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Dead Audi...Trip To Prescott...Idiot Rescue

4K views 55 replies 33 participants last post by  Naya 
#1 ·
No, I didn't "have to" bug out, but I had to mount a "micro rescue".

Short background. My wife and daughter had to be in Prescott yesterday at 1830 for a Girl Scout Backpacking weekend. Friday morning, my wife had to be at Mayo in Scottsdale for a seminar on trauma surgery that was supposed to end at 1530.

I suggested, that instead of going to the seminar, then driving 90 minutes back home to pick up our daughter, turning around and heading back through the valley...they get a room at the Courtyard Marriott at Mayo on Thursday afternoon, go get sushi (they like bait, I don't), and have a giggly girl's night then leave from the seminar/conference and head up to camp. They both thought it was a great idea. Yay dad.

Anyway... the conference got over early my wife called me and told me her car was dead. "Not like a dead battery dead, but like...just dead dead".

She told me she called the dealership and they told her it would be "several hours" before they could get a tow truck up and a loaner up there and that Enterprise would take just as long to get her a rental. So, I told her not to panic, I would leave our house in ten minutes, and I would be there in an hour and fifteen minutes-ish.

As I left our house in my Dodge Ram, I called the Audi dealership to get a status and after ****ing around with the "Press One For English" switchboard, I get our service advisor who tells me that it will be 1800 before they got anyone up there. Ugh.

So, I called my best friend and asked if he wanted to go on a road trip to Prescott and that I would be by his house in 15 minutes.

I picked him up and we headed up to Scottsdale. Traffic was "mid day normal" so it was moving at the speed limit or over and I got to the Marriott in an hour and twenty minutes.

My wife and daughter were ready when we got there. I told her rather than ****ing around with a rental, or the dealership anymore yesterday, I would just drive her and the critter up to our place in Prescott. From there she and the critter could take my truck over to camp (which is on the other side of Prescott in the Willow Springs area), and that Alan and I would pick up our Jeep and drive it back down home because I had some things I wanted to have done to it anyway.

She protested because our Jeep is an older one with no AC and just a bikini top. I told her we would head back east through Prescott Valley, then north to Camp Verde, then go the northeastern route through Strawberry, Pine, and Payson before cutting down through the east valley home. We'd miss the heat and it would be a great road trip.

I checked the oil, coolant, tires, and tossed my "possibles bag" into the back seat, put a case of water into the cooler in the back of the Jeep, put my AR into the lock on the roll bar, stowed Alan's AR in the rifle sleeve on the back of his seat and grabbed a couple of fleece pullovers out of the house because it might get down into the 60s going between Camp Verde and Payson.

We all went into old town Prescott for dinner before the girls headed over to the camp, and Alan and I headed out too. It is Rodeo weekend in Prescott, so getting TFO of town early was a good idea. Traffic on the way into town was a prick, but going out of Prescott and Prescott Valley was great.

We hit the Circle K, filled up the Jeep, dumped a couple of bags of ice into the cooler, filled up the jerican on the back of the Jeep and we rolled out of town at 1830...just about on the dot. I got a text from my daughter, they were at camp and checked in. Problem solved, they were handled.

It was 86f in Prescott and only 89f in Campe Verde...and the temperature kept going down, down, down, down, as we went out of Camp Verde through the Prescott and Tonto National forests which is one of the nicest drives you can take through the mountains and pines. It actually got chilly and I put on one of the fleece pullovers.

We were going across the 260 East out of Camp Verde, and literally 3 miles from the turn to the 87 South that runs into Strawberry and Pine and there is a white Mercedes SUV (I think it was a GLC) on the side of the road and a woman in her mate 40s, dressed like she was out for an afternoon wine tasting in Sedona. The hazard lights were on, so we pulled over and she literally jumped back into her Benz and locked the door...so I asked through the OPEN sun roof..."Ma'am, are you okay?".

She said "My car won't go, I think it's the gas tank".

Okay, there are a lot of ways one could interpret that...I went for the most obvious, that she thought she was out of gas.

