My car is fucked... (Originally posted on MySpace on Jan 26th, 2007)

is there even such a thing as preventative mantienance?

The last two times I took my car in to get the oil changed the guys were like..just so you know your brake fluid is low...which means there could be a leak some where...which we can't do anything about...so you should get it checked. Well, I'm poor and lazy so I was putting it off...but hten I came due for another oil change and I was like...crap...I know I still haven't fixed that damn leak in the break fluid...I'll just get that looked at.

So I took it to a place that is close to work. Let me get this out of the way. I know I should take it to a HONDA place...I know ok? I know...I have a good guy in the valley...but I don't work in the valley and the honda place generally charges a 40% premium for the work...and I've had two things go bad that they worked on so I'm not even that in love with them and when you are talking about car repair...I mean everyone is a bit of a crook...I'd say.

Anyway...so I took it to this place by work. And they took a look at it and told me that the struts were bad (which I knew) and that I needed some sort of bushing for the back end (which was news to me) and that the front CV boot was cracked and leaking....AGAIN. I took a look at it and it did look pretty bad...and last time I when I had bad CV boots it got so bad that it cost me about 900 bucks...so this time I wasn't farting around.

Just fix it. I said. Preventative mantenance right? car will be better for it afterwards.

So they fix it. 200 bucks. Fair enough. I take it to the oil change place. which is in the same parking lot. They do their thing. Funny thing is they get done and the brake fluid is still low. No big deal I think. They must have just forgot to fill it. I tell them to top it off and they do. Then I get a car wash. As I drive out of the parking lot. A solid thud rocks the car...kind of like it's going out of gear. Then the check engine light comes on...the car runs for another few seconds...then dies. I turn it over and it starts right up. so I take it back to the guys at the lube place and say, "woah buddies...maybe someone didn't put a cap back on or some such".

They look it over and can't see anything. (although were talkling oil change place so who knows?) anyway. I say...well must have been a fluke cause it's running fine now. start to drive off...does it again.

OK now I'm pissed. I"ve been up since 5AM and now it's 6...I aint had my usual nap and it's hot and Ibasically paid these guys 200 bucks to get a non working vehicle...

so the lube guys help me push it over to the car shop where I got the CV boot fixed. They all look at me like what do you want me to do about it.

I explain it to them. I tell them that despite the many things I have delt with I have NEVER seen the check engine light come on. Not once. so something is different and something is bad.

Anyway...they were cool in the end. They let me borrow the shop truck to drive home and then back to work this morning. Keep your fingers crossed for me this morning. I just wish I was about 10 miles closer to work...I'd just ride the bike...fuck cars.