12.06.2011

The time Cammie got pneumonia

Saturday morning was a lazy one, spent cleaning up the house and lounging around. Somewhere around 2pm I decided to get dressed and go grab some food and run a few errands. As I was pulling out onto the main road my low fuel light dinged at me, so I swung into the nearest gas station and filled up. Over 16 gallons, my tank really was dangnear empty! My stopsign red jeans were garnering a lot of attention at the little country gas station so I quickly grabbed my receipt, hopped back into my car and took off.

Not even a mile down the road my car started idling real hard. Everyone keeps asking me how I knew it was running funny. Think of those big ol diesel trucks that sit there and go ‘hublub hublub hublub’… suddenly my car was doing that. My car isn’t supposed to do that. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I’m getting close to needing an oil change. I hop into the turn lane at the nearest stop light and while waiting my turn to go I honestly start to think my cars gonna die. It sounded like one of those old jank hooptys that was gasping for air.

I pull her into the nearest parking spot at Applebee’s, shut her off and call my parents house. Mom says “sounds like you bought bad gas… I’ll have your dad come up there”. Meanwhile I turn her back on and rev her a few times trying to get the water to burn off from the gas. It just keeps getting worse and worse though. It seriously felt like one of those arcade simulator games she was shaking so bad!

Dad shows up, takes her for a spin and confirms what was already suspected. Bad gas. Not even an hour later I was watching my 2010 camaro get taken away on a tow truck. Poor Cammie! She had pneumonia. Too much water in her tank!

Since the dealership was already closed for the day my car didn’t get looked at til Monday morning, which promptly led to a phone call from the mechanic saying that from the sample of gasoline they pulled, only 1/8th of it was gas, the rest of my tank was water! Which means out of the 16 some gallons of gas I got, only 2 of those were actually gasoline. He explained to me that they would have to drop the fuel tank, empty and clean it all out, replace the fuel filter and clean all the injectors. But all I heard was dollar signs. He guesstimated a $500 bill in parts and labor.

I promptly called the gas station and asked to speak to the manager. She snottily replied that “we don’t have water in our gasoline” and took my number down to have corporate call me (thankfully the gentleman from corporate was a dream to work with and not a snothead). So I contacted the manager of our ISDH Weights & Measures (aka the people who monitor what gas stations are actually selling), I told him the whole story and he sent an inspector out immediately.

I spent most of my Monday morning on the phone with the inspector, the mechanic and the corporate guy (sounds like a bad joke, huh) It ended up there were 6” of standing water in the underground tank for their premium fuel. The legal limit is ½”. The gas station was issued a stop sale and the premium pumps were all flagged. The gentleman from corporate promptly called and apologized profusely and was explaining how it was even possible, and that they were sending someone to check the filters at all of their gas stations now. Without hesitation he told me they would be covering my entire mechanic bill, the tow bill and reimbursing me for the $66 I had spent on the tank of gas (aka water).

I honestly thought the whole situation was going to be a nightmare. I joked that I couldn’t have picked a better gas station to buy water-logged gas from, but honestly it was a nice reminder that there are still companies out there who give a shit about their reputation and customer service!

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27 comments:

Aubrey S. said...

I'm glad that they made it right in the end, but how inconvenient to be without your car. I hope she's feeling better now.

♥ Marcy ♥ said...

It is in no way okay that Cammie was sick but so glad that she is getting taken care of and for free on your end! yay

christin said...

That is a very happy ending to the story! Sorry that Cammie was sick, but SO freaking glad you aren't paying for it.

Michelle (michabella) said...

So glad Cammie will be better soon! And wow, what a blessing to deal with that company and to have them reimburse you for it all!!! Phew!

Lacey in the City said...

Poor Cammie!!! When will you get her back???

Heather said...

Oh my gosh, what a pain! I'm glad corporate offered to pay without a big fight.

Anonymous said...

oh man that is awesome that you don't have to drop over $500!! i can't believe that you had that much water in the tank! crazy!

the girl in the red shoes said...

Wow, that is horrible! I didn't even know that could happen! I'm so glad that they are going to cover the costs!

Anonymous said...

Omg crazy story but so happy to hear that they are gonna do right by you!

Amanda said...

WOW! I can't believe how fortunate you are in this situation! Do you think they just weren't monitoring it or were trying to rip people off? Either way, all is well in Cammie's world once she's fixed!!

Kelly said...

What a CRAZY story. And what a SNOT working at the gas station!! Thank the lawrd for good customer service. To be honest, this could have been a nightmare for you!! :-S Glad Cammie us up and running better now!

KRISTIN said...

What a pain in the ass...I didn't even know there was such a thing as "bad gas." So glad you were smart enough to take care of this the right way, get 'em gurl! :)

Mandy@OrangeAutumn said...

It's nice that everything ended up turning out ok!! I hate when people give you a hard time for their mistake, not fun.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

This happened to me once, but there wasn't near as much water it sounds! I had to just ride it out and it was fine. I'm glad everything worked out and they paid for everything!

Carolyn said...

Poor Cammie!! I'm glad it all worked out though! Thank goodness that guy from Corporate was more helpful than the gas station lady!!!

noone said...

thats nice to hear that it all worked out in the end. ya it's also nice that there are companies out there that still have ethics instead of screwing people over huh? :)

K said...

Wow, I've never even heard of that! I would have beem BS. I'm glad they worked with you and are going to pay for the damage! I hope Cammie feels better! (And thanks for making me not be the only person who refers to their car as a person... mine i named Trixie).

Mrs. H said...

OMG - what an awful situation! So happy to hear that they are willing to pay for there mistake. Glad it isn't anything major and you aren't having to pay for it!

Alana Christine said...

I'm so glad you got your car fixed! That's scary!

Mateya said...

First of all, it is hilarious that you said Cammie got pneumonia hahaha!

Secondly, I am so glad it all worked out and they're paying for everything. Cammie will be as good as new! :)

Anonymous said...

Yay! Even though it's a bad situation, I'm glad they took care of it. Get well soon, Cammie!

tara said...

Wow, that is crazy!! Glad they are taking care of everything though!

Monica said...

Its terrible that happened but fantastic that they are covering those bills for you!

Lindsey said...

wow! i'm glad it all worked out! what a week for our cars

Marian said...

I was following your whole ordeal on twitter. Its good to know that there are some companies that actually come through!

Sandra said...

Sorry to hear about Cammie! Issues with my car never fail to get my stomach in knots. It's great the company handled the situation so well. All companies should be so professional!!

Christine said...

This happened to me too! And they paid for it also thank god!