I told her I had a gas can on my Jeep and that I could spare enough to get her to the Chevron in Strawberry which was only about twenty minutes away and she would be all set.

Then she asked the dumbest question I thought could be asked under the circumstances..."It is Premium gas?".

I told her my Jeep was 30 years old and that if I put premium gas in it, the damned thing would have a heart attack.

Then she said she had tried calling AAA but couldn't get a signal and asked if she could use my cell phone. I told her she could try, but I didn't have any signal either...but I could use my CB to call the fire station in Strawberry and they could make a call....OR...she could have some gas, get to Chevron, fill up with premium and be on her way with no more waiting...and it was starting to get dark there in the deep pines.

Alan is just shaking his head by this time.

Finally after about 5 minutes of indecision...she allows me the privilege of putting some fresh, non premium gas into her Benz...and then asks if she can follow us to the gas station.

She followed us to the gas station, and I thought it was over...as in...I was done dealing with her...while I topped off the Jeep and the gas can with 87 octane. Anyway, she just sat in her car at the gas pump like she was expecting ME to fill her car up too.

.....and that is exactly what she wanted me to do...she rolled her window down for the first time, about a half an inch...and slid two 20s through the crack. I put my debit card into the reader, pumped $40.02 into her car and she leaned over, LOOKED AT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT that I had pumped and then drove away without even a thank you.

Alan walked out of the gas station, handed me a Reese's and shook his head.

We got into Payson by 2030 so I could fill ME up on Dunkin Donuts coffee and we tooled on down to the valley and home.

Seriously though....she wasn't prepared for a drive from Camp Verde to Strawberry. Can you imagine how she would have fared in a real emergency or if someone who wasn't fundamentally decent were the ones who stopped?

Humanity is doomed.

On another note: The computer in my wife's Audi fried, that was the issue. Totally, completely fried. Meh...it's a lease. It has warranty.

Anyone else ever tried to help someone who was that dense?
 
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#2 ·
Many, many times I have offered help to people who were dense and/or very underappreciative. Has soured me on people in general, unfortunately.

When I look at the general public, here's what I see.

50% are too apathetic to vote. I probably argue with these morons online routinely, or see their stupid comments to articles and they are too indifferent to be worthy of my help.

25% are so stupid they voted for Hillary Clinton or Obama. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to help these idiots. These are the leftists that want to destroy America. These are the leftists I routinely disagree with online.

25% voted for Trump. So I basically have a 1 in 4 chance of helping someone that actually likes America. And even out of this pool of people, I'll probably like only a fraction of them...

So, odds are really probably less than 1 in 4 I give a rats **** if they are stranded on an island...

Then, my Christian side steps in, I stop judging, and do almost always lend a hand. Call me a **** nice guy!
 
#3 ·
Yup. When I worked at one of the Galleria towers, the parking garage attendant who I always spoke to to be cordial flagged me down as I was leaving from work. He was trying to help a lady whose car wouldn't start. He had a jump pack, but it wasn't working. I said it was probably just a corroded battery terminal. They both give me a dull look indicating they had no idea what I was talking about.

I had the car empty of tools because I just had it in for some service. All I had was a multitool in the glove box. It was a bit slow, but I got the terminals off and cleaned them the best I could with my Victorinox supertool. The car started right up. She takes off without a thank you or anything.

The next rich b. I see that needs help can fix her own problem.
 
#7 ·
+1

Frisco, your writing style reminds me of Thomas Sherry's - Deep Winter.
https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Winter-...TP6_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530425753&sr=1-2

Which I have on pdf if anyone wants it.


Few years ago, I took a road trip to Tucson AZ. Visited Tombstone, Old Tucson, and Bisbee AZ. Some pretty areas around there. Next time I go to AZ, I need to find some dirt roads to explore.

I too brought along a spare 5 gal Jerry can for that trip and filled it up somewhere in New Mexico.

