So, it all started when I told my wife I wanted to get my windows re-tinted in TJ. She agreed and said she wanted to visit her grandmother while we were down there since that is the only way she could get me to go down there.I knew something was wrong when I immediately started thinking it was a bad idea and had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about going down there and letting someone mess with my car. I didn't know what it was, but something was telling me not to go down there.So we left, I had already installed the front psychovibe bumper on my car and it was still cracked (plays in later!). Off we went, butterflies started to go away, but I was still thinking it was a bad idea. Got to the border, wife said stay right, cops were looking at my car like crazy. "Turn here at this first exit", so I turned, went around a few streets, ended up on a 1-way street that was blocked! So we went back the only way we could the right way and ended up in line to go back across the border to the US with no way out! THIS WAS A SIGN!We went back across the border, guy was asking what we were there for, told him my story, he laughed and off we went. Turned around to go back to MX, decided to stop and get something to eat at Taco-Hell. Stomach felt like @$$, got gas JIC, and back to MX we went.Cops looking at me again, hard-core! Turned a couple of exits later, got lost (surprise, wife was leading the way, got me lost like 6 out of 6 times just the other day!), found a place to get tint. Went around to come back so we could pull in, found another guy who said he would hook us up. HE GETS IN THE BACK OF MY CAR WITH MY KID! I was like (removed)! He takes us like 3-4 blocks away to another shop. He wants a tip for the hook-up! They also start asking about fixing-painting the front bumper (see, here it is!). We talk it over, says $150 they will fix, reinforce, and paint the bumper. OK. As soon as they are donw tinting I will drive it a few stores down and they will do the bumper. Might as well, it will never get done otherwise!Wife wants to go somewhere to get her hair braided. I'm not about to leave my car. SOO, guy walks us over to the end of the block. Shows wife where to go, then, to keep it quiet, asks for the tip. I give it to him, wife is already gone, 2 police trucks with about 4 cops in each truck come flying up on us! They all jump out, put guy and I against the truck. Now, ALL I have ever heard about Mexican Police is bad things! They are taking everything out of my pockets (and giving it to me think goodness!) and asking me what I am doing there, who the guy is to me, etc.... I am trying to explain to them that I was just there to get my windows tinted, he was doing it, etc... They are asking about drugs, I tell them 5x I have never done any drugs in my entire 27yr life. They ask for an ID.... ****! My wife has it! I explain to them that she has it in her bag and she is walking down the street to get her hair done, fortunately I have a 8yo student ID that they accept! They let me off, phew!Get windows tinted, take car to get bumper done, bugging b/c I can't get ahold of wife, don't know where she is, when she will be back, of anything happened to her or my son, etc... She finally shows back up, get done painting, (here's where I learn a valuable lesson that I knew was coming!) YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! Overspray everywhere! No biggie, got a brand new clay-bar at home. Might as well learn how to and make use of it!Take off to go to wife's grandmother's house. Sitting at a light, notice some smoke coming from hood! Next thing you know, loud whoosh with more smoke and the bags go flat, and of course it HAD to happen right when a police truck was passing!! Luckily they just kept going. Go a few blocks a find a place to pull over, slapping myself all the way for ever coming to this place! Pull over, open hood, what do I find? A few pieces of burnt up newspaper that they had used to tape off unpainted parts that they had left down by the header! The paper caught fire, melted the air-bag hose, and it popped. Luckily I had a piece available to fix it, even though it couldn't work the first time, I had to spend 30min with it to get it to hold! Back towards Grandma's! So, we get to grandma's Ok after that, then wife decides that I need to drive to a Chinese food restaurant and pick up food! I had no interest in this idea, but as you know, the wife gets what she wants or you get to hear it all day! Off we went, me and wife's uncle in MY car to go get Chinese. Get down there, get food, coming back, getting off on main road to g-ma's, (Could it get any worse?!?!), HIT THE FREAKIN MEDIAN CURB WITH MY BACK RIGHT! Felt horrible, thought for sure it was bent, but felt nothing weird in the ride. Got off at a store we were stopping at right there to get drinks, found a huge gash in the lip and a piece of the tire coming off, but otherwise nothing that couldn't be easily fixed, just looked kind of bad. We eat (too much!) and head back to SD! Border wait was supposed to be 1hr, ended up being about 30min. Got back ok, finally, I am about to go to bed and I can forget this day ever happened!
Jason Damron, San Diego, CA, Supercharged 2004 Vibe base - Gone to the wind My Vibe pics on Cardomain2009 Chevrolet HHR SS!
damn dude that is one crazy day man!!! at least your family was safe and you got home safe are you going to post pix of the damage?? if not thats kewl but man that day you would never forget geez
As my daughter would say..."You had a Grover's Bad Awful Day!"This is only funny if you've ever watched Sesame Street!Glad to hear you survived Tijuana, even if the paint job wasn't so good, the tire got trashed and you blew the bags.
Mods: 04 center armrest, 04 Matrix AM/FM/CD/Cassette, Electrochromatic rear view mirror w/compass, GM hood protector, Ventvisors on doors and moonroof, one-touch close moonroof. added 12v outlet in console, Goodyear TripleTred tires, Sirius satellite radio.
