It all started with a dead battery.
And, it all came to a successful conclusion, thanks to the divine intervention of an Italian angel at a local auto mechanic’s shop. Here’s a brief synopsis:
My car wouldn’t start. How frustrating. We jump-started the car, and I drove it around for forty-five minutes, hoping to recharge it. It seemed to work, but two days later, it was dead again. My battery was less than a year old, and still under warranty, but the Fiat dealer who installed it was in Umbria, and we live in Veneto now.
We jumped my car, again, and drove to a local battery shop. They tested my battery, and deemed it fine but suggested I drive the car to the an auto mechanic’s shop up the road, to have them charge it overnight, and do a more thorough check.
The owner of the auto mechanic’s shop was waiting for me (the previous guy had called ahead to alert the owner of the problem). Go ahead, leave the car, and check back in the morning. I walked home (the shop was less than ten minutes away by foot).
The next morning I returned. A bum battery, despite an all-night charge. Dagnabit! Was I going to have to shell out money for a new battery? The shop owner had me call the Fiat dealership in Umbria, and then I passed the phone to him. He then orchestrated
