I almost caved today. A and I went out and looked at several dealerships. I definitely saw a couple things that I liked. And I saw some things closer to the price range I’ve set for myself. I started day dreaming about having something new(er). Then I gave myself a reality check. I got online and looked at how much the payment for something new would be. Roughly $550 per month. Right now I don’t have a car payment. It’s so hard to go from not paying anything to $550 per month.
But the ongoing saga of my car continues. Last week I started my car just fine. I left the house. I made it to work. I parked. And my car just completely died. Literally no power. I couldn’t even unlock the back seat so I had to crawl into the back to grab my backpack for work. I was so mad. I decided it wasn’t worth messing with since I was already at work and hadn’t planned on going anywhere until lunch anyway. At lunch time I went out to my car and it started just fine. When this should’ve been comforting, it just served to make me more angry. As it would turn out, my battery cable was very loose and that was most likely the problem. My dad tightened it up and it hasn’t died again.
But that’s not the only issue. This weekend I was leaving the neighborhood, and I’m pretty sure my transmission slipped. I’ve thought it happened before but A thinks I have some kind of munchausen toward my car. You know, the thing where mothers make up fake illnesses for their children. Anyway, this time it was way more obvious. When my car should’ve shifted gears the whole car lurched before it finally changed. The rest of the ride we had no issues. But apparently that’s the way it works. It will most likely slip more and more over time until it won’t go into gear at all. My parents have a Ford also that is currently not drivable because the transmission went out. Fixing the transmission will cost about $2000 and my car is only worth about $4000.
My fear is that if I don’t get a new car soon, my ‘want’ will turn into a ‘need’. I also don’t want to get stuck on the road somewhere although I’m not sure I’m at that point yet. I think I just need to start looking more actively and maybe start driving some things with the idea that maybe I will FINALLY actually buy something sometime next year. I’ve got my list of wants and needs down so I’ve at least got a starting point!
Tuck City 