Eddie, I hardly knew ye
Jul. 19th, 2005 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadods(Relax, Eddie's a car.)
There's a Candorville cartoon of a couple looking out over the city at night. The man is frowning, thinking, "Whenever I save a little money, God sends an emergency to take it away." The woman has a slight smile and is thinking "Whenever an emergency comes up, God makes sure I have enough money to handle it."
I'm thinking of this because I do have money to handle the latest emergency (yay!)... but I have to take it out of my vacation fund (BOO!) I have terminal car trouble (boo!) but it didn't happen until after Shore Leave and even Harry Potter night (YAY!)
Long story short: Eddie's automatic transition was jerking between gears yesterday, and the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Since it was otherwise driving, I figured I could coax it the 30 miles to Mr. Tire this morning.
...Until Eddie wouldn't back out of the garage. No reverse gear at all. It would still go forward, though, so I cautiously drove it to the dealership, my heart stopping along with the wheels at every light. Fortunately, I got there in one piece.
Unfortunately, they told me that the transmission needs to be rebuilt ($1,250), the transmission fluid needs to be flushed and replaced ($125), and oh, by the way, it's still leaking oil (no quote).
Since Eddie's 8 years old and has 94,000 miles on it, there is just no way I'm putting another grand into it. Not after the major repairs of December and March. Even if I did, the brutal truth is that I just would not trust that car to take me to Canada in 5 weeks.
So, it's car-huntin' season. I'm thinking Subaru this time. If I plunder my vacation money, add my savings to the reimbursement for Shore Leave, and use up the last of my bonus, I can put down a not-overly shabby downpayment, plus I went ahead and got a loan approval from the credit union.
In the meantime, the rental agency was out of cars, so I'm driving a 6-seater minivan... which actually handles better than Eddie did. I'm so terrified of it that I will consider it a personal victory if I don't wet the seat.
ETA My parents were right, there is much more of a selection up where they are than where I am. It means I have to deal with the inspection and assorted other PITA things which will raise the price in $ and hassle, but it also means I can get a better deal in the first place.
I am seriously considering going up tomorrow. It will mean lost work, but it will also get this business over ASAP.
There's a Candorville cartoon of a couple looking out over the city at night. The man is frowning, thinking, "Whenever I save a little money, God sends an emergency to take it away." The woman has a slight smile and is thinking "Whenever an emergency comes up, God makes sure I have enough money to handle it."
I'm thinking of this because I do have money to handle the latest emergency (yay!)... but I have to take it out of my vacation fund (BOO!) I have terminal car trouble (boo!) but it didn't happen until after Shore Leave and even Harry Potter night (YAY!)
Long story short: Eddie's automatic transition was jerking between gears yesterday, and the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Since it was otherwise driving, I figured I could coax it the 30 miles to Mr. Tire this morning.
...Until Eddie wouldn't back out of the garage. No reverse gear at all. It would still go forward, though, so I cautiously drove it to the dealership, my heart stopping along with the wheels at every light. Fortunately, I got there in one piece.
Unfortunately, they told me that the transmission needs to be rebuilt ($1,250), the transmission fluid needs to be flushed and replaced ($125), and oh, by the way, it's still leaking oil (no quote).
Since Eddie's 8 years old and has 94,000 miles on it, there is just no way I'm putting another grand into it. Not after the major repairs of December and March. Even if I did, the brutal truth is that I just would not trust that car to take me to Canada in 5 weeks.
So, it's car-huntin' season. I'm thinking Subaru this time. If I plunder my vacation money, add my savings to the reimbursement for Shore Leave, and use up the last of my bonus, I can put down a not-overly shabby downpayment, plus I went ahead and got a loan approval from the credit union.
In the meantime, the rental agency was out of cars, so I'm driving a 6-seater minivan... which actually handles better than Eddie did. I'm so terrified of it that I will consider it a personal victory if I don't wet the seat.
ETA My parents were right, there is much more of a selection up where they are than where I am. It means I have to deal with the inspection and assorted other PITA things which will raise the price in $ and hassle, but it also means I can get a better deal in the first place.
I am seriously considering going up tomorrow. It will mean lost work, but it will also get this business over ASAP.
