Finding the Perfect Hubcab

A little over a week ago, the left rear hubcab flew off my "new" Camry. Blair saw it go and retrieved it, and I've spent the last week trying to have it repaired/replaced. Turns out its missing half the clips that hold it on, so its a goner. I've since learned that this particular hubcab is known as "crap" in the industry and there is high incidence of them falling off.

I went by the Toyota dealership yesterday to see if they could dig up a spare, but all they had were new hubcabs at $75 each. I'm not so much feelin' that. But they suggested E-bay or Hubcaps.com. Both have my hubcab. Ebay for $19 plus $18 shipping and handling. Hubcaps has it for $50, shipping included, but given the problems with this model hubcab, they recommend replacing it with 4 new hubcabs for $100 total.

I find it interesting how small happenings such as these suck up so much time. I've driven 60 miles roundtrip to the Toyota dealership, stopped by an autoparts store to see if they could reattach the hubcab, spent 30 minutes online researching hubcabs, and now I'm waiting for 9 am pacific time to call Hubcabs.com and see if the particular hubcab I want will fit my car. All told, I've invested about 4 hours.

And still don't have a new hubcab... =)