Love Keeps Her In The Air

YAH is back in the shop, this time for a month or more.

I was driving south in the middle lane of I-95 on the evening of February 26th in moderately heavy traffic when I hit an object in the road. This time, instead of deer flesh and bone, it was a sizable hunk of metal, bouncing from where it had fallen off a truck.

There was no swerving, no where to move; I plowed straight over it with a sickening THUNK and a tremendous jolt which nearly wrenched the wheel out of my hand.

It looked like the center part of a truck axle, but that couldn’t be possible, could it? A semi pulled over ahead of us, so perhaps it was. I pulled over and tried to see if there was any damage, but cell phones do not make good flashlights. Merrystar suggested that we go to a gas station and check for fluid leaks, which was a very good idea. We didn’t find anything, so we nervously resumed our journey home.

Here’s what I didn’t see that night:

• The front bumper valence took a direct hit from whatever the hunk was, tearing it up.
• It then slammed into the engine sling, seriously denting it.
• Bouncing right along, it mangled the exhaust heat shield and gashed a hole straight through the floor, exposing carpet.
• Back up into the exhaust system, denting the muffler and gouging a support strut.
• Then it went for the kill, gashing a hole 2cm to the right of the gas tank.
• Foiled, it contented itself with poking a hole through the floor of YAH’s trunk.

The sad thing is that it took two visits to the dealer (Casey Volkswagen, Newport News) to find this out. On the first visit I was assured that everything was fine under there, some scratches, nothing more. It was only after the mangled heat shield started rattling that I took it back and was shown some of the problem, though they omitted the fuel tank and holes in the floor.

It was only by taking it to the local body shop (Ebby’s) and filing a claim did I see the whole extent of the damage. YAH was declared undrivable (fumes from the exhaust could enter the cabin) so I’m now in a rental car.

I’m really disappointed in Casey Volkswagen right now. They had an opportunity to gain my trust, and instead they blew it in the worst way possible.

Because, you know, I love my car. Love keeps her flyin’.

 

(Well, love … and dead dinosaur. Mmmm, tasty dead dinosaur.)