Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I looked down at the dashboard and noticed all the lights on the dash were flickering. Suddenly the radio cut out, and turned back on. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest when it happened a second time. When the radio came back on again, it was accompanied by a “ding” and several warning lights on the dash board which remained illuminated.
Not exactly something you want to happen while driving in rush hour traffic.
We carefully drove to my brother-in-law’s house, as we discussed our course of action. We knew the battery was due to be replaced, and had planned to do so before the full force of a Minnesota Winter hit. We guessed that the condition of the battery was likely the cause of our odd electrical phenomenon and decided to replace the battery once we arrived at our destination.
My brother-in-law drove me to a nearby automotive parts store that was still open to have the battery tested. Not only did it fail the test miserably, it leaked battery acid everywhere. Needing to use our van that evening, I purchased a new battery for $124. After it was installed, everything seems to be working normally.
Once we returned home, I decided to do a little research concerning our battery purchase. Some quick internet searches revealed a similar battery at a nearby discount store priced $25 cheaper.
Handling a problem as an emergency puts you at a major disadvantage when it comes to getting the most for your money.
- Lack of Timing: An emergency needs to be resolved quickly. In my case, I needed to use my van that evening, so we had very little time to shop around for the best fit for our situation, and best value for our money.
- Lack of Choice: The timing of an emergency may limit the range of products available. Our situation occurred when many of the stores we would normally shop at for a new battery were closed.
- Lack of Location: Our emergency occurred when we were out of town. We were out of our usual environment and didn’t know what stores were available. Luckily, we were in a major metropolitan area, and had alternate transportation to get to an auto parts store. However, that may not always be the case.
By waiting to replace the battery in our van, we put ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t take the time needed to find the battery that would be the best value for our money. Even worse, we put our entire family at risk of being broken down on the side of a very busy highway in an unfamiliar place during rush hour traffic.
Next time we know something that needs to be replaced, hopefully we’ll remember how this situation played out and take care of it immediately. Not only could it save us money, but it could keep us from putting ourselves in unnecessary danger.
Have you ever paid more for something you needed simply because you waited for it to become an emergency?
There have been so many times when I’ve had to buy things like that without shopping around. Even something small, like buying a bottle of water while you are out running errands because you’re thirsty, all adds up! Glad the car was ok!
Great point, Cat – it doesn’t even have to be an emergency, it can just be something that you didn’t plan to buy, but ended up buying because of convenience. Thanks for reading!
That is definitely the unfortunate part about waiting until the last minute. Luckily it wasn’t a higher dollar item and you didn’t get ripped off too bad.
In this case the money wasn’t the biggest part of the equation (even though having to overpay by $25 still bugs me), it was the potential for putting my family in harms way. Yuks….don’t like that at all. Thanks for dropping by, Lance!
Excellent point. I have to admit, I’m a procrastinator, and have been caught many times like you were here. Then you’re in a situation where you just have to throw money at the problem until it goes away. Very costly!
It definitely makes me very uncomfortable to have to switch to “it doesn’t matter how much it costs, we just have to get this fixed” mode, Kurt – I’ll be looking to avoid letting things get this far in the future!
One day after taking the dog to the dog park, I discovered my front left tire flat.This was just bad luck, not due to neglect or procrastination. The closest shop was the large chain Canadian Tire. Upon further inspection, I suspected the other front tire was Not In Good Shape. So my Toyota and me (minus the dog) limped to the store it was just down the street, and just by dumb like the store was having a buy one, get the 2nd half price sale. (and it was the last day of the sale!) So I got both tires replaced. I seldom find a specific item I want on sale but to find tires on sale during a car emergency was pretty exciting. I talked about it for weeks!
That is AWESOME that it worked out that well for you Slackerjo…..it’s not often that the stars of the universe align no nicely…enjoy that one!
We keep my car in great condition and do all the maintenance work in time, to save us from any other similar ‘surprises’. Indeed, when something like this happens, you get what you find then and there to solve your problem, so it does cost extra.
