Behind Infinity

What the tire salesman said:(I promise his nametag really said JimBob) “These tires are shot, ma’am. You won’t get another month out of them, much less the whole summer. Do you want to replace them today and just get it over with? We can get you a comparable set of performance tires for $637.72.”
What I thought: “I haven’t fixed my hair today, I haven’t put on makeup, and I’m wearing frumpy clothes because I wasn’t planning on going out this morning. And I’m quite obviously a college student. Do I look like I have $637.72 in my checking account for a new set of performance tires?”
What I said: “Um, no, I don’t have the money for that this summer. I think I’ll go home and just put on my winter wheels instead.”
His reply: “Well ma’am, I don’t think that will work so well, your winter tires are pretty soft compared to these…we could put on something cheaper, I have another set here for $462…”
I answered back: “They’re Goodyear all-season touring tires. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Did you get them here? Let me just look them up in the computer and make sure….oh. Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Those ought to do okay. You’ll miss your performance tires. But if you’ll bring your other set of wheels in, we’ll put them on for you for only $….”

I assured him I would be fine. And I was. I went home and changed out all 4 wheels. All by myself. And all it cost me was some skinned knuckles and the near-loss of a toenail. Honestly, I kind of like dabbling in stuff like this. Whenever I pull up to any sort of automobile care establishment, I can almost hear the technicians chuckle to each other. “A blonde in a Beetle…oh barf. This will be fun.” They’re caught off guard when I actually know a little bit about what I’m after and realize I’m not as easy a mark as they think. There are many auto techs who are genuinely helpful to people like me, and for them I am grateful. However, there are also a lot more who enjoy taking advantage of blondes who drive Beetles. And whenever I meet one of them, I get a kick out of foiling his attempts at pulling the wool over my eyes.

So. Take that, Mr. Overly Zealous Tire Salesman.