It appears my car (’83 Honda Civic) has caught on to my evil plan to replace it with a Mini Cooper. While it may be difficult to tell (as I haven’t washed it in years), I like my current car very much. It’s small and speedy, runs very well, and has had no significant problems, i.e., it hasn’t totally crapped out on me yet.
But since my desire for a MiniCooper has grown to the serious/plan-to-purchase stage, I’ve had some difficulties with my old pal, the Honda. Every two years, my car requires a smog check. All California cars do, but my car is a repeat smog-offender and always has trouble passing smog (which means I always have to pay up to get it fixed). Normally this is no problem for me – I pony up one- to two-hundred dollars and the fixes are completed and the car is passed. This year that has not been the case. I’ve been dealing with my smog check woes since last November, people… Novermber! My car has been in the shop two to three times per week for the last month or so trying to get it to pass.
Last Friday, when picking it up from the shop, the owner made me promise to get a new driver’s side-rear tire. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Sure, when I can afford it!” But he became very stern and said, “YOU MUST PROMISE ME YOU’LL GET A NEW TIRE, PRONTO!”
Geez louise, okay Dad!, (I thought), but then when I trekked back to the car, I did notice that the back left tire was ripped, not enough to cause the tire to be flat, but it was definitely suffering from a huge tear. I called up JustTires and got a quote for a $25 tire and made my way over to the facility after work.
I went to JustTires with every intention to get JustOneTire, but I’m such a pushover that they talked me into getting four new tires and to have my car’s alignment fixed (I knew it was way off anyways). So I dropped $200 for 4 new 13” tires and a front-end alignment – ugh. I noticed that turning the car was way easier, but as I drove into work this morning I felt the car sort of pulling into every different direction – maybe it’s just a figment of my imagination, or I’m so used to compensating for the misalignment that it just seems weird, or maybe they just did a shoddy job. Who knows.
The spending on my Honda seems to have skyrocketed since I’ve become really truly serious about buying a new car – it doesn’t want me to replace it with a newer, younger, shinier car – and the costs don’t seem to be ending anytime soon. I have to get an oil change, one of my headlights is out… it’s just silly. If it makes the Honda feel any better, I'm planning on giving it to my younger brother when my new car arrives.
