24-Hour 7- Days a week Vehicle Breakdown Recovery

[InternationalTraveler 282]

24- Hour 7- Days a week Vehicle Breakdown Recovery......but not on this occasion.

 

When i got my 1st Class car insurance at AA next to Big C near South Pattaya Road I chose a policy from LMG that included a 24-hour 7- days a week vehicle breakdown recovery as the difference in the price of policies was minimal.

Maybe I was under some illusion that it was like the AA /RAC (Automobile Association) that takes your car to any dealer or garage of your choice for free when it breaks down.

When my car broke down last week in the North Eastern province of Thailand I was not too concerned.

 

Picture the situation.....

Friday night in a small town, 8pm, dark, pissing down with rain, car turns over but would not start.

The ignition lights are on and the battery is good.

Ring this special phone number for assistance.....sorry can’t send recovery tonight as it is too late but we will send someone tomorrow.

Saturday, the rains have stopped and the car still will not start.

Ring this special number for assistance.....sorry can’t send recovery today because everyone is closed as it is an election day. We will send someone Sunday.

This was indeed an election day in this area as my other half had just voted and received 700 baht for her troubles.

 

The Sunday recovery could either take me to the local dealer in Sisaket which was 60km away @ 5,000 baht or back the 450km back to Pattaya @ 17,000 baht.

For some reason I had this thing in my head that it was free..... noooooow!!!

Then I remembered nothing in Thailand is free.

It was 10-months ago when I insured my car and I could not remember the fine details....the fine details probably got lost in translation.

 

Anyway I chose the local option as I was not in any great hurry and wanted to tour around other places.

Sunday there were no mechanics available only salesmen.

Monday afternoon the service centre was in jubilant mood as they had found the problem and told me it was not the car but the key.

This I could not believe, the bloody key, I definitely thought their Thai service guys were on Yabba.... but for some reason my girlfriend also agreed it must be the key.

Was told they could program keys at a cost of around 2,600 baht but had to get them sent from Bangkok and it would take around 4- days.

I walked down to the dealers as it was only 2km away to pay their 3- hours of labour @ 400Baht /hour.

 

They showed me my key which would open/close the door locks and set the alarm.

But....it was missing the micro chip from inside, this is also the immobiliser.

I suggested it could be on the floor of the car but my girlfriend insisted it was probably washed away with the rain.....what!!!!

Tuesday ordered the car transporter to take me back to Pattaya.

Was picked up from the hotel, loaded up the car at the dealers and 11- hours in a car transporter later with very little air con I can assure you is the ride from hell. I am still trying to recover from the ordeal.

Eventually pulled the truck up outside the house and got my spare car keys from the safe.

The car started first time.

After a cold shower and a shed load of Sam Miguel’s later the facts of the story came together and suddenly hit me like a Tyson uppercut.....

 

I was in 7-Eleven, the girlfriend grabbed the keys from the ignition, what with fiddling with the car door, the umbrella, her bag and my keys.... must have dropped them on the road in the pouring rain....the key split open and the micro chip was lost.

Being a smart arse that she is, popped the key back into place and then handed them to me without saying a word.

 

I will put this episode down as another ‘Thailand experience’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kev 178]

Sorry to laugh but loved the last bit:

"Being a smart arse that she is, popped the key back into place and then handed them to me without saying a word."

 

Anyway at least you have got back safe and sound albeit at a bit of expense. By the way how much did the ride from hell cost out of interest?

[MM 6,562]

I'll bet I have that same road service policy...got my insurance through LMG too.

 

It sounds absolutely worthless.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Not a pleasant experience for you, but a good story. Whenever I hear about these kinds of misadventures, I think about Dorothy's line in The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

 

Evil

[InternationalTraveler 282]

The ride from Sisaket back to Pat's cost me 15,000 baht...I had to transfer 6,000 baht to a Kasikorn account over the internet before the rescue truck would even leave Chachoengsao to come over to Sisaket.....we also got stopped at a checkpoint by the police on the way home and the b.i.b. gave the driver a ticket for a faded white light at the top of his cab that should have been green...1000 baht fine.

Of course he did not have that kind of money on him so i had to bail him out before we could continue the journey....sometimes you couldn't make it up.

 

The girlfriend dealt with all the calls as the competency of the English speaker was poor....(i wish my Thai was as good) but what with the hassle of all the phone calls, i only got the second hand translation ...and the extra nights at hotels that were booked on the run it was......emotional to say the least.

But at the end of the day i was pretty cool....i got the dribs and drabs of the story but when the penny dropped i wanted to strangle her but that would have lost face and we have been through that situation a few times.

I did give her a good rogering in the morning to vent ...i heard her grunt a few times but i am sure she did not wake up.

C'est La Vie.

[jacko 8,822]

Great tale!

Fortunately the insurance is due for renewal and you can have a chat with the cheerful chappie at AA!

As for the TGF, she was just being, well Thai!

[papillon 695]

The ride from Sisaket back to Pat's cost me 15,000 baht...I had to transfer 6,000 baht to a Kasikorn account over the internet before the rescue truck would even leave Chachoengsao to come over to Sisaket.....we also got stopped at a checkpoint by the police on the way home and the b.i.b. gave the driver a ticket for a faded white light at the top of his cab that should have been green...1000 baht fine.

Of course he did not have that kind of money on him so i had to bail him out before we could continue the journey....sometimes you couldn't make it up.

 

The girlfriend dealt with all the calls as the competency of the English speaker was poor....(i wish my Thai was as good) but what with the hassle of all the phone calls, i only got the second hand translation ...and the extra nights at hotels that were booked on the run it was......emotional to say the least.

But at the end of the day i was pretty cool....i got the dribs and drabs of the story but when the penny dropped i wanted to strangle her but that would have lost face and we have been through that situation a few times.

I did give her a good rogering in the morning to vent ...i heard her grunt a few times but i am sure she did not wake up.

C'est La Vie.

 

Classic post and the preceeding story was even better.

 

You have a new fan. Please post more of your tales.

[Fornicator 106]

Classic post and the preceeding story was even better.

 

You have a new fan. Please post more of your tales.

 

I don't often agree with Papillon but I do this statement!! Please post more of your tales, you have a good writing style.

Edited November 2, 2013 by Fornicator

[papillon 695]

You'll get used to it

I don't often agree with Papillon

[nkped 1,208]

Well, she told you it was the key.

 

Did you ever determine whether, by the terms of the insurance policy, you were entitled to anything other than a phone number? I realize that's an academic question.

 

Have to say that the story is a good anecdote to idle musings about the pleasures of wondering around the northeast with my own wheels.

[InternationalTraveler 282]

Just to finalize.

After reading the small print.

 

7. Our free vehicle lifting-towing service can be used for no more than 35 kilometers from where the vehicle breakdown.
If the distance is more than 35 kilometers, the company will charge a service fee of 10 baht per kilometer or a lump sum fee.

I guess i got charged the lump sum fee.

live and learn.