(sigh) my car

[gja1000]

My car is only 4 yrs old and only has 40,000 miles. A couple of weeks ago, I heard an odd rattle underneath. Actually, it would come and go - but was pretty loud sometimes. I took it in today to have the oil changed and the rattle checked.

Gary called me and asked me if I wanted the bad news or the worse news .

So, the estimate was $1,200 (broken pipe related to the air conditioner). I have an extended warranty but they couldn't find it online when Gary was at the dealer (I have a copy), so I don't know how much, if any, it will cover. It's a good warranty and I'm sure it will cover, at least some of it. I SURE HOPE SO!

Oh, and they rotated the tires and found a crack in one tire that was less than a year old. Gary promptly took it back to where we got it and he got a new tire - FREE! YAY!

[Janet]

Seems like 'it's always something' doesn't it. We just have to smile through it or we'll go crazy...lol. I'm glad it wasn't something that could affect the driving and cause an accident. Now the tire thing....that's a bit scary. Glad you were able to get another for FREE.....I love free!

[judy]

Cars!!! It is so lucky you caught the tire before something happened! With only 40K miles on it, I would say fix it, and put it on the good old charge card!

I must take mine in. One windshield wiper doesn't work. I'm pretty sure it's the wiper engine. $$$$$$$!!! Oh, and didn't I just have a new clutch put in? I have the car since April!!! (but it is older and has almost 85K miles on it).

How much is gas in your part of the world? We are up to $3.29 a couple of days ago!

[Lindsey]

Sorry about your car Gayle!

I'm sure my car is going to die soon. It sounds terrible! The little peice that holds up the muffler is missing, so it rattles really badly. We've tried holding it up with different things but they always break. It sounds the worst when it's cold! Just before Christmas, a coworker was leaving and came back to tell the ladies at the front desk to let me know something might be wrong with my car. So someone came back to say "Kim is worried something is wrong with your car, it sounds funny so you might want to go have a look" It was embarassing to say "Nope, it just sounds like that all the time" lol.

The engine light has been on for a couple of years. Scott's dad hooked it to his computer in the garage and found out there's a fan that's not turning on when it's supposed to, but it's not a big deal. Phew!

I just hope it keeps kicking for another year at least

[Lindsey]

Originally Posted by judy

Cars!!! It is so lucky you caught the tire before something happened! With only 40K miles on it, I would say fix it, and put it on the good old charge card!

I must take mine in. One windshield wiper doesn't work. I'm pretty sure it's the wiper engine. $$$$$$$!!! Oh, and didn't I just have a new clutch put in? I have the car since April!!! (but it is older and has almost 85K miles on it).

How much is gas in your part of the world? We are up to $3.29 a couple of days ago!

Up here gas is $1.139 per litre which converts to $4.31 per gallon for comparison. It's not bad considering it wasn't long ago it was $1.50 per litre! ($5.68 per gallon)

[gja1000]

LINDSAY! I could not afford the gas in Canada! I don't know how you do it!

Our gas is $2.89 a gal. They are saying it will be $4.00 by summer. I firmly believe the rising price of gas 2 years ago is what initiated the recession we are all still recovering from. I'm really scared about the price of gas going up again.

[Lindsey]

Originally Posted by gja1000

LINDSAY! I could not afford the gas in Canada! I don't know how you do it!

Our gas is $2.89 a gal. They are saying it will be $4.00 by summer. I firmly believe the rising price of gas 2 years ago is what initiated the recession we are all still recovering from. I'm really scared about the price of gas going up again.

I don't know how we do it either! Scott and I were just talking about it last week, that as long as there's demand they can charge us whatever they want. It always goes up over long weekends because people travel and need gas. It usually goes up in the summer. I didn't fill my car over Christmas because I thought it would go back down, but it kept going up It costs about $55-$60 per fill and we fill up once a week.

Whenever my car dies, we will be getting an SUV with 4x4 so it's a little safer to drive during and after snowstorms, and so we can fit more stuff in and not have to borrow trucks or SUV's when we buy something big we need to bring home. But of course, SUV's eat gas like crazy I'm looking at maybe getting a hybrid, like the Ford Escape. I tried asking about them on YT but just got "ANY SUV IS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, PLEASE RETHINK"

[Janet]

There is no way I could afford the gas in Canada Lindsey...wow. I'm barely able to afford gas now. If it does go up to $4 a gallon....I'll be staying home....alot!

[Lindsey]

I think our wages here are a bit higher too though. I'm not sure if it all evens out in the end, but when I was looking at getting work in the US, the wages were all $5-10 an hour less than what I was making here. I know for sure our housing and food is more expensive here too!

[JJJ]

Lindsey if you want to get a hybrid SUV to make long trips then its worth it. But to drive a Hybrid SUV to and from work on daily basis is just the same as a regular SUV when it comes to gas mileage.
Why not a 4 cyl small SUV like the RAV I know there's more but can't think right now

[Lindsey]

Well, our whole drive to work is on the highway every day, and I think that's where you get the most fuel savings on a hybrid. It's not stop-and-start like city driving. We also drive over two hours each way on the highway whenever we visit our parents

[gja1000]

I'm taking my car in tomorrow to be fixed. Keep your fingers crossed that the extended warranty pays for some of the repair.

[lynne b]

I hope you get your car fixed and the warranty covers all or most of it.

I have had a cracked windshield since the middle of summer, where they are putting in the Hoosier Heartland by pass a dump truck threw a rock up and it just chipped it but once it started getting cold and i ran the defroster it went clear across the windshield. It's gona be a long time before they are done with the highway, so really hate to fix it and chance it happening again. I have a 2003 KIA Serento and i love it, just turned over 100K and it's begining to show it's wear and tear, would love to get a new one but gona hold out for a while.

[Janet]

The car my Mom bought this past summer is a Rav 4. It's really nice and gets wonderful mileage. It is also very comfortable.

I better go knock on wood now for luck that nothing happens to my van. I drive a 2000 Dodge Caravan and it's been a pretty good vehicle.

Sure hope your warranty covers yours Gayle. Lynne...I didn't realize the chip grew since this cold weather. As long as it's not hurting your vision....I think I'd probably wait until the road construction was done....although...your insurance should cover it.

[Blueyes]

Oooh Janet, your mom needs to give her car to you

Good luck with your car Gayle! Let us know what happens.