 
#6 ·
You shoulda just stuck the $40 in your pocket for the road side assistance fee and drove off :D:

I'm in and around the city so I know they have cell service, so they can just download an app for whatever they need, tire, nitrogen, coolant, fan belt, blinker fluid.

I've changed a enough flat tires, jumped or cleaned enough battery terminals. Years ago I would get thanked and or offered money, I'd just tell them to help someone else like I just did.
That was a different world then.
After experiencing a couple people as ungrateful as the OP, I stopped helping people with broke down cars. I'd stop if they we're in the middle of no where and not much chance of getting help.
40 years behind the wheel and I've never ran my rig out of gas and somehow I've only had two flats on the road and they were in work vehicles.
 
#9 ·
Brought up in a farming area, and knowing what it was like to drive less than reliable cars, I would always stop to help if I was able

A buddy and I went out of our way to help a couple in a dead mercedes that had a loose battery terminal. It was not a nice night and the husband barely wanted to get out of the car. Took a bit of time because we had barely any light to see by and it was hard to get enough power through the terrible jumper cables we had.
We told the guy to stop at the gas station just up the road so we could check it properly under the light there. But he just kept driving, no wave no thanks.
"what an ahole" I said "Just a thanks would have been nice"
"Its karma" says my buddy, "if he had stopped I would have given him back this"
In his hand was a mercedes radiator cap.

He was always very skeptical
 
#10 ·
Good read Frisco,
This obviously wasn't on a day when some doof started a brushfire along I-17 with a dragging chain and backed up traffic all the way to Mexico, LOL. It was however, on a day when you could enjoy the beautiful country up there which is most of the time.

Scottsdale people. Ugh. More and more these days I find myself giving the disclaimer 'I know its not very Christian of me, but.....' before I start in on whatever's tripped my triggers be it red for ed, immigration or any number of made up 'crisis'. Not to mention low-information people.

Leadcounsel's numbers are close; but he left out the 60% who are so stupid they need someone along to boot'em in the keester every few minutes to remind'em to breathe.

SO its actually closer to 1 in 8 or 9 my friend, not 1 in 4 gilligan's islanders......:D:

The coming storm probably isn't going to be what we think it is. One thing's for certain, those one in niners are going to be bat**** crazy for the first few weeks and it'll be hard to hunker down and stay out of the way enough so's you and yours don't get caught up in the BS.

You can't save everybody.

The more I think about it, threepercenters, that was and probably still is an accurate statement. I see a lot of people during my daily activities and hoo-boy, its a long stretch between those 3 and the 97 percenters I gotta deal with between'em.

But there's hope. I talk to people all day. (some not by choice, the perils of retail, LOL) Every so often I sense a kindred spirit perhaps or, the person I'm talking to shows more than just a glimmer of sense and I reach out and offer some right-wing prepper socio-economical philosophical advice of the same sort that one of those threepercenters would have back around oh....1775.

And I see a light go on behind their eyes. Sometimes its only oven light bright but a light it is. SO, there's hope.
 
#14 ·
We normally don't go up the 17. This was just one of those times when it made sense to go that way. We usually go out through Payson and across. It takes an extra hour and a half...but the ride is much nicer and as a bonus, El Rancho in Payson is our favorite lunch stop and the Dunkin is my last coffee stop before we get to Prescott.

I don't mind helping folks out in places like that. Usually it's a local who had an unforeseen thing happen and they are always genuinely glad someone stopped and more often than not...they are the same folks who would stop for someone else.

This broad and her attitude was just priceless though. I am willing to bet that if it had been a half hour later, and getting a whole lot darker and the critter noises would have started she would have been a lot quicker to take the non-premium gasoline.

I am still amazed how often people still die on the side of the road because of such poor planning.
 
#12 ·
I am set for beggars, because, no doubt, my blind man in a wheelchair trumps whatever you have that makes you think you're entitled to what I've got.

I really only encounter beggars (and I use the term to mean anyone who wants something from me) when I am out by myself.

