Brake light frustrations of an idiot (me)

We visited one of my wife's sisters in Ridgecrest yesterday, 120 miles up Highway 395. After we were 3/4 of the way home last night, the sister texts my wife, "BTW, your driver's side taillight is out on your Prius but the brake lights are OK. Must just be the bulb." She could have at least told us before we headed for home after dark on one of the more dangerous stretches of highway in California.

This morning, I'm all set to take care of it. Like an idiot, I don't actually take the bulb out to match it up OR take a look at the part online. Head over to my local Pep Boys, look it up in the reference book on the counter, THEY'RE SOLD OUT!

OK, drive down the road about 4 miles to the next Pep Boys, look at the book again, clerk confirms it on his computer, I plunk down the $7 (including tax) for a two bulb pack and head for home. Get home, get ready to pop in new bulbs and THEY"RE THE WRONG BULBS! The Pep Boys reference book was wrong!

Back in the car and back into the Pep Boys, this time with the old bulb in hand only to find out they're sold out of the right one! $7 refund and leave empty-handed.

Next door is Auto Zone. I walk in and the hook where those bulbs should be is empty! Ask the girl at the counter and she informs me they haven't been able to get them for at least two weeks!

Another mile or two to O'Reilly's. Lo and behold, they have three pegs stuffed with those beautiful bulbs! Same price, $7 total, and put them in right there at the store to make sure.

I'm an idiot for not doing my due diligence before I set out on this quest.

Now for the really frustrating part. We stopped for gas before we left Ridgecrest last night. Directly across the street the Wal-Mart Supercenter was open and they have them IN STOCK. If my sister-in-law had texted within 10 minutes or so of noticing the light was out this whole adventure would have been avoided. Plus, we would have been a little safer on the ride home.

I feel a little bit like Clark Griswold. Where's the emoji for tearing my hair out?

 

Wow! I had no idea! I hang around the Gen II forums and don't venture into the others a lot.

 

That's actually what I normally do. I made the stupid assumption that bulbs for taillights are so common and my local Pep Boys has a pretty big section of shelving dedicated to them that I didn't need to check. Wrong assumption.