Ask Asa: Lightning strike leaves car stranded for months
How long is too long to wait for car repairs? That's the question a Bluffton woman was wondering — and decided to Ask Asa.
How long is too long to wait for car repairs? That's the question a Bluffton woman was wondering — and decided to Ask Asa.
How long is too long to wait for car repairs? That's the question a Bluffton woman was wondering — and decided to Ask Asa.
There are many ways a car can become disabled: lack of maintenance, accidents while driving, or getting hit while parked. This consumer, though, encountered a strange problem.
Listen. That's the sound of a lightning strike — similar to the one that struck near Carmen Williams' rear tire while she was driving on Route 278 in Bluffton, South Carolina.
"I just heard a loud boom. That was it. That was it. And then, just everything in my vehicle started going crazy. The whole electrical system."
At first, the Bluffton woman thought the tire had blown out. But the tire was the least of her problems. Her once sporty Jeep Wrangler was dead— it wouldn't even begin to start.
Carmen had it towed to nearby Auto Nation in Bluffton, where it has been since August 15.
"So there is a part on backorder—an ABS module that Jeep has continuously on backorder," Carmen said.
While lightning strikes may be rare, Carmen's part delay is not. Consumers around the country have been waiting months, sometimes more than a year, to get replacement vehicle parts.
The reason? Just when you thought the far-reaching ramifications of the covid crisis were behind us, you realize they are still biting us in countless ways.
Remember my stories about covid slowing auto production, rendering many dealers with near-empty lots? Parts and spare parts have become rare commodities. In Carmen's case, she contacted the manufacturer and sued State Farm, her car insurer, at the time of the incident.
Still, the missing computerized module the Jeep needs has proven elusive — out of stock, out of mind. And now Carmen is out of money.
"I can't do anything. I can only get a new car once this one is out of the way," Carmen said. "I've been paying on it since last August, about $520 a month."
In one of those fantastic coincidences that happen so often in consumer reporting, the part arrived four days after we got involved in the case. Auto Nation is installing it, and Carmen was told to keep her fingers crossed that it will work.
State Farm declined to comment on Carmen's case because of pending litigation. I'll let you know how the case progresses.
Meanwhile, if you are one of thousands of people stuck in the delayed auto parts situation, there are some things you can do about it. I'll tell you about them in my next report.