That was some experience. I always hear bad things happening on the other side of the border especially with the Mexican Police. At least you survived it and can put it past you.
DUDE that sucks soo bad. Sorry to hear about that, but yeah man at least you survived and nothing bad happened to you or the fam, well except taco hell aftermath Im surprised when I was there with my fam and school that nothing bad happened...that place can be scary....very scary.
Oh man, I used to live about 30 miles from the Mexican border (SE AZ). Rule of thumb around there was NEVER take your car into Mexico. Always take a rental!
'04 Frosty GT <---Click here!Tein S-Tech springs; Tokico HP struts;Progress rear sway bar; DC Sports strut tower bar;Scion TC wheels; K&N Typhoon intake;GG Racing ground wires; JAW voltage stabilizer;FilterMAG SS-250; Militec-1; Sirius Satellite Radio
dang man hope everything is ok... and hope you fix everything to good shape.+1 on the pics... just curious on the tint and how the bumper looks.
Must resist.... V... Tec.... Temptation... to strong... "WARNING: Genvibe is a very addictive website... constant use can result in car modification and a lowering of your bank account. use with extreme caution!http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2298639
Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »dear god, taco bell and chinese in one day! i'd still be on the crapper!i was thinking the EXACT same thing! brutal...but you know even if you stayed home, something else would have happened....karma dude.
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Years from now it will be a great story, but I know what you mean. I took someone to the TJ airport once - 24 years ago - and resolved never to drive in Mexico again.And to top it all off, while waiting for the flight, the pilot comes walking by carrying a paperback book titled "¡Peligro! Vuelo 101".
"We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." - Winston Churchill---------------------------------Who is John Galt?2 Vibes, 03GT & 07 base (kids drive)1993 Lexus LS4001980 Fiat Spider
Quote, originally posted by jimincalif »And to top it all off, while waiting for the flight, the pilot comes walking by carrying a paperback book titled "¡Peligro! Vuelo 101".Translation please?Dayum, Jason! You need to get the hell outta dodge! Sorry to hear about other peoples negligence and the damage to your air line. Glad you were able to fix it on the spot. Also sorry to hear about your rim and tire damage. Can you buff it out? Good that you made it back in one piece and are not sitting in jail. That is why I will always carry my own license.
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Yikes! Karma definitely had it in for you.It may also mean that you're in line for a big pile of good luck too, everything does have to balance eventually.It's going to make a great story in about 40 years or so.You can tell the grandkiddies about your simple trip to Mexico to get your windows tinted, and how everything turned completely wonky. I bet you'll never complain about leading a dull life after this.
05 Base Vibe, Abyss (also known as Black to un-Vibers)Auto, Power Pkg, 16" alu, 20% tint all around, Black powder coated roof rails (the anodizing didn't last in the sun)Member of S.A.V.E. (Secret Association of Vibe Enthusisasts)
ohh man!!! I WOULD NEVER DRIVE TO MEXICO!!! been there on foot a few times. i learned never to be there alone too. ofcourse i went with a bunch of drunken sailors. ha ha ha. you just brought back a bunch of memories. I'm glad you got outta there ok. next time she says, hey, why don't we go... NO! how about YOU go! ha ha ah ah
Quote, originally posted by mcgusto82 »ohh man!!! I WOULD NEVER DRIVE TO MEXICO!!! been there on foot a few times. i learned never to be there alone too. ofcourse i went with a bunch of drunken sailors. ha ha ha. you just brought back a bunch of memories. I'm glad you got outta there ok. next time she says, hey, why don't we go... NO! how about YOU go! ha ha ah ahThat's usually the case, and I've been down there plenty of times to know better, but never had an experience quite like this! From now on out, JUST SAY NO TO TJ!!!!
Jason Damron, San Diego, CA, Supercharged 2004 Vibe base - Gone to the wind My Vibe pics on Cardomain2009 Chevrolet HHR SS!
Hey how much lower is the new front bumper... man it looks Fing BADASS!That rear bumper... how good does it fit and is it lower then stock... ie: hit the muffler?
Must resist.... V... Tec.... Temptation... to strong... "WARNING: Genvibe is a very addictive website... constant use can result in car modification and a lowering of your bank account. use with extreme caution!http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2298639
Quote, originally posted by Mrizzle05 »Hey how much lower is the new front bumper... man it looks Fing BADASS!That rear bumper... how good does it fit and is it lower then stock... ie: hit the muffler?Thanks Scherry2! The new bumper is definitely lower! Prob a couple inches. The rear bumper fits great and is lower also, but doesn't hit the exhaust tip. They made it to fit right.
Jason Damron, San Diego, CA, Supercharged 2004 Vibe base - Gone to the wind My Vibe pics on Cardomain2009 Chevrolet HHR SS!
man if i has side rockers.. id look into the rear bumper, but the front bumper, call me or IM me about the front!
Must resist.... V... Tec.... Temptation... to strong... "WARNING: Genvibe is a very addictive website... constant use can result in car modification and a lowering of your bank account. use with extreme caution!http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2298639