Stranded.
Yep, that is pretty much what I was this afternoon in Randburg. Black Betty's (as I affectionately refer to my car) battery warning light was illuminated for most of the trip from Boksburg to the North, but having experienced the same problem earlier this year, I thought nothing of it and intended to jiggle some wires around (as had worked previously) once I arrived at my destination.
After fiddling around for a few minutes, I tried to start the car again. No luck. So I phoned the GWM dealership I bought Black Betty from and spoke to the service consultant. He advised me to unclip the red cable leading from the positive terminal of the battery and clip it back in, but warned me this would be no easy feat. I tried, and I tried and I tried. Eventually a good Samaritan noticed my troubles and offered to help. After Steven tried a couple of times to no avail, I called roadside assistance (AKA the AA of SA).
The call centre agent was fantastic, and efficiently captured all my contact and vehicle information, all the while ensuring that I was safe and did not need protective assistance which they also offer. Fortunately, I was in a car park at a conference centre and not out on Jan Smuts Road in peak hour traffic. The AA dispatched a technician who promptly arrived and carried out a battery of tests (excuse the pun). Turns out it wasn't the battery as initially thought, but rather the alternator. Now from my limited knowledge of cars and their inner workings, what I understood the problem to be was that the alternator was not charging the battery which explains why the car was losing power. Tebogo contacted the dispatch operator and organised for a flat bed to collect my car and take her back to their depot to sleep over. In the morning Black Betty would be delivered to GWM for inspection.
So I waved my car goodbye and waited for Bill to drive the 50km+ journey to fetch me. During that time I got thinking about how lucky I am to have my AA membership. It's one of those grudge purchases in life: do I get it and pay +/- R700 per year for something I'll PROBABLY never make use of, or do I not get it and a few months down the line get stuck on the side of the road, helpless? This frame of mind applies to all insurances, and from past experience I have learnt rather pay that money because one never knows what might happen in the future.
What are your thoughts?
Simone
(Carlos for now)
Yep, that is pretty much what I was this afternoon in Randburg. Black Betty's (as I affectionately refer to my car) battery warning light was illuminated for most of the trip from Boksburg to the North, but having experienced the same problem earlier this year, I thought nothing of it and intended to jiggle some wires around (as had worked previously) once I arrived at my destination.
After fiddling around for a few minutes, I tried to start the car again. No luck. So I phoned the GWM dealership I bought Black Betty from and spoke to the service consultant. He advised me to unclip the red cable leading from the positive terminal of the battery and clip it back in, but warned me this would be no easy feat. I tried, and I tried and I tried. Eventually a good Samaritan noticed my troubles and offered to help. After Steven tried a couple of times to no avail, I called roadside assistance (AKA the AA of SA).
The call centre agent was fantastic, and efficiently captured all my contact and vehicle information, all the while ensuring that I was safe and did not need protective assistance which they also offer. Fortunately, I was in a car park at a conference centre and not out on Jan Smuts Road in peak hour traffic. The AA dispatched a technician who promptly arrived and carried out a battery of tests (excuse the pun). Turns out it wasn't the battery as initially thought, but rather the alternator. Now from my limited knowledge of cars and their inner workings, what I understood the problem to be was that the alternator was not charging the battery which explains why the car was losing power. Tebogo contacted the dispatch operator and organised for a flat bed to collect my car and take her back to their depot to sleep over. In the morning Black Betty would be delivered to GWM for inspection.
So I waved my car goodbye and waited for Bill to drive the 50km+ journey to fetch me. During that time I got thinking about how lucky I am to have my AA membership. It's one of those grudge purchases in life: do I get it and pay +/- R700 per year for something I'll PROBABLY never make use of, or do I not get it and a few months down the line get stuck on the side of the road, helpless? This frame of mind applies to all insurances, and from past experience I have learnt rather pay that money because one never knows what might happen in the future.
What are your thoughts?
Simone
(Carlos for now)
