autos

I went to my mechanic the other day to get some things done with my car – I needed Schedule A service and new tires. Did you know there are “non flat” tires now? They are tires that don’t have a spare tire, they can get flat and drive for up to 75 miles without going flat. You don’t change the tire with a spare or jack, you just get it repaired.

The first time this happened to me, I opened the trunk to change the tire and was freaking out that there was no spare tire or jack in the trunk. I thought they screwed me when I purchased the car, but since I just get in the car and drive it, I didn’t know there was no spare until I needed it.

The mechanic bought my old car during the pandemic – in 2020 and he says he still is using it. It must be 20 years old by now and he says it is running perfectly! At the time, it was dead. It just did not run.

For years I leased a car but got tired of having to turn it in every three years, so I said to no one in particular, “I am going to buy a car now and keep it until I run it into the ground.” And apparently the Universe was listening, because that is what happened. I bought a car and had it for 16 years – I put a lot of money into it over the years with repairs and all, but I never thought of turning it in for a new car. It just never entered my mind. I guess that was part of the Universe’s plans, since I put it into the Universe.

But when it finally was run into the ground, I got a new car and I sold the old one. And the mechanic got it running and it’s still going – it just shows you what a good mechanic can do.

This is the second or third mechanic that has bought one of my cars and I always wondered why. The cars were in for service with them and they know of the issues over the years – so why buy the car? But I guess that’s the answer – they knew the cars and they knew I took care of them even with all their warts. So three of my mechanics over the years, bought my cars when I was ready to sell them!

One car just died because I didn’t maintain it. It was a Camaro. I never put oil it or anything else, so the car just locked up. Like I said, I just get in my cars and drive them. I had the car towed into the garage so many times in the middle of the night that they would just show up in the morning, call me, and ask me what was up this time. They were a block away from where I lived, so it was convenient.

The time the car locked up, they were honest enough at the garage to tell me that the job would cost thousands of dollars, but if I had it towed to the dealership, which was ironically across the street, it wouldn’t cost me anything, because it was still under warranty. So that’s what I did – and it didn’t cost a thing.

I’ve been lucky to have honest and good mechanics over the years.

This last mechanic wants my to buy my current car when I am ready to sell! It’s nice to have a ready built-in buyer.

I often think of selling my condo and I have the same thing here – I have three neighbors who want to purchase my condo – so I have built-in buyers when I’m ready to sell!

Till next time . . .

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I had mentioned in the past that when I was younger, I knew how to do everything. I just grew up that way.

I helped my father with everything around the house, I was the one who mowed the lawn and cleaned the pool. I know how to hang things and fix thing. But over time I paid people and forgot how to even tie my own shoelaces.

Well, I do know how to do that, but, I forgot how to do so much.

My car needed antifreeze, I don’t know why, because most of the containers say its good for 150,000 to 300,000 miles, so perhaps last time I got a tune up, they emptied it and forgot to refill it.

For months, the light was going off. I kept putting it off because I didn’t know how to deal with it. In the past I changed the oil, the far off past with a far off car, but now, I had no clue.

I mentioned it to one of my neighbors a month or so ago, he’s a young fire rescue guy who knows it all. He said he had an extra container of the fluid; did I want it?

I did, but I didn’t take it because I didn’t want to have to try and put it into the car with him standing there watching me.

I attempted to buy the fluid a few times, but something came up and I never got around to it. I finally made it the auto parts store the other day, and it was closed due to an electrical problem.

The other night I asked my young neighbor for the fluid, and he gave me a full container. He asked me if I wanted him to do it for me then and there. I said, “No, thanks, I can handle it.” Which of course, I couldn’t, and I would have loved for him to get it done right then.

The next morning, I attempted the job. I couldn’t find the lever to open the hood, I had to look it up in the car manual, and I finally found it, but then you have to put your hand under the hood and release something. I could not manage it.

Another neighbor, my age, came by and I asked him to help. His wife who was with him asked me, “When was the last time you opened it.” I responded, “Never, I have people who do that for me.” Which came out as the biggest fucking elitist thing to say, but since we are all the same age, she got it, and we all laughed.

My neighbor fooled around with it for a bit, and he finally opened the hood. They went off for their morning walk and I joked that I would be waiting for them to return so he could slam the hood shut for me.

So, I finally got the fluid into the car, and all is well with the world. I bought a new container of fluid, returned it to my other neighbor and that’s that.

For now.

With a car, it’s always, “For Now.”

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