Good for you for being on top of your maintenance, dojo….maybe I could hire you to keep my car in tip top shape? 🙂
What a nice way to put your experience in perspective. It just goes to prove the virtue – a stitch in time saves 9. You have to be prepared for the worse – always. A friend of mine went through something similar but on a much small scale. He didn’t know how to replace a flat tire so when the car’s tire finally got punctured, he ended up paying a car mechanic to change the tire for him…Money he could’ve easily saved.
It’s amazing how much you can save if you learn little skills like changing a tire, your oil, a windshield wiper, or even light bulbs on your vehicle. As long as I know I need to do it and can take the time to do it right I can do most of these things. Thanks for your comment!
I had something similar happen to me when I had a blow out on a major highway. I was so anxious to get my tire fixed that i didn’t shop around. And I tell you that’s the worse feeling is the realization that you spent more then you should have.
It almost feels like you purposely flushed money down the toilet, doesn’t it, Romona? Ugh…hate that feeling too! Thanks for stopping by!
Glad everything turned out okay, but I definitely know when you mean by the cost of an emergency. You bring up a great point though – we stress the importance of having an emergency fund but we also need to on top of things so we can either avoid the emergency – breaking down in an unfamiliar area – and having the luxury to shop around for the best deal.
Exactly, Shannon…and it’s a lot easier to deal with a situation when there’s no pressure! I *hate* care problems…absolutely HATE them! 🙂
People pay premium prices for emergencies. Having an emergency fund helps, but taking care of something before the problem can happen is even better.
Great summary, Lisa – your words will echo in my head the next time I put off a repair just because “it seems to be working.” BTW, my wife loves your comment. 🙂
Note to self – replace the water heater NOW.
We have an ancient water heater, and while suddenly having only cold water isn’t an emergency it would be really unpleasant. The 30yr old one we have has got to be using a lot more electricity than a new one would, and rather than just failing at some point, it could rust through or rupture and flood the basement and then we would have an expensive emergency. Although, I guess since I know it needs replacing, it wouldn’t be an emergency because I should have expected it and done something about it.
Along the same lines, the furnace should have a tune up before winter and the chimney for the woodstove ought to be cleaned. A furnace failure or chimney fire in the middle of a blizzard are other “emergencies” we can easily avoid.
Eeek! That’s a good note you’ve written to yourself! We recently avoided the possible crisis of having the rotting tree in our backyard drop a branch through our roof – or worse yet, on top of somebody standing under it. When we finally had the tree cut down, we were shocked by how little solid wood had actually been holding it up. It was an expensive undertaking to have it taken down ($2,000), but much less expensive than home repairs or legal fees for injury would have been.
Or imagine if the tree was large enough to drop on your neighbor’s roof as well! We almost had this happen to us with a neighbor with a huge weeping willow tree a number of years ago.
There’s definitely a fine line between making something last as long as possible, and avoiding a problem. Especially since replacing something like a water heater may require someone to come out and install it for you (unless you have that sort of skill – I don’t) and you’re on THEIR schedule at that point. It’s kind of like continuing down the highway when your gas light is on….you ride the line for awhile, but sooner or later you just have to give in and fill up. Great examples, BN….now go take care of those things! lol
Your situation sounds very familiar to me: Waiting, avoiding paying for what is needed, and then suddenly requiring a quick fix. You spent $100 more than you needed to, which is annoying, but I can think of many situations that would mean a whole lot more than that. BN’s water heater (comment above) is a case in point. It’s great if you can learn that lesson with a small expenditure and then avoid the bigger disasters altogether.
I agree Prudence….suddenly my wife is reminding me that our refrigerator is making some funny noises…..
I’m just glad everything worked out and it wasn’t worse! 🙂 Cars are such a pain sometimes…
Yes, they are, Mackenzie – I’m glad it worked out as well as it did, AND I learned an important lesson (which my wife is eternally grateful for as she’s been telling me for months to replace the battery!)