car thing - part 4

Please read car thing - part 1, part 2, and part 3 before reading the following part 4.


VI. Cashier's Checks

After sending the forms to the co-owner of the car, I figured I should've also try to get the title with only my name. I was thinking to sell Bungbung and to get a cheap used car. I would pay off the used car at once and would not do this financing and co-owning anymore. The idea of selling Bungbung was a very bad sign.

I shared this depressing idea with mama. She disagreed. She offered me her money to pay off the loan, and I would pay her back at the rate how I'd paid the VW bank. I found it great. Let her, instead of VW, earn the interest.
Thus, I asked for a payoff quote, and she wired me the money.
I was also happy to find that the PNC Bank was open on Saturdays, the days I could go home and deal this car thing.
On Jan 5, I went to the bank to buy a cashier’s check.

It took 4 cashier’s checks and one morning to get this done. (And actually it was not done… you’ll see)

Saturday morning was not a busy time. I walked in and immediately got attention from a clerk. I went to her window. Her name tag was hand-written. A name starting with an S. Miss S took my documents and drew money out of my account. She got a cashier’s check to me.
“May I have my license and debit card back?” I said.
“Oh.” She said.
“Um.. you spelled my name wrong.”
“Let me see. That is how it shows on your license.” Are you near-sighted? I stared at her.
“No, that is not how it shows on my license. My name is spelled the same way it is on my license, my debit card, and the form I just gave you.”
She took a look without any apology. In a few minutes, she gave me another check.
My name was still incorrectly spelled. I told her, and she actually appeared angry as if it was my fault.
Finally, the third time, she gave me a check with my name correct.
She did not say a word to me, and I did not know if the process was done.
“Is there anything that I need to get from you?” I asked.
“No, you are all set. You can go.” No thank-you. No have-a-nice-day. No sorry.

I went to the post office immediately. I mailed the cashier’s check to VW with priority mail.
My stomach was hungry. While waiting for my breakfast in a new coffee shop, my cellphone rang. It was Miss S.
“I hope you are still around here. You have to come back and let me sign the check.”
“What? I mailed it already.”
“But the check cannot be cashed without my signature.”
“Why didn’t you say so when I asked you at leaving the bank?”
“Um… let me issue another check to you.”
“Can you at least say you’re sorry?” I was pissed.
“Sorry.” She did not sound sincere. And I did not want to deal with her anymore.
“I want your supervisor to fix this for me.” I hung up and carried my breakfast to PNC.

Somehow it was much busier now.
Miss S saw me walking in and immediately pointed to her boss, Arita. Good, I like Arita. She was the one who helped me switching my official first name in July.
However, there were three people in line waiting for Arita.
So I stood in the middle of the lobby, making myself very visible. Five minutes later, Miss S waved at me.
I went up and she gave me another cashier’s check, signed.
“I want your apology.” I said.
“I am sorry.” She was not sorry. She was just embarrassed. I was not satisfied.
I shook my head and left her window.
Arita saw me and stopped me, “Let me check everything for you before you leave here again.” She apologized for Miss S. I accepted it.

Within an hour, I came to the post office again and mailed the good signed check to VW.
On Monday, I called VW that they would receive two cashier’s checks, and that please void the unsigned one.
On Wednesday, I got a call from VW. They received the unsigned one. The good signed one did not arrive with it even though both were mailed within an hour with the same priority.

I did not put much thoughts and efforts in worrying about it. The grant application was killing my brain cells. Drafting for a self-selling training goal, hunting down Toby, hunting down the president of our research center, and pushing my boss to finish the “sponsor information” package for me occupied my head and stomach.
Thankfully, Kim was with me. We complained about work together. We made fun out of difficult moments together.

On Jan 14, two days before the application deadline, I called VW again. They told me the good signed check was never received. I felt like dying.
I called the South Orange post office, the Libertyville, IL post office, and PNC for 3 times each places. Andy, my cubicle neighbor, must have thought I was a slacker, using company phone to call for my personal things during working hours.
I gathered an unpleasant picture from all those calls: the check was missing. No one cashed it, but no one had it. It got lost.

