For all you Anglophones- TomTom, I love you a lot!
Headed off for a few days to Montreal, I thought it prudent to take along a GPS. Now while I am a techno freak, and love to handle, fondle, and use anything electronic, I have drawn my line in the sand when it comes to automotive GPS units.
It’s my firm conviction that the world will go to hell in a handbasket if we don’t all know where we are on a map. And know how to navigate ourselves somewhere with a map. So many people I speak with admit that they would be in big trouble if the GPS in their vehicle suddenly quit. And really, how many of us travel such distances each day that they don’t know how to get where they are going?
I bow down, humbled before you today because TomTom ( or Aimee as my aunt calls it. Get it? Aim-me?!) anyways, TomTom saved my life. Literally.
Scenerio setup- I’m headed off to Montreal. There is some serious fabric shopping PLANNING to to when we are there. I’m thinking – 600 kilometers on the 401 and some tricky manoeuvring in Montreal trying to find the University where we are staying. I didn’t want to get lost in Montreal at dusk, so I borrowed Daughter Katelyn’s GPS.
The Trip- Everything started out okay. We just had the car looked over- brakes, wheel alignment, couple of new tires- everything was running smooth. When I got to the other side of Toronto however, the front end developed a shake and a shimmy. Not the kind you like to see on a dance floor, but the kind that makes one worry. A lot.
Phone call to the husband. He suggested I call the mechanic. The shake was getting worse with every kilometer. The mechanic suggested I head to an auto shop. Well Duhh… I could have told you that boys.
Dilemma- where to find the nearest mechanic. I looked up at TomTom who, up until that minutes just told me to make the turns that I already knew how to make. I knew there was a “find help” button, and sure enough, the darn little device found me a mechanic 6 kilometers away. I would never have found this mechanic on my own. Never.
I pulled into the bay at the shop, and it only took one look to know what the problem was. My front drivers side tire only had one - 1- ONE stud (bolty thing for those of you who don’t know what a wheel stud is) holding the tire on. FOUR of them were missing! Had I gone another few kilometers down the 401, I would have been minus one wheel in heavy traffic!
The lovely guys at Jim’s Auto Repair in Colbourne, Ontario are stellar. While they didn’t have any wheel studs to fit, they were able to fix me up enough to get me to Belleville Volkswagon who installed new studs. The cost – 23 bucks for the wheel studs. Jim’s Auto said “no charge, we were just happy to be able to help you out”
If any of you are in the Colbourne – Belleville Ont area on the 401 and need assistance, Jims Auto Body get my vote any time! Thanks so much guys.
Oh, and the rest of my drive- piece of cake. TomTom didn’t make any mistakes and got me right to my destination.
Counting my blessings that someone really wants me to check out those fabric stores!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! I agree – we all need to know how to read maps and that skill is quickly dying. I had an experience where GPS save my butt – more specifically, my daughter’s butt. I was just the driver. I won’t go into it here, but I know the relief you felt when your serious problem was solved – thanks to GPS. I’m glad everything turned out well.
Oh, Connie!! I REALLY glad that all worked out well!! What a difference gadgets can make to our safety, eh!!
Bienvenu a Montreal!!
Soft hug,
Rhonda IN MONTREAL
Holy cow! I’m glad everything worked out for the best – wouldn’t want you stranded on the 401!
Thank god you had Tom Tom. It is really sad that we no longer try to find the routes we take or roads to follow. Though GPS can be life saving at times I still prefer to spend some time with my maps and find my own way.
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- Josh
Glad my TomTom helped you out! Most of the time it just drives me nuts telling me to make turns I don’t want to make.
Glad to hear Tom Tom saved you. I agree that it is important to be able to read maps, and I usually check maps out before I leave. However, when I am driving by myself in an unfamiliar place I love having a Tom Tom so I don’t have to try to drive and look at my written directions at the same time. What’s the name of the street I have to turn onto next? What street is that coming up? etc.
Why not try a Trackstick for this?