The car situation

For some reason, Robert and I both thought that the car was due for a tune-up in accordance with the maintenance requirements for the car. Since the maintenance book is in French, we didn't actually refer to it, we were just going by memory based on what we (thought) we were told the last time the car was in the shop. (my French is really improving but I'm definitely not up to speed with all the car lingo) Since there are a few other things we wanted to be looked at, I went ahead and made the appointment for Monday (yesterday). When Robert arrived at the garage ready to drop off the car, I had erroneously booked it for a "controle technique" service, not a tune-up. I might add that when I made the appointment, the customer service person had absolutely zero patience or desire to assist me, and hung up before I even had the chance to say good-bye. A controle technique is basically a thorough inspection of the car, which is required every two years on all cars registered in France. Any findings (i.e deficiencies) must be repaired immediately to maintain the right to drive the car. Since we had just recently had a control technique performed, it was not necessary to perform another one. We also discovered that a tune-up was not necessary at this time. However, we still wanted the few issues looked at so Robert made an appointment for the following day. Taking the car in to the garage is a pain in itself since we only have one car. Therefore, once the car is dropped off, the bus and our feet are our only transportation options. There's no shuttle type service like at most dealers in the US that will drive you to work after you drop off your vehicle. Well, maybe there is at Rolls Royce or something, but this is Peugeot we're talking about. So, anyway, the mechanic dude calls me to advise of the status this afternoon. Under normal, North American circumstances, he would have called Robert directly. I am a total pushover when it comes to such things and if they tell me it's not under warranty, I just accept it. Anyway, obviously the language barrier with Robert necessitates me being the liason between Robert and the mechanic. It turns out that one of the problems (with the steering) makes the car unsafe to drive, and cannot be repaired until the part comes in, supposedly Thursday or Friday (which in France could mean Christmas time). So when I communicate this to Robert, he tells me that our warranty includes a loaner car and to have them prepare one to be ready for him at 8AM tomorrow so he has a means to get to work. So, I call the mechanic dude back and he claims that a) the loaner is not covered under warranty and b) even if it was, there were no loaner cars available and that I was just unlucky to have a car problem at this time since all the loaners were reserved already! So, I call back, speak with about 10 different people (all the while nursing my little baby), and the best reply I got was that they would call me tomorrow as soon as a loaner car became available. Robert was disatisfied with this outcome, so he did what we so very seldomly do, and relied on another French person to call and resolve a problem for us. Robert told his colleague to tell them that if a loaner car is not available at 8AM tomorrow, that he would sit on their desk all day tomorrow until he received one! Needless to say, a loaner car will be ready tomorrow morning at 8AM! But since the loaner will undoubtedly have a manual transmission, which I do not know how to drive, I will be without a vehicle until the repair is completed. Which kinda sucks since it's yet again, school holidays, which will be the subject of my next post!