Our Car

While Doug was supposed to write this blog entry, my impatience got the best of me (mostly because I really like it when things are sequential and orderly and he is not enabling either of these preferences) so, I am going to do my best to capture the events, myself. As previously mentioned, Doug was supposed to pick-up our car on Friday, August 7, exactly one week after our arrival. Also previously mentioned, there really is no telling what exactly you are purchasing, so Doug’s 30 kilometer drive to Manzini, the next town over, was not without anxiety about the little lemon that potentially awaited. Upon his arrival at the used car lot, while Doug completed the transaction with the owner, one of the attendants put a battery in the car and let Doug know that it was ready. When Doug tried to start the car, it sputtered a little and then stalled before he made any forward progress. Doug noticed that the car was on empty and got out and asked the attendant for some petrol (gas). The attendant provided him with a gas can and pointed him in the direction of the nearest petrol station. While walking to the station, Doug called me to let me know that our car didn’t actually ‘go,’ but we were both hopeful that this could be attributed to the absence of fuel (and for those of your wondering, no, test-driving before purchasing was not allowed). Back at the lot, Doug emptied e. 50 worth of petrol into the car and tried to start it again. This time, it worked and so he drove out of the lot. But, his relief was short lived because as Doug was literally crossing the threshold of the lot and entering traffic on the road, the car stalled. Picture Doug in his shirt and tie pushing his newly purchased vehicle back into the lot (uphill, no less). Apparently, after completing the transaction with Doug, the owner had left for the day (it was Friday afternoon, I guess), so there was no one on site who knew anything or had any authority to do anything. Awesome (remember that I am waiting at home, bags packed, cooler packed, ready to meet our friends in Mbulzuni for the weekend). Anyways, one of the attendants finally got the owner on the phone and the owner said that it was probably just water in the spark plugs because the car had been sitting on the lot for a while. He instructed one of his attendants to take Doug to the mechanic. So, off they went (I’m not really sure why the car worked this time) and next thing you know Doug was driving through a field on his way to see a mechanic who sat under a tree in the corner of the field. Despite the absence of a ‘shop’ or any tools other than a wrench, the mechanic blew all of the water out of the spark plugs and for e. 50 ($7) sent Doug on his way. And that concludes the story about the day Doug picked-up our car. Despite the rocky start including running out of gas, stalling, being pushed, and getting worked on by a mechanic under a tree in a field, it’s been a good little lemon (knock on wood).