When Deployment Murphy Strikes Your Car
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Imagine your spouse is deployed. You’ve said your goodbyes and have settled into your new schedule for the next number of long months. And then deployment Murphy strikes! You get into a car accident and the car is totaled or maybe a tree fell on your car in the last storm and crushed it. Whatever it is, it’s not good. So what do you do?
Most likely you will have to purchase a new car and you will be looking for the best possible deal too. Then you hear about Chevrolet’s Military Discount. What better way to start off your car shopping experience than with a much-needed discount! Now through May 31st Chevrolet is offering one of the most comprehensive discounts that is available to active duty, retirees, and all veterans.* It’s a great time to take advantage of this deal while you can!
Car Troubles
As military spouses we’ve all heard of Deployment Murphy – all the things that happen as soon as your spouse leaves for a deployment. We bring our stories about Murphy to the table and discuss them as soldiers would discuss battle scars. And while every deployment is different, I can say with utmost certainty that Murphy will make an appearance.
For me, it was during my husband’s first deployment. Murphy decided to strike our family right away by cursing the family car and just a few days after he left it started smoking. The day it happened, I was on my way to meet a friend for a playdate. I drove around the corner to the gas station and was about to pump my gas, when someone came up to me and told me my engine was smoking. My heart sank. Up to this point I had refused to believe that deployment Murphy would hit me, but now it was pretty much true.
I don’t know anything about cars. I don’t know how to change a tire, in fact, I don’t even know how to put air in my tires or change the windshield washer fluid. At the gas station a couple of guys tried to get the hood of my car open, but they couldn’t figure it out and neither could I. After about 10 minutes of all of us trying to figure it out, I decided to get back in the car and just continue on to meet my friend. Later, on the way home, the car started making a loud hissing noise and I started smelling something burning. After that, I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to drive the car anymore.
The next day a friend drove me around town to different car places that people had recommended to me to see if there was any way they could help me fix it. Hours later we decided that the best thing to do would be to get the car towed. And thankfully, USAA covers towing for free! From there, I borrowed a friend’s car and dealt with the mechanic by myself. I knew that as someone who knew nothing about cars that I would probably get taken advantage of in price, but at this point I just wanted this whole thing done and over with.
But Murphy wasn’t done with me yet when it came to the family car…
- Two different brake lights went out at different times and I had to ask a friend’s husband to fix it both times.
- Not realizing how often a car’s oil needed to be changed and finding out it was completely on empty.
- Having another problem with the car, driving around town to try and find someone to fix it, and then being told that because of the type of car I had it would need to be taken to the dealership. Spending four hours at said dealership to get it fixed.
Even though Murphy got me good, I am thankful. Before that deployment, I was not very independent. Murphy encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and forced me to remain flexible. I learned that you do what you have to do to survive.
What about YOU? Has deployment Murphy ever struck your car?
* Eligible military personnel includes Active Duty members, Reservists, National Guard members, Veterans and Retirees — including their spouses — of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Excludes 2016 Malibu, Equinox and Traverse L models, Colorado 2SA, Impala Limited and Spark EV; 2016 Cruze, Cruze Limited L Manual and Corvette Z06. Take delivery by 5/31/16. See participating dealer for details.)
This is a sponsored story from Chevrolet and SoFluential | MSB New Media.
I was visibly pregnant AND overseas when DM hit our car. Thankfully, my husband had a good friend who had to stay behind on rear d. He was a huge help while we worked out where to have it fixed, how to get it towed, and driving me for groceries so I wouldn’t have to take the shuttle. I traded a trip to Rome at Christmas for a new engine head. The whole ordeal had me out of a working vehicle for months.
There was also the issue of tires. Someone had put low-profile rims on it, but the rear tires were also wider than the front and would require a special order. Germany requires tires rated for snow by law, but I only had summers on those fancy rims. There was no skipping this. Because of the sizes needed, it would have taken at least a thousand dollars just to change the rubber. I found some spare rims at the scrap yard on post and had winter tires put on those instead. I didn’t have hubcaps, but I was so tired of the car at that point that I didn’t even care.
I finally got my husband to agree to buying a new car. As soon as my new car came in, I parked the blue beast and didn’t touch it again until he came home. In fact, I never touched it at all–he dealt with it!