There was a girl in a wheelchair, used to live near us, rode paratransit a lot so I saw her a fair amount. She was always asking for money, and I always said no. You're in a wheelchair. Too bad. So is my husband. And he doesn't live with mommy - she had no living expenses. If she chose to blow her disability check on 'fashion" on the first day of the month, that's on her. It is not my problem.

I used to meet my husband after work when he worked in SF. The bus only stopped in the Tenderloin, and that was a trial by fire. Beggars everywhere, feces all over, just disgusting, everyone trying to feed a habit. If I could handle them I can handle pretty much anyone.
 
#13 ·
One thing I did see that made the whole trip worthwhile...a girl "flying a sign" by the restaurant begging for money read:

TOO UGLY FOR PROSTITUTION

Alan handed her five bucks as we waited at the light.
 
#24 ·
Believe me after being all over the world, there is no such thing. She just needs to lower her price or work a rougher area.


As to the OP, I would have ignored her sitting in her car at the gas station and been on my way after picking up what I needed. The good deed was what you did for her on the side of the road but you are not her servant.
 
#15 ·
George Carlin once explained this phenomenon.

Think about how stupid the average person is . . . and then realize half of them are stupider than that.
As for beggars, I saw a panhandler at an intersection last week who was carrying a sign that read, "Bet you can't hit me with a quarter." If it wasn't for traffic, I would have given him a couple of bucks for ingenuity.
 
#19 ·
George Carlin once explained this phenomenon.



As for beggars, I saw a panhandler at an intersection last week who was carrying a sign that read, "Bet you can't hit me with a quarter." If it wasn't for traffic, I would have given him a couple of bucks for ingenuity.
The wife and I are not big on giving to beggars but the wife one day gave a couple bucks to a beggar that had that exact sign you are talking about. She even told him that he was getting money cause of the originality of the sign. Apparently not as original as first thought.
 
#16 ·
Only had my wife do two stupid things. Once she lose a tie rod and called me. I went and looked at the car and knew what it was. So I managed to get things lined up and actually used a pair of handcuffs to hold the joint together. :eek: Then I drove her car home and she took mine. The cuffs got mangled but at least I didn't pay for a tow. Then went to the auto parts place and brought a new tie-rod end and replaced it. Then I explained she needed to go get an alignment as I couldn't be sure it was good. She said, "Well why not?" I just went into the house and went back to sleep so I could be rested for my evening shift.

The second one was she called and said her truck wouldn't move. The engine ran but the truck would not go. So I got up and drove down. She had three people in the front seat and the one in the middle had accidentally hit the lever that was used to put the truck into the different 2 wheel/4 wheel drives and it was in between settings so the axles were not engaged. I remedied that and the truck drove just fine. I just said, "Lesson learned, Babe." Got back in my car and went home to sleep again. She did remember that little tidbit of info.
 
#21 ·
It's an old 75 CJ with the inline 6.
 
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#18 ·
If that was directed to me, it was a 1-ton Chevy pick-up- 1997 if I remember correctly. But the lever for the different type of drive was on the hump on the floor in the middle of the truck. How it managed to get just so was surprising but if my wife and her horse friends could do it, I reckon they'd be the ones to do it. ;)

These days, all she does that bugs me is use all of the diesel for her tractor and then storm in the house saying she is out of fuel. We have at least 8 cans of it and I try to tell her to fill the cans when she uses 3 or four of them. She doesn't. One of the last times that happened, I said I'd take the truck down and refill them. I got in and the truck was almost empty also. It bugs me to no end.

Never mind. My bad, I forgot about the Jeep in the OP.
 
#23 ·
I hate to say it, but the ONLY reason that I MIGHT consider stopping for a woman on the side of the road is if I have another woman with me and my dash cam is working (currently it's not working so well, think the heat might have hurt it). There is no way in hell I'm stopping to give aid and getting accused of some sex crime. Times have changed and it's too easy for a crazy woman to ruin a man's life over an accusation. Seen it happen to multiple guys, and when the woman is found out to be a liar, even admits to it, she's not held responsible. Once upon a time I was that guy who always stopped to help a stranded motorist. Now, the situation has to be right, and those parameters are a lot narrower than they used to be.
 