My breath got lost too.
If this is how a panic attack feels like, I definitely felt it.

I looked at my computer screen. I needed something under control. At least, I could finish the grant writing on Jan 16 no matter what. Thus, I forced myself away from the car thing. I decided to deal with it on Jan 17, and I would not wait for even longer.


VII. Bungbung’s Recovery

Meanwhile, after the Geico person agreed on a quote with the body shop on Jan 7, the body shop started working on the repair. They said they needed 7 business days.
I did not set my temper off and hopelessly accept their estimation of completion date: Jan 15. Fine. Fine. Fine. I was waiting for the registration card anyway. Without the registration card, I could not drive Bungbung and could not park it in South Orange anyway.

On Jan 14 (the same day I franticly called PNC, VW, and post offices), I called the body shop. They said actually the car was ready.
However, the labor and ordered new parts were over the original quoted price. They contacted Geico and asked for more money.
“When is Geico going to see the car again?” I asked and worried about the “business day” estimation.
“We are pushing for this Friday.”
“Alright, I will call again on Friday.” I hung up. It was Monday.


VIII. Registration and Cashier’s Checks, again

Kim had to cover a resident on the Jan 17 morning, meaning that she had to be in service at 8am.
I borrowed her car after dropping her off at work. Driving an SUV is quite different from driving a beetle. Carefully, I went to Newark, to the DMV agency again.

At 8:05am, I was one of the first customers.
At the familiar “Title & Registration” counter, I gave my forms with the co-owner’s signatures and authorization. My heart beat went up, and I wondered whether the lady who was dealing with my case could hear it.
This lady, let’s called her Ms. Slow-typist = Ms. ST, took my things and got my title from her supervisor. She sat down and started typing. Slowly typing with one single finger.
I patiently stood in front of her, silently calming down my heart beat.
For some five or so minutes, she stared at her monitor without typing. This made me very nervous. I asked “Do you need more information from me?”
“No. You cannot do anything. But this is wrong. This is just wrong.” She shook her head and kept saying the word “wrong” and made me very uncomfortable.
“What do you mean?”
“In our system, the company’s name is Volkswagen Credit USA. But on your title, the company’s name is VW Credit. They do not match. And this is the problem.”
I was like… speechlessly hopeless.
“I brought the contract. Do you want to see it?”
“No, you can’t help it. It is the title that matters. But it does not match the name in our system.”
My heart, after all these, got weaker but not stronger. I felt I was melting.
Ms. ST’s supervisor, by coincidence, walked by. Ms. ST stopped her and asked her how to solve this problem in Spanish. I caught the words Volkswagen and VW.
The supervisor soon said in English “No, there is no problem. Volkswagen is VW. VW is Volkswagen.”
“Oh, how would I know?” Ms. ST responded.
How would you know? Are you kidding me? You work here, dealing with cars everyday. And you don’t know VW is Volkswagen? You almost gave me a heart attack. I almost became the potential subject of my own lab!
I did not shoot her all these sentences but just smiled and nodded.

Afterwards, with her slow typing, I got two plates and a registration card in 45 minutes.
I checked everything and tried to make sure I got everything and left to South Orange.
I went to the PNC Bank.

I walked into the bank and spotted Arita. I requested her service and did not allow anyone else touch my things.
Arita remembered me and was also shocked that VW never received the good signed check for the past 10 days, even though it was mailed within an hour with the other bad check.
She stopped the good check and issued me another one. When she was getting things signed, I called VW and told them I was going to send them another one and asked them to void the previous check if they would ever receive it.
VW was ok about it, but because ten days passed, the payoff quote changed. So the new check had to carry a new amount.
I apologized to Arita and asked her if she could issue me another cashier’s check with a different amount.
“Yes, it’s not a problem. Last time, you were very patient with us. Now it’s our turn to be patient with you.” She smiled and quickly had things done.

I mailed the check with Express Mail this time. Priority Mail had lost my trust.


(... to be continued)