I had two questions for Julie. One : when can I have the car back if you do all this work? Two : when do I need to decide in order to get the work done? She told me I could have it Monday, end of day, at the very soonest, and that she needed to know today, end of day, if I wanted to make that date. “But take all the time you need,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n
I went back to lying on the floor and whining for a little bit, and then I looked at the car’s paperwork again. None of this work is inconsistent with the work that’s been done in the past and none of it is premature compared to how long it’s been between repairs. The tune-up stuff is a little overdue, actually. The radiator has been replaced every 5 years; the brakes are due based on mileage requirements alone, and so on and so forth. We change the oil religiously, so the engine is still mighty sound, but the bits that get all the wear, well, they’re worn. Duh.<\/p>\n
I really don’t want to buy a new car. I’d rather say goodbye to this car and go back to living car-free than face the angst of getting another car. See, here’s the thing about the Tercel. Square and featureless, it runs like a top. It goes everywhere. This car might look boring, but nothing about what it’s allowed us to do is boring. It holds camping gear for two people for six weeks. It has been to the bottom of red rock canyons in Utah and to high mountain tundra in Colorado and no, it is not 4WD. When it’s tuned up and on the open road, it gets 40 miles to the gallon. 1300 dollars might get me another car that looks just like this one, but this one has been lovingly maintained since it was brand new, and by the exact same mechanic the whole time. If I opened the paper and started shopping for 1300 dollar cars, I’d get, well, a 1300 dollar car.<\/p>\n
The alternative is to get a much newer and “better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d car, but then we’re talking some serious bank. A new car, not even a good one, is going to set me about 12k : that’s for something like a Focus or Kia. While a Focus or a Kia would probably seem deluxe compared to the old Yodler, I doubt that they’ll provide all the quality experiences that the Yodler has delivered. Plus, those car payments are really going to cut in to the amount of time I spend living out of my car. I could shop for another used car, but again, anything decent is going to set me back some dollars, and with a used car, unless you spend the money to buy one with a warranty I’m still looking at enough money to kill my vacation and to require car payments. I could get as lucky as I did with the Yodler again, but I don’t want to count on it. Plus, honestly, I’m not really ready to say goodbye<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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