Frustrated

Poor guy spent two days like this fixing seals on both ends of the transmission shafts (I know this technically is probably wrong....but I try)....they both were leaking fluid and needed to be replaced. So for about $60 he fixed what would have cost us $1000+ to get done. We were really hoping that was it, but there is still a leak from somewhere else...waiting for a shop to tell us what it is and hopefully we can get it fixed soon.

Goodbye Bessie

Today, I had a "bittersweet" moment. I said goodbye to a very loyal car, Bessie. While it wasn't new, it was my first car. My dad had gotten her when we lived in Virginia Beach and I learned to drive in her. I drove her across the country when we moved to Washington and before my Junior year of college drove her back across the country to TN. I was very recognizable on campus with a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser...especially with no AC in the hot humid weather and when her head liner started to sag! But with a little TLC now and then (had to get new tires and a new alternator when I was in college...and I put a CD player in her) and lots of love she got me through the last couple years of school...another trip across the country toting a U-Haul behind her after graduation...and as my car until just three years ago....today we said goodbye. She has been sitting in our driveway for awhile and while she is definitely still drivable, would need a lot of internal cosmetic work and some new parts to get her working. So we found a charitable organization that had it towed away for free and will fix it up and sell it for that price to someone who needs it. Jason found amusement in my "bittersweet moments" watching her get towed away...but she was a reliable and hardworking car for me that "carried" lots of memories that I will never forget...thanks old girl, I know you will serve someone else just as well!!

One of many reasons

There are many reasons why I love my hubby, but one of them is definitely is mister-fix-it and frugal spending, do-it-myself mentality and talent. We have so far (other than new tires) NEVER taken our cars to get fixed for anything. He has always said that places charge way too much and most of it is for labor costs, so why not just learn how and do it yourself? He has gotten books on our cars and when there is a problem he figures out what it is, shops around for the best part and learns how to do it. While sometimes these things take hours to remedy, he has saved us hundreds of dollars. Last Friday, he drove home and his car sounded like a truck or Harley pulling into the driveway. He thought his exhaust manifold had broken but it ended up being something with the muffler area (note how car savvy I am? I am probably getting all the details wrong!). Anyways, he started driving around to get estimates on parts etc....to only keep getting told that the part was between$100-200 bucks and with labor to fix would cost around $500!! He kept at it and finally found a place where he asked if his car really needed two catalytic converters...the answer was no. So Jason asked them if they would just cut out the bad one and weld a straight pipe on to fix the problem. The shop agreed and $40 bucks later the problem was fixed and he drove home, happy and quietly!! I am so thankful to have him around to fix these issues and determined to do it because I am afraid I would have gotten suckered into the $500 rip off deal!