Automobiles!

About two months ago, the key would not release out of the ignition of my car. It seemed to happen only when I drove the car at first. Dave could get it out every time, so he thought it was just something I was doing wrong. Eventually, it happened to Dave and then he believed me. He got on the internet and did some research. He found out that there is a release button inside the steering column, but it is enclosed in a little compartment under where they key goes. In order to press the release button, you have to remove the cover to the little hole and then use a long thin object (we’re using a chop stick) to reach up into the steering column and press the release button. It works every time. If for some reason you don’t get the key out, it runs the battery dead. It’s a pain, but if you know how to get the key out, it is a preventable problem.
Last week I had complained to Dave that my car was running really ratty. I was pretty sure it was a tire issue. When we took it to "Big O" for a tire rotation, they told us the front tires were worn out and legally needed to be replaced. We had them put new tires on the front and balance and rotate the tires. I showed the manager how to remove the key from the ignition so he wouldn't have a heart attack when it got stuck. The car ended up needing a front and rear end alignment as well. (I didn't know the rear end could be aligned.) No wonder it shook when I drove it. The manager didn’t bother to tell his mechanic about the key problem, and so they left the key in the ignition. When we went to pick up the car, it had a dead battery. They charged it up for us and we returned later to pick it up.
The next morning I drove to Salt Lake early to be with Mindy when she got her ultrasound. It was just a bit chilly that early in the morning, and when I tried to turn the heater in the car on, nothing happened. No Blower--no heat, no air conditioning, no defrost. I called Dave on my cell phone and asked him what he thought it might be. We figured "Big O" had disconnected something and hadn’t gotten it all back together. When I got to Ogden where the speed limit reduces, I checked my speedometer to see how fast I was going, and it registered “0”—my speedometer didn’t work either. I called Dave again. He called "Big O." They didn’t know what they had done, but said we could bring it in the next morning and they’d check it.
While I was busy preparing for Ashlee Gurney’s Bridal shower the next morning, Dave and Hallie (who had spent the night with us) shuffled my car to "Big O" to get it fixed. Shortly after that, they called to say it was all ready to pick up. Hallie and Dave drove over to pick it up since I was still getting food ready for the shower. Apparently it was only a fuse that caused the blower to go out. When Hallie and Dave returned with my car, Hallie reported to Grandpa that the speedometer was still not working.
Dave tried to figure out why it wouldn't work and realized that the speedometer was stuck behind a little peg that holds the needle up. He tried to figure out how to take off the dashboard to fix it. He drove over to Auto Zone to see if they had a tool that would work to get the dash cover off. The guy there told him that he used to work at Hansen Motors and they were the only ones with that particular tool.
Dave drove it over to Hansen Motors and eighty dollars later, my speedometer was working! Dave called "Big O" and explained to them, that it was a result of the dead battery. He had Hansen Motors find out how much it would cost to fix the steering column so we wouldn’t have this problem again. $350!!! We decided a chop stick works just fine.