Trouble With the Car

I would not normally add this kind of topic to my blog, but it is just so damn frustrating, and perhaps I need this as an outlet.

About one week and a half or so ago, on Tuesday, I hung out with an old friend of mine. We had not seen each other in over ten years. Of course, he now lives in New Mexico, so that is part of the reason why. Yet, even when he lived in New Jersey, towards the end, we were not keeping in touch as much as we should have done.

One advantage to Facebook is that you can get in touch with old friends like that, and one way or the other, we became Facebook friends. We chatted every now and then, and said hi. But nothing to huge or mind blowing. Still, you can keep up with one another's life - or at least as much as one would be willing to share with Facebook friends. That is, of course, one of the major advantages (to say nothing of disadvantages) with Facebook.

Of course, sometimes, you get people who share too much, including personal drama. You know the kind I mean, right? Sharing what they are eating for lunch or dinner right now, or revealing that they are drunk, or having a suddenly very public feud with friends or family. That, of course, can be way too much. Far more than you want to know about anyone, right? We all have our own problems, after all.

In any case, we were hanging out, and I was driving us around in my car, without a problem.  Everything seemed cool.

But the next day, as I was driving to work, the "Check Engine" light went on. A couple of times, actually.

My assumption was that maybe it had to be the oil. When it cooled down, I opened the hood up and checked the oil, ready to add the bottle that I had gotten, which would be enough to get by before actually changing the oil for real. But the oil level was okay. In fact, everything seemed to be okay.

Maybe, I hoped, it was just some sort of a fluke.

So, I drove it home after work. Maybe five to ten minutes later, it stalled.

Shit.

I sat there for a moment, my heart suddenly beating rather fast, and that nervous feeling in your stomach growing. Tried to start it again, and it turned on immediately.

Driving again, and managed to get to the Garden State Parkway, although I was perhaps the slowest driver out there, nervous that it would stall out on me. A few minutes of driving, and I was cut off by someone who quite suddenly, inexplicably, felt it necessary to take the exit from the lane to the left of me, forcing me to slam on my breaks.

The car stalled again. It was not a surprise.

Now, I was really nervous. Already starting to have gone too far to turn back, and having a long way to go home, I tried the engine again, and it came on immediately.

The rest of the drive was relatively uneventful. Yes, I had to go slow, and was pretty much among the slowest drivers on the road. But, I got home safely enough, without it stalling out.

But clearly, it was time to bring it to the shop.

Which I did. I managed to drive it over there, once it had cooled down. I suggested some of the things that it could

(could)

         be.

Perhaps the oil, because it was overdue for an oil change. Perhaps the battery was due for a change, as well, although the car turned back on again. Also, some of the belts needed replacing from last time. I said that if it the problem was not too expensive, then maybe might as well take care of the belts this time, as well.

Basically, these were suggestions. I asked them to look at the car, and see what they thought. Identify the problem (hopefully), and then tell me how much.

Within a few hours, they called back. They had changed the battery and the belts. The car was working again.

Problem was, I could not go then, because I had commitments, and was a good hour away. The chances of making it by closing time were slim to none. Plus, this was Friday, and I work a chaotic schedule on weekends, so it would have to be Monday morning.

Okay, so I enjoyed a good weekend, basically by trying hard not to think too much about the car. But Monday came, reality came, and it was time to pick up the car. Paid the bill (almost $400), and also paid for the car that I had rented for the weekend (which put my expenses, all told, at over $500, between the car rental and the repairs).

Yes, that's a lot of money, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about the car again for a good long while.

Or so I thought.

A good long while wound up being approximately the ten to fifteen minute drive back. The Check Engine light went on when I was at a stop light. Maybe five or so minutes later, it stalled. I was half a mile from home.

It stalled three more times before I reached that destination.

I was nervous, but also angry. Called my mechanic, and asked how it could be that, after paying a fairly hefty bill, the car did not even make it a full ten minutes of driving without indicating some problem? He had trouble believing me. I told him that it was nice to see  a new battery and belts when I popped the hood, but little good it did me if I was unable to drive the damn thing.

The car had to cool down, and so I let it, figuring I could drive it back.

Hours later, the engine was still too hot. The car did turn on, but it was not driveable. This would have to wait.

Tuesday proved to be a busy day. I did try to get the car going, but now, although it started up just fine, and ran fine, it would stall out as soon as you put it in gear.

Shit.

Now, my nervousness was growing more severe, to outright fear.

There were a series of complications to getting the car there, and I tried to keep my mechanic abreast of this. At some point, he kind of chuckled, and mentioned that he really wanted to see the car when it was not working (since it had been working while at the shop, was what was not stated, but strongly implied). My anger was starting to grow.

It's hard to find a good mechanic, one you can trust. My family used to have one just a short distance from home, but that eventually turned sour, when he seemed to turn greedy in a hurry. Then, we found this one. He seemed to be honest, more or less. The whole family seemed impressed, and we began to go to him.

But little by little, we all stopped going to him. As it turns out, I was the last holdout. Everyone else has had experiences that soured his reputation. Now, so have I. The thing is, the last few times I took my car there, I did not have the same good feeling, that same confidence, that I once used to have with him.

If I did not think that he would give me some reduced price, because I spent so damn much on things that were not actually the problem this time around, I would likely have just gone somewhere else altogether.

The thing is, I am not a mechanic, and very limited when it comes to cars. I know some problems well, such as overheating, because pretty much all of the cars that I have driven have, at one point or other, overheated. Hell, I have even had instances of being in the cars of friends, and having their cars overheat. So, over time, i learned something about it, obviously. I still often carry extra coolant, just in case. Just out of habit.

Now, I am worried. It could prove to be a smaller problem than expected, and not be gigantic. I would gladly pay the bill, and hope that the car holds out a few months - enough time for me to save up some money again.

My suspicions, however, are that this time, the problem is considerably larger. That this time, the bill is going to be huge, and leave me with the question of whether this car - a 1999 Toyota Camry - is worth fixing, or whether I should begin the process of looking for another car. I loved that car when I got it almost a year and a half ago, and for a decent price, to boot.

But it is too old a car to put thousands into it, because other problems could pop up eventually. It's just too much of a risk.

So, here it is, another weekend. Last weekend, I was nervous because of car problems. This weekend, I am more so, because the problems might be more serious. The mechanic obviously did not have much more of a clue about what was wrong with it then I did, and that is troublesome. And my mind, my imagination, already quite active, is running in overdrive (perhaps to make up for the fact that my car is hardly running at all now), and all sots of troublesome possibilities are coming to it.

Yes, last weekend, it was bad, but I was able to keep the worry in the back of my mind. This weekend, it is front and center. Next weekend, I am supposed to take a trip with my son, just before school starts. I almost canceled it, but decided to go ahead, since I had already taken days off and made reservations. The focus will have to be on keeping expenses down, though. More than ever.

As for the car, the mechanic told me, once again, that I should hear from him by Monday. Tuesday at latest.

Let's wait and see what happens. What else can I do about it right now, anyway?

One thing I am almost positive of: this will be the last time he will see any car of mine in his shop.