More About the Car

Wow, I can't believe it's been more than a month since I blogged! AND that it's been more than a month since I took my car in to the shop...I'm STILL driving the loaner! The problem with the door was fixed a couple weeks ago, but then husband decided I needed an oil change before it left the shop. Okay, fine, so we did that. Then brother-in-law the mechanic decided I needed new tires and an alignment before it left the shop. Okay, that's fine, too, but I thought maybe before we did that we should probably fix the broken strut bar on the front passenger side that's likely CAUSING the car to need new tires and an alignment. That's a part that can only come from the dealership, and of course they don't actually keep them in stock, we we're apparently waiting for that to come in. THEN the actual work will need to be done. THEN I'll need new tires and an alignment. Who knows how much longer I'll be driving the loaner?

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Car Trouble

The driver's side door on my car won't open. Something about the electric locking system...it's locked shut and no amount of fiddling, coaxing, swearing or even key-using will get it open. It's been like that for just over a week. So in order to drive from Point A to Point B in the last week, I've had to climb over the center console to get to the driver's seat. Now...I am a 51-year-old size 16 woman. Climbing over the center console is, well, let's just say my son thinks it's pretty darn funny!

Fortunately, today I have a loaner car so that my car can go to brother-in-law's shop. (Brother-in-law is a mechanic.) In order to change the locking system, the inside door panel has to come off. In order to get the door panel off, the door really has to open. Let's hope brother-in-law has a few more coaxing swear words in his arsenal so HE can get the door open!

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Eeeww!

I saw a pink Volkswagen Beetle on my way home last night. I can't begin to imagine driving a pink Volkswagen Beetle!

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Goodbye My Van, Hello My Car

A few weeks ago, my trusty old 1997 Voyager minivan died. The transmission just quit engaging. The engine would run, but it wouldn't go. Wah! I'd been driving it since my son was born, so that's 8-1/2 years. Over the years, little things started to go wrong. There was an issue with some "recall" work that I never had done, so anything electrical on the steering column quit working. Sort of. The cruise control wouldn't engage. The windshield wipers would work when I wanted them to, but also sometimes when THEY wanted to. The horn would not work when I wanted it to, but took to blaring all on its own when I turned corners. Yikes! I had my brother-in-law the mechanic yank it out for me. The tape deck ate a tape and wouldn't let go. The left tail light quit working, and it wasn't a burned-out bulb--it was electrical. Somewhere. We could never find the problem. It had an oil leak. The inside heater hose (part of the radiator/cooling system) sprung a leak and had to be bypassed, leaving me with no heat for the winter. Granted, not much of a problem for most of the year in Florida, but it does get chilly in the wintertime and I am NOT a fan of the cold!

It's a list of little things, things that I could live with for the most part, but an extensive list. We decided it wasn't worth putting in the $1200 - $1400 it would take to replace the transmission and still be driving a vehicle with all those "issues". So we got me a new car. Well, a used new car. A 1995 Infiniti J-30, pearl white, with a sunroof, leather interior, and a butt warmer! (Big yay!) You would never know it's that old. There's a little wear on the steering wheel, but other than that, it's pristine! It's gorgeous! (See picture above. Jealous?) The hardest thing to get used to has been being much lower to the ground than I was in the minivan. And the gearshift is on the "floor" to the right of the driver's seat instead of on the steering column. So once in awhile I'll grab the windshield wiper lever and try to "shift" with it. I always feel pretty stupid when that happens!

It's a great car. It's gorgeous. It handles beautifully. It gets decent gas mileage. Looks like I've got my ride set for the next decade or so! (By then my son will have his driver's license, and he's already planning on inheriting it!)

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