A throwback experience and first world problem

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My real car!

I was handed keys. I asked what do I do with these?

Let me back up. My car is in the body shop. A while back a deer ran into my door. (The deer wasn’t hurt as it sprinted off.) The damage was minimal, so I didn’t rush to get it repaired. Even small dings are costly. I thought I could ignore it or remove the dents myself, but the side panel pushed the bumper cover slightly out of alignment. I didn’t notice it, but something was stressing. With the extreme weather we had, it cracked. Now I had to get it repaired.

I hate driving rentals. Stuff isn’t in the same place. I have to search for things like gas cap releases and refigure gears. I need the garage door gizmo with me because I can’t program the car. My car had bells and whistles like automatic lights and windshield wipers and butt heaters that I really like. I use the butt heater from October until April.

I’m cheap when it comes to insurance. My plan is only for an economy rental. So…no butt heaters or bells and whistles. I could upgrade but for how much driving I do, it doesn’t make economic sense.

When the rental person met me, he gave me keys. Real keys. I looked at them with curiosity. What do I do with these? He said they start the car (wondering what kind of an idiot they were renting to). Vaguely I remember keys. It’s been decades since I had real keys for my ignition and door locks.

We did all the paperwork, and he left me alone to figure it all out. I adjusted the seat, mirrors and put the key in the ignition. Now what? There was no start button. Oh yes, you turn the key to start. That worked.

Keys have a whole new set of processes. You need them in your hand when you go to the car. My car reacts to the fob in my purse. I don’t need to take it out to lock or unlock. I touch my handle and it opens like magic. Same with locking. I press a start button all the while my fob never leaves its safe place in my purse. It doesn’t get lost like keys do.

I have to remember the keys. I need to place them somewhere I’ll find them. I need them to unlock the door even if it’s raining. The car is useless without the keys.

As for the car itself, it’s a basic sedan. I drive a small SUV. I need to take the elevator to the basement to crawl in the rental. It’s very low to the ground. I need a crane to get out. I wondered if old people were driving sedans. Not likely.

I’m scheduled to pick up my car tomorrow. I will cherish it and shower it with love. I’ll crank up the butt heater. The AC will be perfect without any intervention. It knows how I like it. (I never figured out how to adjust the HVAC without constant fidgeting.) Best of all, it’s red so I’ll be able to find it. No more looking at a sea of gray cars to figure out which one is mine. Peace will return.

BTW never believe how long the body shop says it takes to repair. Multiply any number by 2 and you will be close. My first pick-up date was Saturday but stuff happens so it’s tomorrow (Wednesday). Fingers crossed!

32 thoughts on “A throwback experience and first world problem”

  1. I hope I don’t have to get a new-fangled car for some time. I’m taking my car into the shop tomorrow morning. It has a leak that I’ve been monitoring in the garage and someone keyed the right front fender a few weeks ago, so they will send it to their body shop for repair. I have nothing pressing, so I don’t need the car. I hoped to take it in Monday, but they were busy – they also service the City’s postal trucks. My car, a 2009 Buick LaCrosse, has only 14,600 miles on it. I have a fob and a regular key, but I leave the fob in the house and just click it a couple of times every morning before I go outside to use the car or just run it. I do that to keep the electrical system in good order and I only use the key … yep, I’m weird.

    About 12 years ago my neighbor had his key fob in hand and was wearing gloves, the trunk opened by mistake and snow got into the trunk. So I stopped using the fob in Winter, then altogether. Ten years ago, on my 60th birthday no less, I opened the car door and the car was dead as a doornail. Called the mechanic, that I’ve been going since they opened around 2000 to get a jump and the mechanic who came to the house said “where’s your fob – open the car door with your fob to bring it back to life!” I went inside, got the fob, clicked to unlock it, the car was fine! He had me pull the car out of the garage anyway and he gave it a jump and tested the battery. I learned that day that you have to use the fob to keep the electrical system in order – who knew? I told him why I stopped using it and he said “there might have been adult beverages going on Linda – you cannot just nudge the trunk button and it opens that easily – you have to push down hard on it!” I said “I only open the trunk from the door panel. He shook his head. 🙂 Me … I have a story for everything!

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  4. Funny story:

    I have a friend who rented a car to drive one state over to visit me (she and her husband only had one car and he was staying home).

    When she got to my house, she said the rental was nice but she couldn’t figure out how to lock it (for instance, she locked it when she stopped for lunch but found it unlocked when she returned). Because of this, she was wary of leaving the car unattended for too long.

    Turns out, she had locked it just fine. She didn’t realize that the fob in her purse unlocked it automatically when she returned. Since she owned an older car with an actual key, she had no idea this was happening.

    Btw, my car seats not only have butt warmers for the winter, but also butt fans for the summer. Aaaahhh!

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    • Butt fans? I never heard of those! I can understand how your friend got confused. Fobs are the best thing since sliced bread!

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  6. I am an old person (80) and I drive a sedan. I don’t need a down elevator, to get in and out. What I need is a ladder to get into an SUV, even a “mini”.

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  7. We have a key fob, so although the fob unlocks the doors, for ignition and gas filler cap, we need the key.
    The garage we used to use let us have a courtesy car for the day when we took ours in. It was always out of gas so we’d put in a fiver’s worth of fuel for a four mile journey (2 miles each way). Dogs not allowed in it, and not a comfortable ride. We noticed the MOT fee was £5 higher and the garage where the MOT was actually done is the one we are now using. They collect the car and drop it off when ready, then we go in to settle the bill. We have a good relationship with them, they are fairly priced and reliable.

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  8. Interesting… yes, keys are pretty awkward now. We had a keyless entry to our door at the condo and getting ready to do a keyless entry to our house as soon as the painters fit us in for the front door. Your car looks sparkly brand new in this photo. Hoping all goes well and you pick up your car tomorrow!

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  9. 😂😂😂Yes, who knew the day would come when we didn’t need keys for cars! Good luck getting it back tomorrow! And enjoy your heated seats again. As my sister said its her heated seats are used more now for her back pain. 😅

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  10. Here’s hoping the return of your beloved red SUV will occur as promised tomorrow. Cars are funny, I can always tell when a service person has sat in mine because the seat position is off, even just a tad. It takes a while to get the service person’s aura out of my car, even when I reset to my preferences. I’m weird that way. 😉 Key fobs are one of life’s greatest inventions.

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  13. how great that you get your car back!! yay!!! I had a rental what was made in hell.. probably the offspring of stephen kings christine.. I tried to change the position of the wheel with two buttons and suddenly the radio screamed like a banshee! wtf…

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  14. I’ve had my current Honda for . . . 26 years this month. It only has 103,000 miles on it. So I’m hoping I can keep it running as long as I’m still driving.

    Let’s hope I don’t lose my keys!

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    • My stepson has had his car since college. He’s 52 and has over 250K miles on it. It’s a small domestic car. He’s had to replace parts and repaint several times but it works for him.

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  15. Well now this calls for a celebration! I can’t even imagine having to adjust to a car I know nothing about – I’m definitely a creature of habit…..but you did it and now you can have your OWN baby back tomorrow. Yep – I’m thinking dinner out to celebrate and a drive-thru doesn’t count! This calls for an actual DINNER OUT.

    Hugs, Pam

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    • Do you know a restaurant where they allow cars to sit at the table? My poor baby has had it rough. She was taken apart and put together with some new parts. They have to get used to each other. At least they will all be red!

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