Last Wednesday started out like any other day. I went to work, stayed a while, then I got in my car and went home. I drove about three blocks when I heard the telltale woof-woof-woof sound of a flat tire. Flats always suck, but it’s not a huge biggie to change one. I had run the rear tires bald hotrodding and driving all over creation so it was not a total surprise. I did chastise myself for my usual stupid procrastination. I’m apparently motivated more by necessity than a desire to avoid potential catastrophe and aggravation.
I limped into the nearest parking lot, took all the necessary crap out of my trunk, stripped down to my undershirt, and got to work. I had a couple floor mats in the trunk so I took one out to have something to kneel on as I changed the tire. A cold front started to blow through as I popped the hub cover out of the wheel. I noticed that in addition to the usual lugs, I had a locking lug in place. Locking lugs are a common anti-theft measure for alloy wheels. They cannot be loosened without a lug lock key. I had the same thing on my Saturn, so I started looking in the usual places. Glovebox, trunk, ashtray, console. Nope. Then I started looking on the ground around the car in case I had somehow dropped it out while removing everything from the trunk. Nope. Without the lug key, there was no way to change the tire. I was stuck.
I decided I’d better drive the car back to the parking garage at work, so I wouldn’t get towed from where I was. That’s where I left it. The next day I borrowed Jody’s car and drove around to various Ford dealers around Dallas to see what I needed to do. The consensus seemed to be that I had two options: order a replacement key and wait for it, or have the car towed to the dealer where they could remove the lug locks with a master key set or by brute force. The second option would have required getting the car towed and paying for a new lock set and the labor to remove the lugs. Ugh. I was going to try finding another key first.
At Bankston Ford off loop LBJ, I told my story to the older gentleman in the parts department. He nodded sympathetically and pulled a cardboard box out from under the counter and said I was welcome to look through all the spare lug keys he had. I had a digital photo of the lug in the event I had to find a key, and I ended up finding a couple that looked like they might work. He said I could take them with me to try out. There was an unspoken understanding that I would bring them back when I was done, but it reminded me that there are still people in the world who honor strangers with their trust. Almost as if my magic, my view of the situation brightened and I even started to think better of Ford as a company, since they must be alright to have such good people working for them. There’s a lesson there for business.
Even though the keys didn’t fit I was on the right track. I found out that instead of ordering through the dealership I could order directly from the manufacturer, a company called McGard, who specializes in lug locks and other forms of asset protection. This was a painless process. All I had to do was take a photo of the locking lug, email it to their customer support staff, and they would match it and overnight a key out to me. They got it to me in less than 24 hours. Once I got the key I changed the tire and went out to get all new tires and a full-size spare. The cost of the key and overnight shipping came to $30. Much better than a tow to the dealer, a new lock set, and an hour of labor to remove the locks.
Obvious lessons learned or remembered:
- Don’t be too cynical about people. They will surprise and shame you with their generosity.
- Necessity and thriftiness will motivate you to find optimal solutions. Don’t settle for what a few people tell you.
- Make sure you know where your lug lock key is before you need it, especially if you’re buying a used car. Keep it in safe place and make sure you get it back any time you have work done. Also, don’t keep it in your glovebox like everyone else. This is the first place thieves look.
- The price of tires and assorted services (balance, warranty, alignment) can be negotiated. My favorite negotiating tactic is to not say anything when I hear the price. Just try to seem silently unsatisfied like you’re thinking. I saved about $100 this way, but who knows how much mark-up there is on tires. All I know is I didn’t pay what I would have had I just went along.