So I am driving to work this morning, bright and early. I get about 20 miles down the road and the car starts acting REAL weird - like it is racing very fast. I get to the shoulder and the only way that I can keep going is to use overdrive (this is NOT good).
So I called my husband and he made arrangements for his favorite transmission shop to look at the mini-van right away. I limp into that place on back roads. You know how this is going to end up - don't you.
They say basically that I no longer HAVE a transmission, and if I like they will push it into the bay to work on it (sigh - How did I know?) Well, we got 250,000 miles out of the old one, so I suppose that it is time.
The GOOD part is that they
have the trans that I need and they moved me to the front of the line (my husband knows just about EVERYBODY and always gets good deals
). Also, they estimate the job at $1,200 for a completely new transmission, but after Steven comes and chats them up for a while - somehow the bill ends up only $950 (still ouch - but . . . ).
So, they say that they will get my van fixed asap and I can be to work by just after lunch. (Work is still another 30 miles away - so they did not offer to run me over :roll: ) GREAT - this saves a car rental fee. So I call in to work and say that I will be late. At about noon they mention that they need a "mount" and someone went to go find one.
About 1:00 they say that they
just have to take it for a
test drive. At 1:15 they mention something about a valve not working right and they are going to pull it off again. (Do trans's HAVE valves??) At 2:30 I called my boss and basically said "forget it - I am not coming in today". At 3:30 I finally get back on the road. And this is GOOD - I mean it all got done in ONE day.
Did I mention how BORING it is sitting in a transmission shop for 6 hours? For a while it is amusing trying to figure out how they get anything done around the piles of parts and grease. But eventually I slipped back to the executive lounge - which was basically a backseat ripped out of someones vehicle balanced against the wall, and a 9" TV with rabbit ears and extra static :roll: (ugh - daytime TV, gives a person shudders).
So I just wanted to share with you all just how MUCH I detest car problems
.
And NO JavaRanch to entertain me the whole while!!