One of the things they didn’t tell me in Princess School was how many different hats you have to wear when you make the decision to save yourself. There is no longer that person who takes care of things like car repair. The frog wasn’t great about it, but I could call and say, “My car is making this noise… what the hell does that mean?” and he could give me a general idea of my level of fuckedness.
Being on my own means that I have to figure out my own repairs. For example, this weekend when I got in my car, it started making weird noises when I turned the steering wheel. Now, my car is no spring chicken (17 years old…. what can I say? I’m cheap!), but that sounds was not normal. So, I had to become a detective of sorts. I started thinking, “Hmmm… maybe it is my power steering fluid?”
Fortunately, my brother-in-law is pretty mechanically savvy, so I can usually throw those questions to him. He agreed with my initial assessment, so I am currently sitting at Jiffy Lube getting a much needed oil change, and having them exchange the Power Steering Fluid. Not cheap, but hopefully it will hold.
Though, I am pretty sure I need to bite the bullet and buy another car soon, though I don’t look forward to a car payment. Blah.
But, I wouldn’t trade my self-saved self for one more minute with the frog. 🙂 That is how you know you have made the right choice. When you would rather do a whole circus of suck fest rather than spend one more minute with them. hehe
I was faced with this exact dilemma a few years back. I just always took my car to the same place. Developed a relationship with the manager and he started to get me, my car and my personality. It has worked ever since. When I don’t know, I just drive it on over there.
Thanks, B, for being my first commenter!!! My Jiffy Lube guys have all my car’s info in their system, so they are always hitting me up for something. But, with a car as old as Betty Lou, it is to be expected!