I took my car in for service early this morning, meaning that I had to shorten my run to the minimum mile. It’s probably good to have a little break every once in awhile after 4,454 consecutive days. My legs should have some spring in them when I continue The Streak tomorrow on the usual 3.1 mile route, depending on the questionable accuracy of the GPS system on my new watch. At any rate, getting a loaner for the day turned out to be a big hassle. 

The first thing that happened was that the technician who made the arrangements to work on my car threw away what he said was an expired car insurance card. As it turned out, he likely disposed of the one that ends on 3/29, leaving me the one that starts in two weeks on 3/30. They would not accept it as current coverage, so I went to my State Farm app. It too had the information that goes into effect on 3/30, so I had to text my agent. Naturally, I had a second copy of it in the glovebox of my car, but they had already driven it several blocks away, plus I had no keys. After waiting for 15 minutes for a response to come, I called his office. An automated system promptly sent the current card that I then had to forward to the loaner lady. Of course, her email address was more than 25 characters that was hard to type with my shaky hands, fueled by anger. In the meantime, my agent finally sent the same information via text, after I had sent back “Never Mind.”

I also got in trouble with the loaner lady for briefly removing my mask so the app would recognize me under my foggy glasses, adding to the frustration at the counter. She was already behind two panels of plexiglass and there was no one else anywhere near me. I felt it was an unnecessary reprimand, after already finding her not too friendly. All this anger was bottled up inside me as I inscribed my signature in four different places and added my initials at least ten times. We then had to inspect the car for any previous damage and sign more documents. At the same time, I felt bad that she was a front line worker unable to work from home. All these mixed feelings just to use a loaner for a few hours while I spend a $1000 to get the car ready for our 3,000 mile cross-country haul.

Right now, I’m posed by the phone waiting for additional charges to be added once they do their all-point check. A tune-up, oil change, hood strut hydraulic repair, and tire rotation are already being done as I write this. At least, the loaner was no charge, but I was waiting to give up custody of my first child. All these hassles will be met with new ones once I get to Florida. However, with a clean bill of health on my car and a Sunpass on the windshield, hopefully I can avoid problems on the long drive there. I’m still waiting to hear back from Hertz on the coconut damaged hood incurred on my last visit to Florida. Rentals and loaners can be a hassle!