Flashback

The car tag renewal form came in the mail today. I keep getting flashbacks of my husband's car being inspected -and it flunking. Flunking is not an option for my car - we're down to one and it has to work. Nor do I want to spend a bundle on it right now. Nothing seems amiss, but like that tells you anything. I didn't know there was anything wrong with my husband's car. The check engine light wasn't on - because the check engine light had quit working! Mercy. My Subaru's seven years old. Please think good thoughts for me.

Car troubles, part 2

I just made a few calls to local garages and found out that fixing the knock sensor on my husband's car will run closer to $1100 than $700. Yipes.

And the hits just keep on comin'

On top of everything else that is happening, I took my husband's car for emissions inspection yesterday and it flunked. The code reader said it had a bad knock sensor (what the heck is that?). Husband says it will cost over $700 to fix. Rats. We also need to get the blower speed control replaced on the A/C (only the highest speed works right now, so it's a bit windy and very noisy when you run the fan), so we won't get out of the repair shop with less than a $1000 bill.

This is what you get with a 14 year old car (even a well maintained low mileage 14 year old car). The fact that it's an Infiniti isn't going to help. Their parts are ridiculously expensive. My friend owns one too; his car had a broken dash clock. He said several years ago it cost $200 to buy the part, not counting installation costs. $200 for a clock?

"Helpless" women on TV, and why it drives me nuts

I just saw a television commercial that resonated with one of my pet peeves. It's for a Ford car which has a built-in computer that tracks the service requirements on the car and sends you an email when something like an oil change is needed. The girl in the commercial (and I use the term intentionally) looked to be in her mid-20's and would certainly have been driving several years, said something like "I don't know when my car needs an oil change."

Well, sweetie, there's a built-in piece of equipment on your car that can tell you that, and it's not the computer. It's called the odometer.

Look in your manual and see how many miles between oil changes are recommended by the manufacturer. Or ask the guy at the service station ('cause I'm betting you never did it yourself). Note the number of miles on the odometer; add the miles between oil change and write that down in your manual. Now, watch the odometer. When it gets to that mileage, change the oil. It's S-I-M-P-L-E.

Well, the curmudgeon in me just came out.

You see, I not only don't think we need to rely on a computer tracking such simple things for us, we ought to actually know how to do them ourselves. Not that we would always have to do them instead of going to the garage, but we ought to know enough about our cars to be able to. And know enough to recognize if a mechanic is blowing smoke. A little knowledge can save you a bundle of money.

It has always been my stance that before a person gets a driver's license, they should have to take a class on basic auto mechanics and maintenance. Learn how the thing works. So many people have no knowledge of how a car is constructed and how it operates. If they get in and turn the key and it starts, great. If it doesn't, they don't have a clue. This class doesn't need to be as rigorous as, for example, a high school automotive shop class, but should cover the basics. How an internal combustion engine works, what maintenance is required, where all the components are located, how to change oil, change a tire, check tire pressure, check fluids, change an air filter, etc. The basics.

Helpless women get on my nerves. Representing helpless women in commercials like that is the norm and it's OK - well, that makes me crazy.