more, please...

*click* *click* *click*

What the?

Try again. *click* *click* *click*

Sheeeeit. The batter was dead. Well, it had enough juice for the radio, dash lights and dome light, but not enough to turn over the engine. Greeeeat. We still had to take his dad back to Just Brakes to pick up his own truck.

I called our nearest Saturn dealership. They refer me to our 24 hour Saturn road-side assistance number. I call it, the gal finds our situation falls under our warranty (well, duuh, why wouldn't it?), and sets up a dispatch for a tow truck. She says the guy will try to jump the car first, and if that doesn't work, it will be towed to the dealership. Estimated time for the tow truck? 90 minutes. Eeesh.

Josh's dad calls Just Brakes and explains the situation. They said they can come pick him up to get his truck and pay for the work. They do that (they used his truck to pick him up, which he wasn't too thrilled about), and Josh & I hang out near our truck, waiting for the tow truck. I need to use the restroom, so I go back into the restaurant to do that while Josh waits outside. I come back out, and he decides he's thirsty, so walks over to Baja Fresh to get a soda in one of their sports bottles. I just want water (can't have soda anyway), so I go back into Bill Johnson's and ask for a cup of water.

While we're back at the truck waiting for the tow truck, we see one driving through the parking lot at Bed Bath & Beyond. Driving slowly, as if the driver is looking for something. We wonder if that is our tow truck. The tow truck leaves the parking lot, and heads away down Bell Road. Guess not.

I see the same truck, again, this time pulling into a parking lot one street over, near a Carl's Jr. I walk to the end of the parking lot for Bill Johnson's, and look across the street. The tow truck is parked in front of a mattress store. I can't tell if the driver is in the cab or not. I walk back to our truck.

Josh and I ponder, if this is indeed our tow truck, how the hell it is going to tow our AWD VUE if it is not a flatbed tow truck? I guess maybe the other types have tow dollies, or something to keep all four wheels off the ground.

Anyway, this tow truck finally turns a corner within the Bill Johnson's parking lot, and I wave to the driver. I'm pretty sure this is our guy. He pulls up, calls into his dispatcher, and then gets out of his truck with a jump set (a self-contained portable charger). He goes over to our truck, and we all look under the hood, wondering where the battery is.

I am not kidding. Saturn has the battery buried in their VUEs. We assume it is underneath a big plastic cover thing that is bolted down with philip's screws. The driver says he does not carry screwdrivers. I see a box behind what we assume is the battery and ask what that is. The driver pops the lid off (it is not bolted down), and it's the fuse box.

But, conveniently enough, there is also the positive cable to the battery, bolted to the box, right there. Hell, the plastic cover even has a giant plus sign on it.

So he hooks up the positive jumper to the positive bolt, and wonders where he is going to ground the negative.

There is no negative bolt, just a positive. He clamps it to part of the frame of the car in front of the engine. I get in & turn the key. *click* *click* *click*. He removes the negative, and readjusts it. I turn it again, and this time it starts.

With a puff of smoke from under the hood. It's no big deal, it's just where the charge singed some of the paint on the frame. Mmmm.. burning paint.

He told us to leave the engine running for about 30 - 45 minutes, and don't run the radio or A/C for at least 30 minutes. I said we're just going to drive it over to the dealership, which is about five miles away, and leave it at their front door so they can have fun with it in the morning. He shrugged and said "Whatever works" (or something similar).

We thanked him for the jump and he was on his way.

The good news is, we only waited about 35 minutes for the tow truck guy to show up. So, we called Josh's dad to let him know we got the jump and were headed over to the dealership, and to meet us there. Got to Saturn, got a service envelope and filled it out, parked the truck in front of the service bay doors, and sealed the key in the envelope and dropped it in their service drop slot.

They open at 7AM, so since our truck is first in line, technically it should be the first one serviced. And what would you know, but I'll also be up at the crack of down tomorrow for my eye consultation appointment at Barnett Dulaney Perkins. So I'll be awake when they call me to tell me its done, and whether it is going to cost us anything.

Technically, since the battery is barely 18 months old, I believe it should be covered under its own warranty, regardless of our extended warranty on the truck. But we'll see.

The first thing I said when we realized the battery was dead?

"It never fails. These things always die at the most inconvenient of times."

For instance:

• - Our former SUV, an Xterra: we got to work just fine one morning, but by lunch, the battery was dead.
  
• - My SL1: the first time it died, was while we were out eating dinner somewhere (it was about four years ago). Fortunately I believe we had eaten with Josh's mom & step-dad, so they were able to jump the car so we could drive to a Checker Auto to get a new battery.
  
• - My SL1: the third time it died, I was at a Walgreen's near my house. I had just driven the stupid car there, but by the time I left Walgreen's, which was probably all of 15 minutes, the battery was dead. No freaking warning. I had to wait for Josh and his friend Max to come and give me a push since we don't have jumper cables. It's a standard transmission, so push-starts are very easy in it.
  

The second time it died, we at least had some warning, because the car's horn started sounding very pathetic and weak. So we were able to get the battery changed out before it was completely dead. I think this was the time that the battery cables were corroded due to a faulty battery, so I think that one got replaced without charge, or at a discounted price.

But anyway, even though battery manufacturers guarantee their products for 3 to 5 years, batteries barely last two years out here in Phoenix. The heat just does a real number on them, and you're lucky if they last as long as they're warrantied for. So if you live out here, or anywhere where the number of days above 100 degrees might outnumber those below 70 degrees, be prepared to buy a new car battery at least every other year.
That's all, folks...