How AAP saved the day.

My plans for Voxy has always been to make her a reliable and presentable ride. So far I believe I was able to accomplish the latter. The challenge for me right now is to make her a VERY reliable car.  I can’t help but compare her to my Lancer and to my scooter (you’d meet both of them soon) – both of which are very reliable rides. I hate it when I do that and I’m sure she doesn’t appreciate it either – I’m sorry Voxy. However, our relationship has just begun and I’m sure that the future holds many exciting adventures for both of us.  Not that I don’t trust Voxy but part of becoming a reliable car is to be able to survive the expressway J Sustaining a speed of 80kph at high RPMs is something that an old engine might have difficulty achieving and having problems inside SLEX is a big hassle not to mention very costly.

So I decided to enroll Voxy in AAP (Automobile Association of the Philippines). A national car group that offers a wide range of free services to its members – but I’m only after one thing – the free towing! As a member, I get 100kms of free towing  within its service areas which fortunately include SLEX. That’s a great deal  given the current towing rates in SLEX (highway robbery). My Lancer was able to tag along since the Php 1200 pesos membership fee covers 2 vehicles – what a bargain :)

So there I was – stuck in Shopwise Pacita with a sick Volkswagen. My mechanics were tied up with prior commitments so I either had to leave her there for the night or have her towed back home. A good friend helped me tow her once before (thanks Push) and I was considering calling him. But fortunately enough – I remembered my AAP membership and gave them a call. Luckily, Laguna was included in their service areas and I could be towed for free! I called them  at 5:30PM but had to wait until 6PM before they could send out a tow truck. Turns out there were several cars that needed to be towed before me. The truck arrived at 6:40PM and what a relief it was!

 

It was like our knight in shining armor.. backing up on us… 

 

I think Voxy was scared at the sight of the truck or embarrassed at the thought that she needed one.

 

You see that AAP personnel are all smiles – even though it’s already late and far from their usual service routes – they never made me feel that they were doing me a favor.

 

Due to the limited space in the parking lot – they had to push Voxy and line her up at the back of the tow truck..

 

A relieved Archie and Em… :)

 

These rates are scary – it’s a good thing I have free towing.. TIP: FYI for those whose wondering how much it costs to be towed and rescued.

 

Carefully hooking Voxy to the truck – they used a tow bar since Voxy is surprisingly very easy to move around.

Stay away from the light Voxy! Don’t die on me :)

 

She’s as light as a feather even though she’s all sheet metal – they even pulled her closer to the truck just by pulling the tow bar :)

 

All set to be towed..

 

See how behaved Voxy is?  It’s like she feels that she’s going to be scolded once we get home.. 

 

Almost home..

 Home at last!

 

Had to sign some paper work – I saved Php1800 in towing fees! TIP: Don’t let them tow your car if your not an AAP member – highway robbery. It’s unfortunate that they are the only towing company allowed in SLEX.

Love how this shot turned out..

Towing without AAP is very doable –you can even use your seatbelts to do that but it would be such a hassle. My investment with AAP had paid for itself on our first tow.

Free towing: It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.:)