Car maintence is super expensive!

Was on my way home after my bday and about a mile from my apartment, i ran into this black object. Don't know if i can say it is small or not.  Small enough that maybe it wasn't all that easy to avoid, but big enough to create some pretty bad damage to my rear driver seat wheel.  After running over it and hearing a loud thud sound, I saw my tire pressure light instantaneously go off. I kinda guessed that maybe my i got a flat tire, but it got more and scary as my drive felt a lot more bumpy and i definitely felt that my car was getting a bit lopsided. 

I am so thankful and grateful for having Nga as a friend. I don't know why but the first thing I did was message Nga and rocky saying i have car problems and need help.  I really wasn't expecting much but wanted to see if Nga could like ask Gary about what i should do if i have a flat.  Nga was super sweet and immediately first asked if i was ok, and where was i. after she knew that i was safe and at home, she told me that she can come over after work and call AAA to help me get my tire changed.  

After her work, she and Gary immediately came over to help me.  Gary helped take a look and they called AAA.  Gary helped pull my car out to a different spot so that the AAA guy could access my tire a lot easier. unfortunately, i guess when the tire was taken out, it was clear that the lip of the rim got dented and possibly cracked.  So.. this would jack up the price a lot more. 

Went to America Tire Company today and got everything looked at. in sum, got 4 new tires, as 4 new rims.  Most probably this was the most expensive solution, minus getting Toyota brand rims. It was pricy but they were able to do everything then and there since they have all wheels and rims available there.  had to pay almost like $1200 just to fix everything.  Sigh, so expensive for just running over some damn small object on the ground.  Can't believe a flat tire ended up being so damn pricy :(.  Especially since I know nothing about cars and value my safety a lot, i guess i had to go the expensive route. 

Despite it being terrible for my wallet, i'm still grateful that I made it home safely and had no bigger issue. Honestly it was very scary when I wasn't sure if I could make it home safely and parked in my garage.  I remember repeating to myself about how I had hoped to get there back in one piece.  Looking back, I also wonder if there had been any way i could have possibly avoided it.  The thing is, it didn't hit my front wheel.. it hit my back wheel instead.  I guess i maybe had seen it.... but maybe not paid enough attention ahead of time in which i could have avoided it.  Maybe if i was more focused before, i could have went slower?  But honestly, there were cars to my left and behind me, so i don't know how feasible it would have been to avoid it. In hindsight i guess there could have been various stuff i could do... but at the spur of the moment then i most probably can't.  

I guess the overall cost is high and pricy but I guess i'm hopefully buying something for peach of mind and hopefully better safety.  Super thankful and grateful that I made it home safely in one piece.  I didn't crash the car and cause even more damage.  Grateful i have wonderful friend like Nga who came to help me when i was scared and needed help.