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Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 10:49 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

The Dill Family began the month of August 2014 with one car each and a 20-year-old backup. Then the car demons struck.

Valvoline insisted on flushing the radiator. LaVerle reluctantly agreed. Partway through the process, they said there was a crack in the reservoir and they were unable to complete the process. They sent her on her way without replacing the cooling fluids and the car overheated in less than a mile. For a fee of $75 the Cadillac Dealer in Greer found no crack in the reservoir but overheating necessitated replacement of head gaskets. The estimated cost $6,000.

LaVerle began driving the 20-year-old Cadillac that had been driven very little for several years. On Tuesday night three weeks ago, LaVerle headed home and I was in Travelers Rest when my car overheated.

I called LaVerle on her cell and at home. There was no answer at either number. My cell rang about an hour later. It was a “Good Samaritan” who informed me that my wife was on highway 101 with a flat tire and needed me to come and get her. “I need her to come and get me,” I responded.

The helpful lady called her husband who replaced the flat with the little spare. An hour or so later LaVerle arrived at TR and I grabbed a few things from my car and we headed for Marietta and home.

On Wednesday morning we looked for a tire.  The tire size was not in stock but could be available the next morning. We needed 4 tires because all had dry rot. We also needed to obtain a dependable car before the next Tuesday. Paying $12,000 to fix two cars that were overheating was not in our budget.

We decided to look at cars before heading back home, because this was our only available time before Saturday.  I had a blank check from my credit union to more than cover the cost of any car we might purchase.

Salesmen at the first dealer we visited predictably ignored people in a 20-year-old car running a spare tire on the front. They finally helped us away from the new cars to the used car lot.

We visited Greer Toyota and after some effort got a sales person to let us in the new car display area to look at an Avalon. We found one that LaVerle liked. The day was almost gone and we were getting very tired from the stress and lack of sleep the night before. We decided to end the stress and buy the car with the check in my pocket. The sales manager offered a better interest rate than my credit union. I agreed to what amounted to an interest rate “flimflam.”

I did not want to trade LaVerle’s DeVille, because she is attached to the vehicle and held out hope of getting it repaired. I said I would consider trading the one I had left in TR, but I had arranged to have it transported home because it was loaded with personal and US Postal Service property that I must remove.

Both the salesman and sales manager insisted on  saving me a transport bill by picking up the car and “quarantining” it on the back of their lot until I could return on Saturday to retrieve the property and transfer the tag.

On Saturday the salesman approached us with the license plate in his hand. He said that my car containing all the property including containers of quarters, clothing, GPS, CDs and Post Office containers had been taken to an auction and he was sorry.  I demanded  return of the car. They said there was nothing they could do before Monday. They were too busy with customers to spend any more time with me, and promised to see if they could recover the property by 10 a.m. on Monday.

Heading home, angry at being the victim of mendacity, I reached in the mailbox and pulled out two envelopes with bold red letters: SAFETY RECALL NOTICE. The 2000 and 2001 cars were being recalled. “Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that you remove all items from your key ring, leaving only the vehicle key. Parts are not currently available. We are concerned about your safety.”

Why did it take 14 years for GM to tell me that we had been driving unsafe cars that have killed a large number of people? Why was I lied to about securing my property? We did not experience a fun weekend.

Monday afternoon, I received a call to come and get the property they had retrieved. Everything of value had been stolen. At least they retrieved the postal property.

That is not the end of the story, however it is a sketch of the worst days of our lives.

 

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