Lesson Learned

So the lesson is this:

Don't drive on the highway with a flat tire

Yes, you'd think I would have learned this one quite a while ago, since I have been driving for almost 12 years now. However, that is not the case. Last Saturday was "change the tires day" (we get to keep them on extra long up here). That evening I had an event to go to, and although John said he was unable put air in the tires, I just went on my way without even considering filling up the tires on the way.

Now, in my defense, it wasn't all four tires, it was just one and the back right one, no less. So in order for me to notice this, I would have had to deliberately walk around the car and take a look at the tires. Did I think to do this? No...

So I went to my event and afterward decided to drive and fill the tire up. Well, the tire may or may not have already been flat by the time I was able to get air in it. Needless to say, the damage was done. I filled up the tire and proceeded to drive home.

In case you are getting worried, I did make it home. It wasn't until the next day that John noticed a bulge in the side wall of the tire. So he made and appointment to get it fixed (Tuesday).

Side note: we bought this car on Craigslist from a Russian man. He had a thing for fancy tires. So when John called to make and appt. to get the tire fixed, they assured us that they carried this certain tire.

So Tuesday rolls around and we go to get the tire fixed. Well, the guys at the shop start to put a different tire on the car (2nd lesson learned: you can't put a different brand of tire on the same axle). John quickly stopped them and asked what they were doing. Apparently, they did not actually have the brand of tire we needed.

Plan B: call around town and find out who carries this brand. Hmmm. No luck, no one had even heard of this brand before.

Plan C: look online to see how much it would cost to buy the tire and get it shipped up here. Hmmm. $255, ouch.

Plan D: take car to another tire shop and get both tires on the axle replaced. Finally a solution, but an expensive one.

Final Lesson Learned: take the 2 minutes it takes to stop and get air put in the tire before you drive 10 miles on a highway; in the long run, it will save you a lot of money.