Bane, That Damn Car
May. 22nd, 2004 10:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gypsyannaWell, I haven't really given an update on this thing since the battery, I think. Probably just thinking about it has made me ill.
Okay. The first weekend of May wasn't good for me. First, I had a non-vehicular thing going on. It wasn't fun. It wasn't fair, either, but who expects life to be fair? Not me. Doesn't mean I have to like, it however, or just take it. Right? Right. Heh. And y'all know me. Push me, and I just plant my feet more firmly. No, I don't enjoy it. Quite the opposite. I hate it. I hate confrontations. I'm better at 'em in email and messages, but that's because I have time to actually think. In person? Unless I'm really, truly pissed, my mind just goes blank. But much as I hate them, as ill as they make me, I won't let someone push me around or threaten me.
But anyway. That's not car stuff. So. As the crappy weekend ends and one last email goes out, my car decides that it wants to add to my worries. It starts with some problems in the morning, dying when I put it in reverse and dying when I first put it in drive and turn the wheel. I prayed it was a fluke.
Silly me.
So Tuesday, I started backing into parking spots so I wouldn't have to reverse. Once the car had been driven for a short bit, it seemed fine. Wednesday, my check engine soon light came on. Now, for those who knew me when I first got this car, you can well imagine my reaction to THAT little light. This is how the car earned the name Bane. It took me what? Four months after getting the car for the dealership to fix that little problem last time? As if that weren't enough...the O/D Off light came on Thursday.
By this time I'm more than ready to cry and beat something. The possibility of C4 was raised. I'm still pondering it.
Anyway. come Saturday, I'm deluding myself and thinking, "Maybe it's the alternator..." So I trundle on down to Autozone where they can test that, for free. Sure enough, I'm told it's a bad alternator. Okay, that I can handle. I know how much they cost. Maybe with a book, I can fix it myself? Then the guy points out where it is...and fixing it myself isn't an option.
Of course, while I'm getting the alternator tested, my mom calls to tell me my grandmother is in the hospital.
Okay, now. Let's revisit the reason I bought this car, instead of a cheaper car? Because I wanted to be able to come home if there was a problem. I needed something reliable and I didn't care WHAT it looked like. This was my highest priority when looking at cars, and so I said to the salesman.
So I take the car to Sears, where they must test everything on their own machines. Guess what? The alternator is fine! So back to Autozone I go, to get the Check Engine Soon light tested. Shift solenoid, they said. Off I go to a garage they recommend. $1400 to fix. IF it's the shift solenoid. Which is a $40 part. Labor, however....that's a killer. They have to basically disassemble the transmission, replace the part, and reassemble the transmission.
I, of course, can't pay this right now. Back home I go. I am...distressed. I call around for more quotes and Mr. Transmission says, "It might be a computer thing. Drop it off, I'll take a look for free." So I drop it off. The next day -- Mother's Day, no less, and my poor grandmother in the hospital and scheduled to have a heart cath done the next day, and having just suffered a minor heart attack -- he looks. It's not a computer thing. $400 to be told what's wrong with the That Damn Car.
Monday morning he calls me back. $1886 to fix it. What's wrong, you ask? I asked the same thing. Apparently, debris was up around hte transmission. It started burning. EVERYTHING has to be replaced. Gears, steels, valve cover...every damn thing. I've got the list somewhere, but it makes me cry.
The good news is that they were able to put a stint in and my grandmother seems to be doing fine. :) Of course, I coudln't go home for the operation. The car, y'know.
So my car is parked. I drive it once a week. Hopefully that way it can last until I have $2000 to fix it. Of course, the trade in value on this car is only $2200 in good condition. I still owe $5000.
So, all week I'm stressing over just what I'm going to do. God bless Susan. She can take me to work and pick me up. God bless Tracy and Stan. They let me change my schedule and it's not stopping them from hiring me full time.
