Monday, May 15, 2006
Los coches... pobrecitos
Driving home from Philly tonite I passed one of those big car transport tractor trailers full of cars. But these weren't new cars. They were smashed up broken cars. Reminded me not only of my current heap (poor old Toyota) but also my other 2 cars who died terrible deaths at the hands.... er bumpers... of other bad drivers. And I got kinda sad.
My very first car was 1986 Chevy Chevette. Lovingly known as the Shovette. It was in terrible shape when it committed suicide on Lafayette Blvd when I was a sophmore in college. All the trim had peeled off the driver side and the trim bonding glue that was left had melted and run down the doors. I had to spray some flap on the carburator w/ WD40 quite frequently so it would start (and sometimes even had to douse some filter w/gas when the WD40 didn't work). It was in a sade state. It ended up stalling in the middle of the road and I got t-boned by a '76 Chevy station wagon. I hit my head and blacked out - I couldn't remember what actually happened until much later - so I got charged with causing an accident. Once my memory came back it was too late and I ended up with minor traffic violation charges, points on my license and had to pay a fine. The guy that hit me was much worse off, I guess. His car survived (it was a frikkin tank) but he was driving without a license and insurance so he was totally screwed.
My other car, a Chevy Cavalier, survived 2 hit and run accidents but got punked by the 3rd. The first accident did so much damage that it could have been totalled but it was only 3 weeks old and have about 1200 miles on it. Some stupid woman ploughed into it and broken the rear axle. It was parked in a parking lot at my job. I was no where near the car. The second accident was about 9 months later - a true hit and run. They demolished the whole driver's side in the middle of the night when it was parked in front of my apartment. That was a nasty suprise when I came down one morning to go to work and went to put the key in the door. It finally died in 2004 while parked on the street in front of my current house. Another stupid woman "fell asleep" (she was definitely drunk but the f'ing cop didn't bother to breathalyzer her) at the wheel and turned it into a Chevy accordian.
My current car has never been hit (*KNOCK ON WOOD*) other than door dings. But it rattles along like its got Parkinsons. The radio and clock stopped working over a year ago. It randomly comes back for about 5 minutes every month or so. Just long enough to annoy me. This past fall the switch to the fan for the heat/AC went haywire. It works but only on super high. At that requires some jiggling and balancing. And a little swearing. In the past 8 months I have gone thru a radiator, a clutch, a set of brakes/rotors (ok, so that could have been totally my negligence), a set of engine seals (we bought that car with that unfortunate problem), a battery and 2 alternators. I think there may be another radiator problem. Possibly from the pulley flying off the first (faulty!!!) alternator while I was on the Capital Beltway. I also have wiring issues due to some jackass mechanic who didn't know what they were doing and that no one seems to be able to remedy.
I don't have much luck with cars. I try to take good care of them but I always seem to end up with the short end of the automotive stick. I wish someone would buy me a new one. 'Cuz I can't swing car payments right now. Well, it doesn't have to actually be new. Just new to me. I don't need luxury. Just A/C. And a CD player would be nice but isn't crucial. In fact I've gotten used to jerry-rigging my ipod & some laptop speakers for travel music. I will even drive manual transmission. In fact I prefer it. I just want something that runs reliably and doesn't threaten to leave me stranded on 695, the Capital Beltway or Northern Parkway (does it sound like I'm speaking from previous experiences? you would be correct.)
Alright. I'm done whining for tonight. But if you wanna buy me a car, I'd be grateful. Super grateful. Indebted forever. Think about it.
My very first car was 1986 Chevy Chevette. Lovingly known as the Shovette. It was in terrible shape when it committed suicide on Lafayette Blvd when I was a sophmore in college. All the trim had peeled off the driver side and the trim bonding glue that was left had melted and run down the doors. I had to spray some flap on the carburator w/ WD40 quite frequently so it would start (and sometimes even had to douse some filter w/gas when the WD40 didn't work). It was in a sade state. It ended up stalling in the middle of the road and I got t-boned by a '76 Chevy station wagon. I hit my head and blacked out - I couldn't remember what actually happened until much later - so I got charged with causing an accident. Once my memory came back it was too late and I ended up with minor traffic violation charges, points on my license and had to pay a fine. The guy that hit me was much worse off, I guess. His car survived (it was a frikkin tank) but he was driving without a license and insurance so he was totally screwed.
My other car, a Chevy Cavalier, survived 2 hit and run accidents but got punked by the 3rd. The first accident did so much damage that it could have been totalled but it was only 3 weeks old and have about 1200 miles on it. Some stupid woman ploughed into it and broken the rear axle. It was parked in a parking lot at my job. I was no where near the car. The second accident was about 9 months later - a true hit and run. They demolished the whole driver's side in the middle of the night when it was parked in front of my apartment. That was a nasty suprise when I came down one morning to go to work and went to put the key in the door. It finally died in 2004 while parked on the street in front of my current house. Another stupid woman "fell asleep" (she was definitely drunk but the f'ing cop didn't bother to breathalyzer her) at the wheel and turned it into a Chevy accordian.
My current car has never been hit (*KNOCK ON WOOD*) other than door dings. But it rattles along like its got Parkinsons. The radio and clock stopped working over a year ago. It randomly comes back for about 5 minutes every month or so. Just long enough to annoy me. This past fall the switch to the fan for the heat/AC went haywire. It works but only on super high. At that requires some jiggling and balancing. And a little swearing. In the past 8 months I have gone thru a radiator, a clutch, a set of brakes/rotors (ok, so that could have been totally my negligence), a set of engine seals (we bought that car with that unfortunate problem), a battery and 2 alternators. I think there may be another radiator problem. Possibly from the pulley flying off the first (faulty!!!) alternator while I was on the Capital Beltway. I also have wiring issues due to some jackass mechanic who didn't know what they were doing and that no one seems to be able to remedy.
I don't have much luck with cars. I try to take good care of them but I always seem to end up with the short end of the automotive stick. I wish someone would buy me a new one. 'Cuz I can't swing car payments right now. Well, it doesn't have to actually be new. Just new to me. I don't need luxury. Just A/C. And a CD player would be nice but isn't crucial. In fact I've gotten used to jerry-rigging my ipod & some laptop speakers for travel music. I will even drive manual transmission. In fact I prefer it. I just want something that runs reliably and doesn't threaten to leave me stranded on 695, the Capital Beltway or Northern Parkway (does it sound like I'm speaking from previous experiences? you would be correct.)
Alright. I'm done whining for tonight. But if you wanna buy me a car, I'd be grateful. Super grateful. Indebted forever. Think about it.
// posted by Stephanie Cake @ 5/15/2006 10:02:00 PM 
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