#31 ·
Sadly, you're mostly correct on this point. I, too, have seen a lot of false sex crime accusations made by women against my clients in my legal practice. It is a real and present danger to men, and most men don't see it or believe it - but it is a real problem in society. The feminist movement is not friend to women - it has drastically changed the opinion of men for helping women, romance, dating, hiring practices, and work place socializing.

Fortunately, common sense is starting to prevail. There have been several recent false sex crime accusing women prosecuted for their lies. I believe that the law should be that they face the same level of punishment for what their false accusation was.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-44230424

https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-falsely-accused-texas-state-trooper-sexual-assault/story?id=55407714
 
#26 ·
I had one a few months back. Pull into a parking space at Wally World, lady in the minivan facing me comes over as I’m getting out, kind of timidly asks if I know anything about cars.
Sure, let’s take a look.
It won’t crank, not even a click. Open the hood, try to toss on some jumper cables...and the negative terminal isn’t just loose....it’s cracked in half.

So I grab a glove, grab the thing and squeeze, and say try it now. Starts right up. I told her it won’t run far, she says it’s 3 miles to her house, I told her don’t stop, it will get you home, but not any farther. Parts will cost you $5; if your husband can put them on.

My guess is they took it to a shop and paid $150...:rolleyes:

But at least she said thanks, even asked if she owed me anything. Nope, I’ve been there myself...
 
#28 ·
Here's mine.

Me and girlfriend get home from dinner to find a dodge ram blocking our drive way. Young guy, maybe 18 or 19 gets out and says he was just trying to turn around and the truck won't go in gear. It's sitting up pretty high so I crawl under and it's the shift cable just hanging there. I put it into park so he can start the engine and give very clear instructions to keep his foot on the brake and to NOT move while I'm under it.

Truck starts and I holler to make sure he has his foot on the brake. I turn the armature until I feel it lock into a forward gear and truck starts to roll. Luckily it sat up high enough to not smash me.

I hear my girlfriend screaming and truck stops. I crawl out and she's reading him the riot act. Claims he misunderstood.

I let him drive down to the house and use the yard as a turnaround and tell him to go straight home. Was his dad's truck.

Later on I go to the little general store in town for something and there's that dodge pulled into a space and the same kid standing there. He sees me and asks if I can help him again and I'm not having any of it.

Once was quite enough for me thanks.

Oh, he never thanked me either.
 
#30 ·
I used to be a trucker and I've had similar bad experiences. But:

I was leaving Lander, WY headed to Denver. There's a turnout on Beaver Rim, just out of Lander so I pulled over to pour a cup of coffee. Then I noticed an old man.. mid-seventies, and his two sisters in their 80's. He asked for help, so I checked his car. Fuel pump was out. I offered him a ride back to Lander for another and put it on for him when we got back.

He offered to pay me for my trouble but I just told him to help the next in line. He helped me gather my tools and I stored them under the sleeper.

A week later, I needed a tool and found two dollars in my toolbox. And it hit me... this man had made it through the depression and two dollars was a lot of money to him. I carried that two dollars in a separate part of my wallet for years.
 
#32 ·
I don't depend on anyone helping me if I break down. I either try to see if I can figure it out myself or if not, I have the business cards of several tow truck companies in every vehicle I own, in the various areas I travel in case I need to call someone to tow my vehicle home or somewhere safe. And I've used those business cards a few times in the past. They've come in real handy. If I know I have a tow truck coming, I don't have to depend on anyone. And I've never asked for help from a stranger. Except the tow truck drivers, who are, after all, in business to tow broken down cars, nicht vahr?

