08 June 2011

the loaner

my car is in the shop for a day. while the service department is  working on it, the dealership has given me this loaner to drive. it's my car, a few years older and just different enough to be unsettling. first off, it's an automatic, not a five-speed. having my left foot still and stationary takes some mighty effort and i have to consciously fight the urge to brake with it. at one point, after pulling off the road for a line of screaming fire trucks, i hold down the brake (thinking it's the clutch, of course) and try to give the car some gas to get going. and i couldn't figure out why on earth i was going nowhere, spinning wheels even! as if that's not bad enough, the radio presets look and feel just like my own - but of course, they are not. someone else's cds are in the player. and i had to get out of the car and shut the trunk after i unwittingly unlatched it while trying to open the gas tank door. i'm so looking forward to having my comfortable old car back - and soon!

8 comments:

middle child said...

Oh, but enjoy the fun while you have this new toy to play with!

Lynne said...

Like many things, this too will pass! ;-)

keishua said...

new to you cars are tricky. My car is a hand me down but it was a dramatic change from old one. All the buttons and gears are in completely different places. Sometimes, I still forget what's what but you get use to it.

Anonymous said...

I got my new car last October and it was only yesterday I found out where the rear windscreen wiper switch was!!

I know, I should read the owners manual but my excuse is that I didn't actually need to use the rear windscreen wiper until yesterday!!

Tabor said...

I will have to buy a new car in the next year or so and you have just reminded me to be careful what I wish for!

Deedee said...

Haha! I started driving on a four speed and it took a while to get used to an automatic. I know exactly what you mean, Chris!

hizzle said...

ah yes, it is hard to switch from automatic to manual. Similarly, we just bought a new car that is a 6 speed, and reverse is basically first gear with the shifter pressed down and moved just a slight bit to the left.
Also, 6th is where Reverse usually is. I'm afraid to use 6th gear because "it should be R".

https://erinsrandomramblings.blogspot.com said...

Thank you so much for the laugh! It is nice to know I am not the only one who is a creature of habit! Great post!