Fuck Me Running

[drpaisley]

My car, the '02 Intrepid, had been doing pretty well, other than the problems with the corroding rims that had me filling the two passenger side tires every few days. But Monday, as I was pumping the front tire up to prepare for work Tuesday, I came out of the house (where I was preparing four-beast chili: beef, bison, bambi and Bruce, the elk) to find a pool of coolant by the good front tire. I shut it down, and it sat until today, when I got paid. Had it towed to the local mechanic who is close to my workplace. They called as I was getting ready to eat lunch.

Turns out the water pump was in the midst of Cheyne-Stokes (not you, Keith) breathing, and was polite enough to hack up a lung in the driveway, rather than on the road. Because of the special way this vehicle was put together, many of its internal organs had to be removed to get to the pump and replace. Total cost (including getting the rim job [so not a euphemism) to keep the tires up (and again), $630 and change. So much for my paycheck this fortnight. What a lovely holiday gift. And then I come home and find out that Albert Pujols has signed with the Cucamonga Angels of Lompoc and KU has hired the worst coach in college football.

Kill me fucking now.

Comments

[patknuth.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping things will go better for a while. At least as far as your car goes. Sports I'm not even going to wish for.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Financial empathy and condolences. Will this year never end?

In the last week, I've put $1,300 into my '03 Matrix with 150,000 miles on it. The scary part about that is that I'm thrilled that it's not the $2,500 I expected it to be, or the $3,500-4,000 that I feared it might turn into. The latter would have had me car shopping and I'm so not in shape for that.

I'll be buying another set of new tires in the spring. I went for snow tires now in the hope of having an easier winter getting up my driveway, and also to see if they'll do the trick with my having to turn to all wheel drive for my next car. Between the added up front expense and the fuel economy loss, I'd just as soon avoid all wheel drive if I can.

Beef, bison, bambi, and Bruce sounds totally yummy. I bet you seasoned it well, too. Chili is one of the many things I wouldn't touch as a child and will gladly eat now.

[sf-reader.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Nice of you to give the car a Christmas present.

[tully01.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is considerate of those water pumps to blow out the pressure plug a few dozens of miles before they seize, and start making those dying-robot clattering-metal noises while spewing coolant all over creation. In way of warning and all.

When I was getting the (50K miles, five-yr-old) "new" car this summer I almost kept the Dodge for my daughter. Despite 175K on it, it was still running great and the tires were fairly new. Then I thought about that leaky quart-a-month oil-losing gasket and how much FUN it is to get to anything more in a Dodge engine compartment of the era, and off it went in trade. As Red has griped, Dodge seems to have built them to require removing the wheels and wheel panels for just about any part more complicated than the dipstick or battery.

My old Suburban I could literally crawl into the engine compartment and reach anything. It would go about anywhere. Of course, it drank gas like Norm Peterson drank beer.