Assembling a kit of inexpensive items could save you a lot of time and money when your vehicle breaks down.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published May 14, 2004
This, I said to myself from the passenger seat of the tow truck, is why I never seem to have any money.
If I had spent about a buck and a half on a tiny battery, I wouldn't be spending $66 on a tow. It would be a huge savings. Not to mention all the aggravation I would have saved myself.
About an hour before, about 10:30 on a Saturday night, I had just seen a play called Aunt Dan and Lemon at Gorilla Theatre in Drew Park. The play itself (which is still running, through this weekend) was emotionally and intellectually chilling, and as I walked to my car I was still in a daze. I was hungry too, and I intended to find some late-night restaurant and sit quietly, contemplating the ideas this play had forced me to consider.
As I walked across the parking lot, I pressed the button on my key chain remote. But it didn't unlock the car door for some reason.
I opened the door the old-fashioned way, with the key, and of course the alarm went off. For maybe five minutes (which naturally felt a lot longer), I tried everything I could to get it to stop, to no avail. And the car wouldn't start while the alarm was going.
As time wore on, I got more and more frazzled. It was bad enough that my car was essentially broken down in a seedy neighborhood. But while I was trying to figure out what to do, I had to listen to that alarm whooping and screeching. Other theatergoers in the parking lot were staring at me, and no doubt unseen people in nearby houses were plotting my demise. It was infuriating and embarrassing.
One of the actors in the play is a friend of mine, so I went around back to the stage door. She took me into the backstage area of the theater, where I called a tow truck.
The play's stage manager, whom I had never met before, came out to help. He knew a bit about car alarms, and he had some tools. He looked under the dashboard for a button that shuts the alarm off. Most cars have them, but mine doesn't. He pulled out the fuses that alarms are usually connected to (nonessential fuses like those for the inside lights and the cigarette lighter), but the alarm kept blaring. Apparently, this alarm system had been installed by a previous owner, in a logic-defying way previously unknown to man.
The next step was to disconnect the battery. So, right about the time I would have been meditating over a late dinner, I had my head under the hood. My alarm was easily audible at least two blocks away. It was about 6 inches from my ear.
Anyway, I unhooked the battery, which finally quieted the alarm. The tow truck showed up and took me home. The next day I bummed a ride to a parts store, where I was lucky enough to find the right battery for my key chain remote, and I was back in business.
But the incident got me thinking. That $1.50 battery, if I had bought it in advance, would have saved me a lot of grief. So there are probably other inexpensive items that we all could carry around in our vehicles, in a box or paper bag, that would get us out of some common roadside jams.
I called some experts, including AAA Auto Club South spokesman Gregg Laskoski and mechanic John Osborne of John's Import Auto Repair in Seminole Heights, plus some friends who have broken down a lot, and asked for ideas.
Here's a fairly comprehensive list of items they suggested. None cost more than a few dollars. Some you probably already have; others you're going to need eventually, so it can't hurt to have them on hand.
- Duct tape. The first item Laskoski mentioned, great for myriad temporary fixes, including leaky hoses.
- A gallon of water. If your car overheats, it's great to have coolant on hand. But water works almost as well, and has some advantages. You can use it in your battery if you need to, and if you break down on a hot day you're going to get thirsty while you're waiting for help. As Laskoski pointed out, if your engine doesn't work, your AC won't either.
- Rags. Good for handling hot parts and for post-repair cleanups. When he's fixing a blaring alarm, Osborne said, he stuffs rags into the speaker to muffle the noise while he's disconnecting the battery.
- A screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. A midsized flathead screwdriver is best. If you want to go a step further, get a Phillips too. Osborne also suggests a small wrench set (metric if you have a foreign car). But we're trying to keep this list simple, and an adjustable wrench will work for a lot of minor repairs.
- Oil and brake fluid. Osborne said brake fluid will work as transmission fluid in cars with a standard transmission. Pump the clutch pedal to get the juices flowing and you ought to be able to at least limp into a service station.
- Battery cables. If you need a jump, it's hard enough to find someone to help you. It's a lot harder if you have to find someone who has his or her own cables. Take two minutes to learn how to use them if you don't know already.
- A wire brush. You can get the kind that's specifically designed for battery terminals, but any wire brush can help get the built-up crud off.
- A gas can. You might run out of gas two blocks from a filling station, but if you don't have a gas can, you'll have to push your car all that way.
- A flashlight. Check it every once in a while to make sure it still works.
Both Osborne and Laskoski point out that there are some dangers associated with car repairs. If you break down while you're driving, your engine is hot and you can burn yourself. That's especially true if you're working on the radiator of an overheated car.
Laskoski points out that for almost any problem, all you really need is your cell phone and an AAA card. But not everybody has a cell phone. And besides, in many cases the items on the above list may help you get going more quickly than you would if you waited for service.
