Sick car

My car is in the hospital. Sad. =(

I took the car to the shop on Saturday to get the oil changed, the belt installed, a general check-over since we are driving it for Thanksgiving, and I asked them to tighten the bolts on the hitch. I wish I had known it would have cost me $20 less to just have the shop do the belt all together, instead of my buying it from the dealer and then paying the shop $36 to put it on. Alann said he wasn't going to do it though. While I was there, we decided to do the 90k maintenance schedule as well- transmission fluid changed, coolant system flushed, general check of systems. So far, $250.

My new buddy Tom called a little while later to tell me that in July when I had the oil changed last, my coolant was low. Now he knew why. The water pump was leaking, badly. He said I could keep driving it, but it wasn't going to last long. Since we already had the car there, I just told them to do it. I don't want to waste another weekend without my car. The pump is buried way down deep in the engine block too, so it isn't an easy home repair. Another $250. Sigh.

On the bright side, we found the problem before it escalated, and before we were somewhere in the high desert of Utah or Arizona. It wasn't terribly inconvenient to leave the car there for Monday. We won't have to stop in Page, AZ to buy coolant, like we did with Alann's truck the first time we drove down there. I think my car caught the water pump disease from Alann's truck. We just replaced that not too long ago- I think this summer, not sure. And, we have the car maintenance fund and the emergency fund, so no credit cards were harmed in the paying of this debt. Still though, cars suck when they break down.