I had a frightening encounter in the middle of nowhere in west Texas on Hwy. 54 just south of the Guadalupe Mountains. Stupid van vapor locked and as I was trying to figure it out (which I eventually did) this guy stopped in an old 50s model Ford pickup to ask if I needed help. Every radar I am equipped with went off, telling me do NOT accept any help from him. He looked weird, smelled weird, and everything about him and his truck was greasy and dirty and weird. Weird in a bad way, like drooling tobacco juice out one corner of his mouth and with a big booger in his nose weird. His eyes were bugging out and were so bloodshot it was hard to look at them. Bright blue eyes in pools of red. Blech. I kindly declined and thanked him for his offer and told him I had help coming. I also had a .38 in my sally holster and a 20 ga. pistol grip Mossberg under the front seat. He didn't even attempt to get out (thank God) but took a very long time to drive away. Just sat there looking at me for what seemed like ages.

I can remember exactly what he looks like to this day.

So don't worry, guys. Not all women expect to be rescued from distress. Some can handle their distress pretty well. I know a few ladies who are pretty good mechanics in their own rights. Wish I knew as much as they did.
 
#33 ·
I remember back when I still worked at the shop...
Just as I'm closing up about 1830, I happen to notice an older guy across the parking lot next to the car wash. Not sure what stood out to me but as I was leaving I hollered out my truck window if he was ok. He said he ran out of gas and didn't know what to do. He was wearing a USMC retired hat so I figured wth. Went back to the shop, trapped my 5 gallon can of gas I'd just filled, and took it to him. Poured it in his tank for him and he tried to start the truck. It cranked a bit then fired up. And he instantly took off. No thanks. No offer to pay for the gas. Nothing.
I chalked it up to no good deed goes unpunished.
 
#35 ·
Isn't it amazing how simple manners have disappeared and been replaced by the entitlement attitude?
 
#36 ·
I don't stop for anyone any more, maybe if someone is in a parking lot with the hood open and they look like decent people. But most that are stuck are out of gas or their car is a complete hooptie and suffering from a severe case of neglect. But you mention anything technical to them and their eyes roll back in their heads.

Like others mentioned, bad battery cables are a big cause of getting people stranded. I see cars with dim lights all the time, either a bad connection or a charging problem. Over the years I have became the master at getting a crippled car home. I blew 3rd gear in my hot rod in May, did a noisy 2-mile run home in 4th gear.

Cars give you a warning sign fairly often, pick up the hood and look for something out of place. Of course battery cables are at the top of the list, check the oil every couple of weeks at a minimum.
 
#38 ·
I don't stop for anyone any more, maybe if someone is in a parking lot with the hood open and they look like decent people. But most that are stuck are out of gas or their car is a complete hooptie and suffering from a severe case of neglect. But you mention anything technical to them and their eyes roll back in their heads.

Like others mentioned, bad battery cables are a big cause of getting people stranded. I see cars with dim lights all the time, either a bad connection or a charging problem. Over the years I have became the master at getting a crippled car home. I blew 3rd gear in my hot rod in May, did a noisy 2-mile run home in 4th gear.

Cars give you a warning sign fairly often, pick up the hood and look for something out of place. Of course battery cables are at the top of the list, check the oil every couple of weeks at a minimum.
I had a 68 GMC pickup...and seriously at least once a month I would have to thoroughly clean the battery cables with baking soda, water, and a wire brush. This was in high school, so it was a hundred years ago, but nothing I tried seemed to stop the corrosion. Even the "tape a penny between the terminals" trick. Nothing. New cables...nope. New battery...nope. Every month....clean the terminals.

I habitually check the oil every time I fill up on our other vehicles. Comes from growing up in a family that owned full service gas stations.

On the old Jeep, I check the oil, coolant, brake fluid before I even drive it and look check the pan that sits under it in the garage for anything that may have leaked. Thank God she's still tight as a drum.
 
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#37 ·
I still help if it is a mother with a baby. Ran across a mexican lady with a baby and a grandmother with the battery cable thing again at a restaurant I was leaving.
She was at least trying to fix her own battery, but had a clumsy, rusty pair of pliers that wasn't fitting the task very well. I had my proper tools in the car that time and it was a 60 second job.

And they said thanks.

Everyone should carry this little wrench if they have a side terminal battery.


or this

 
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