Friday, August 30, 2013

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Good-bye Betsy

Dirty Car
 
The time has come for a newer car. Notice I didn't say new. A used one will do me fine. Betsy has been a good ride for 13 years but she's starting to get cranky and that tends to make me cranky.
 
Although she still has fairly low mileage (92,000) her parts are starting to wear out. My friends on facebook have heard this all before. For the rest of you, here is a list of some of the things that don't work:
 
The automatic door locks are no longer automatic unlock. And when they lock there is a horrible grinding noise. I've put up with this for a few years. Inconvenient and annoying but not a deal breaker. 
 
The hydraulic lifts on the trunk are broke. This is a little bit more annoying because if that trunk lid falls on you it will not be pretty. Picture decapitation.
 
The front speakers have been blown out for a long time. Ehhh.
 
The defroster doesn't work. This is very annoying because the heater takes a long time to thaw out winter snow and ice from the windows. Just ask my son Zach about being almost late for his college graduation.
 
There is an annoying whistling noise especially in the winter. The mechanic says it's probably (note the word probably) a hose vacuum seal under the engine. They would have to pull the engine just to check. Ah, no.
 
Here is the deal breaker Betsy. The driver's inside door handle is broke - meaning I have to roll down the window (after I remember to pull up the lock) and reach out to open the door with that handle. Okay, I have been doing that for a few months now. No biggie right? Wrong. What if my power window decides to quit AGAIN? No big deal, just climb to the passenger side. Not so easy for this old, fat woman. I have this fear of having to call AAA to get me out of my car.
 
 
So what am I doing this wonderful Labor Day weekend? Yep, going to the bank to see about a loan then start looking for a car. Yuck. Not my idea of fun.
 
I hope your weekend plans are a lot better than mine. Have a safe and happy Labor Day!
 
 
 
 
 
 

8 comments:

  1. My favorite part was "Picture decapitation." I had a Camero that had the same problem and the hatchback on that thing was heavy! I carried a stick to prop it up.

    Good luck car searching. That's a lousy thing to have to do over Labor Day weekend.

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    1. I think the trunk lid has to be the heaviest thing on the car.

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  2. Good luck! I hope you find something with few problems and a lot of life left in her.

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    1. Thanks Sara. Got my loan pre-approved today. Looking tomorrow.

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  3. Our cars are both well past their prime years, but we'll need to keep them limping along for as long as we can. Hard to say just how long that will be.

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    1. I think I've stretched Betsy as far as she or I can go.

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  4. The golden age of a car is the time between the moment you make the last payment and before the wheels finally fall off. It looks as if your car had a long golden age.

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    1. She was a good car Chuck. Hate to let her go. But there comes a time in everyone's life.

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