My mother comes for the weekend and we have a lot of fun. We go to the Renfaire and my neice really liked it. :) They left and two hours later, I got another letter. Oh, looky -- ultimatums and indirect threats! Some folks just don't have the first clue, do they? ::rolling eyes::
Okay. The first weekend of May wasn't good for me. First, I had a non-vehicular thing going on. It wasn't fun. It wasn't fair, either, but who expects life to be fair? Not me. Doesn't mean I have to like, it however, or just take it. Right? Right. Heh. And y'all know me. Push me, and I just plant my feet more firmly. No, I don't enjoy it. Quite the opposite. I hate it. I hate confrontations. I'm better at 'em in email and messages, but that's because I have time to actually think. In person? Unless I'm really, truly pissed, my mind just goes blank. But much as I hate them, as ill as they make me, I won't let someone push me around or threaten me.
But anyway. That's not car stuff. So. As the crappy weekend ends and one last email goes out, my car decides that it wants to add to my worries. It starts with some problems in the morning, dying when I put it in reverse and dying when I first put it in drive and turn the wheel. I prayed it was a fluke.
Silly me.
So Tuesday, I started backing into parking spots so I wouldn't have to reverse. Once the car had been driven for a short bit, it seemed fine. Wednesday, my check engine soon light came on. Now, for those who knew me when I first got this car, you can well imagine my reaction to THAT little light. This is how the car earned the name Bane. It took me what? Four months after getting the car for the dealership to fix that little problem last time? As if that weren't enough...the O/D Off light came on Thursday.
By this time I'm more than ready to cry and beat something. The possibility of C4 was raised. I'm still pondering it.
Anyway. come Saturday, I'm deluding myself and thinking, "Maybe it's the alternator..." So I trundle on down to Autozone where they can test that, for free. Sure enough, I'm told it's a bad alternator. Okay, that I can handle. I know how much they cost. Maybe with a book, I can fix it myself? Then the guy points out where it is...and fixing it myself isn't an option.
Of course, while I'm getting the alternator tested, my mom calls to tell me my grandmother is in the hospital.
Okay, now. Let's revisit the reason I bought this car, instead of a cheaper car? Because I wanted to be able to come home if there was a problem. I needed something reliable and I didn't care WHAT it looked like. This was my highest priority when looking at cars, and so I said to the salesman.
So I take the car to Sears, where they must test everything on their own machines. Guess what? The alternator is fine! So back to Autozone I go, to get the Check Engine Soon light tested. Shift solenoid, they said. Off I go to a garage they recommend. $1400 to fix. IF it's the shift solenoid. Which is a $40 part. Labor, however....that's a killer. They have to basically disassemble the transmission, replace the part, and reassemble the transmission.
I, of course, can't pay this right now. Back home I go. I am...distressed. I call around for more quotes and Mr. Transmission says, "It might be a computer thing. Drop it off, I'll take a look for free." So I drop it off. The next day -- Mother's Day, no less, and my poor grandmother in the hospital and scheduled to have a heart cath done the next day, and having just suffered a minor heart attack -- he looks. It's not a computer thing. $400 to be told what's wrong with the That Damn Car.
Monday morning he calls me back. $1886 to fix it. What's wrong, you ask? I asked the same thing. Apparently, debris was up around hte transmission. It started burning. EVERYTHING has to be replaced. Gears, steels, valve cover...every damn thing. I've got the list somewhere, but it makes me cry.
The good news is that they were able to put a stint in and my grandmother seems to be doing fine. :) Of course, I coudln't go home for the operation. The car, y'know.
So my car is parked. I drive it once a week. Hopefully that way it can last until I have $2000 to fix it. Of course, the trade in value on this car is only $2200 in good condition. I still owe $5000.
So, all week I'm stressing over just what I'm going to do. God bless Susan. She can take me to work and pick me up. God bless Tracy and Stan. They let me change my schedule and it's not stopping them from hiring me full time.
My mother comes for the weekend and we have a lot of fun. We go to the Renfaire and my neice really liked it. :) They left and two hours later, I got another letter. Oh, looky -- ultimatums and indirect threats! Some folks just don't have the first clue, do they? ::rolling eyes::
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-22 11:59 am (UTC)Car problems suck.
car empathy
Date: 2004-05-23 12:22 am (UTC)The car I had before this one crapped out from an overheated transmission. It's not fun, and it can happen while you're sitting at a red light, waiting for it to change. Be warned!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-23 02:06 am (UTC)Once you get Bane fixed, look into trading it in. :) Good luck!
--Kris