the whole job done for 50 bucks & why was he acting like that - he said that price was only for the setup cost & the key costs 70 bucks separately, for opening the trunk. He was talking like a moron & in our frustration we nearly felt like killing him. But he said that he is just a local locksmith (not affiliated with AAA) & he was sent by his boss to do his job (who in turn had been ordered by AAA). We ended up paying that twat 70 bucks. Moral of the story: Never trust AAA, ever. And I'm not sure how other companies like GEICO are, either.

20th November 2006, 01:09	#8
ScorLibran Resident Floydian Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 6,226	Ignore the legal recourses. This is 2006. Almost every merchant on the planet takes major credit cards or debit cards. Providers of both types protect you from fraud by allowing you two outs: (1) reporting a fraudulent charge. Complicated. Takes a long time. Provides the merchant with an opportunity to argue the allegation. This is the non-desirable approach. (2) Report the card lost or stolen. Clean. All charges on and after the date you say the card was lost or stolen are repaid to your account, whether it's a credit or debit card. No merchant gets any chance to argue the action. In fact, they don't even know about it until their payment is rejected by the credit card company. Catch is that they can sue you for the balance they say you owe them. Another catch - this one in your favor - is that almost any litigation by the merchant costs at least a couple of thousand dollars in attorney retainment during initiation of the suit. No merchant is going to gamble that money if the amount owed is equal to or less than that. So your risk is mitigated. Therefore, always pay with major credit card. If things go bad with ANY merchant, call the card in as lost, get a new card (with a new card number) within a week, then manually repay other merchants who may get caught up in the stoppage of payments, leaving the bad one dangling in the wind. I've played this game for two decades, have never been sued, and have always recoved anything I determined to be a wrongful payment - I determine, not the merchant. You should do the same. Because it's your money, not theirs. I'm a psychosomatic sister running around without a leash.

30th November 2006, 06:02	#10
swingdjted DRINK BEER NOW (Forum King) Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern West Virginia Posts: 9,639	Nice catch. [EDIT] although after thinking about it, and after reading the "america fucking sucks" thread, you might want to reconsider, just for your own good... nah, it's ok here, we just have a few things to fix - stick around; you'll be amused by our drive up braille bank machines[/EDIT] Don't forget to live before you die.

30th November 2006, 22:50	#13
swingdjted DRINK BEER NOW (Forum King) Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern West Virginia Posts: 9,639	Toyota sells more american-made Toyotas than Chrysler sells american-made chryslers, both in totals and in percentages. Toyota will likely pass up Ford in this way too. One of the lower-priority reasons I like buying Toyotas is because the models I buy are made here in the states. My Tundra was built in Texas and my Camry in either Kentucky or Tennessee (I forget which, but one is correct). Don't forget to live before you die.

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