The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Monday, April 21, 2014

In limbo...

Well, I heard from the car storage guy yesterday afternoon.

Seems we're kind of stuck for the next couple of days. Let me explain the whole story...

When we stored the car here in Ottawa last October, we were under the impression that we were going to be going back to the same campground that we worked at last summer. They had a pickup truck there that we were able to use, so we didn't need our little blue car.

So we had told the storage place that we didn't know when we were going to use the little blue car again. It was one of the first cars put in, which means it also would be one of the last ones out. At the time, that was fine.

But then, due to poor communication from our last place of work, we ended up with a new job for this summer. One that requires our own set of wheels!

So we came back to Ottawa in order to pick up the little blue car and drive it to Saskatchewan. We need to be there before May 1st.

I assumed that many people would have been picking up their cars this past weekend. It was a nice long weekend, and the snow is pretty much gone. But then I couldn't get any answer from the people who run the storage place. I finally got a call back yesterday afternoon. Seems that because it was a harsh winter they are a little delayed. I guess the ground outside the garage (it's an old building out in the country) is still a little soft, and people simply haven't been in a rush to get their cars out.

So, the owner is making some calls to see what he can do to help us out. Essentially, other people need to come and get their cars out before we can get our car out. Not their fault, so we just have to bear with it. At this point, he can't even guarantee that we can get the car out next weekend. That would present a problem.

So, where we stand right now is that he will call Wednesday evening and see how many people he has talked to and what the schedule looks like. If it looks like we can get the car out between then and Sunday, we will simply wait and leave a little later than planned.

If he says we won't be able to get the car out next weekend, we will buy a cheap used car and drive it out west! Not what we wanted to do, but we don't see another option.

The little blue car in July 2006 when he was brand new!

So I've been watching the ads for cheap used cars. In Ontario, in order to get it licensed, a used car must pass a safety inspection and an emissions test. Back when I was in the car business, anything that would pass these two tests was worth at least $1,000. Seems that figure is now up around $1,500, so that's about what we're going to have to spend if it comes down to it.

It's always an adventure, isn't it? It would be just like us to buy a junker used car, hop in it, and expect to drive it 3,000 kms (1,800 miles) across the country!

I guess we'll see what happens!

25 comments:

  1. I definitely would have called at least two weeks or more ahead of time especially since the time of arrival and pick was near a holiday. Most businesses are closed during holiday....that is in the US. Don't know about Canada.

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    1. Agreed that I should have. But this isn't really a business. It's just a private place on an old farm and the owners live right across the street.

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  2. I think the snow is a large part of the problem. Friends in Toronto can't put their RV back in storage because of all the snow in there so are parked illegally at the moment.

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    1. There's actually no snow left here. Well, a couple of small patches in the shade. I would have thought Toronto would have none at all.

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  3. Can you cut a hole in the back of the barn and make a run for it?! Best of luck!

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    1. Ha! I wish! We are parked against a wall though. Hmm...

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  4. You should have given the little blue car to your son like he asked :)

    He would have sold it back to you really cheap!

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  5. Never knew anyone who stored a car like this before. Interesting.

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  6. Seems to me that if you're ready to get your car out of storage, they should give it to you. They don't have keys for the ones blocking it in? I guess I just don't get it -- and you may not either (just kidding)! Grace (in Tucson)

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    1. The cars that are blocking us do have the keys, but none of them have batteries in them. As I said, when we parked it last October it was with the understanding that we would be one of the last ones out.

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    2. Just round up a bunch of burly Canadian lumberjacks and have them hoist and carry the little blue car over all the other cars!

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  7. So sorry this happened to you. Hope they give you a discount on your extended stay:-)

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  8. Where's the best place to look for a cheap certified used car? Kijiji?

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  9. It is, despite the hassle, sort of amusing, isn't it? There must be a better way, e.g. requiring everyone to leave a key. Their advertising can be, "We're great at storing cars, just not very good at releasing them."

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    1. Once again, it's not their fault. The keys are in the cars so that they can be moved around, but there are no batteries in the cars.

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  10. One of the RV blog I read just had her RV burn to cinders...the storage facility caught on fire. Investigation is still on going. A number of RVs burned to the ground...nothing left. So sad cuz you get attached to your vehicle and/or home on wheels.

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    1. Yep, we get that. Sometimes we think we should have sold both the car and the motorhome, but we haven't been able to do so yet. We kinda like owning them, even if we don't use them as often as we should.

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  11. Hope the snow melts and you get reunited with your car.

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    1. Picked it up in the afternoon. We're back on track!

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  12. Good luck with retrieving you car on time.

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  13. There are always unexpected glitches when you're planning a trip - some present opportunities to find a better alternative and others just leave you gritting your teeth and pulling your hair! Good luck and safe travels.

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  14. Best of luck with the car. I think it's the most stressful type of shopping. Thank goodness we don't have to do it too often!

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  15. An interesting system. As far as I am aware all storage companies in UK ask you to leave keys, mainly so they can move cars in an emergency.

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