The Whine thread.

[Alelou]

If getting parts for Saturns is going to be a bitch forever, does it make sense to buy another one (no matter how good they've been to you)? (Are there any Saturns that are also really other models in disguise?)

I love my Subaru, which is the same vintage as your car (except officially 1995), but if I had to buy a good used car cheap right now, I'd probably go look for a Ford Taurus. (Whereas if I had some money, I'd buy another Subaru.) We had an old 84 Taurus that was very solid, and they've only improved since then. They're not very sexy (or costly), but they get the job done and I don't remember a lot of repairs and the repairs we did get were cheap (as opposed to our frickin' Volkswagens and Nissans).

I know people who've really liked their old Mazdas, too.

Come to think of it, 'Baru will probably be the car my son learns to drive on, so I guess I should probably be planning to get a newer car soon, too. Bleah. I hate car shopping. 'Baru just fell into my lap when a colleague's wonderfully anal-compulsive son wanted to sell his because if was 5 years old. When it happens like that it really just feels like the grace of God.

[Rigil Kent]

If getting parts for Saturns is going to be a bitch forever, does it make sense to buy another one (no matter how good they've been to you)? (Are there any Saturns that are also really other models in disguise?)

Probably because I'm a creature of habit and, unlike a lot of my fellow Americans (your mentioned colleague's son, for example), I'm not keen on trading in a car every few years like a cellphone. I'm 38 now and have owned only two cars in my life because I use them until getting a newer one is a necessity. At this point, there will be no new car in my future simply because I can't afford it (not until my inevitable promotion at work based on merit since over 80% of the clowns in my training class are abject morons who need helping logging off their computers on a daily basis.)

Unless, of course, I happened to win the Powerball tonight in which case I'm changing my real name to John Smith and moving to New Zealand (no snakes, cool accents, and ... uh ... beaches! Yeah. Beaches.)

As to what kind of model I'd buy when I inevitably do have to get a new one? No idea right now. Would like a Saturn, but since they go kaput in October, that's probably not a good idea. Likely a Ford of some sort.

Sorry to hear about your car going ker-plop, Aquarius. Maybe its a conspiracy against the two of us...

[Aquarius]

Maybe!

Actually, I've f'd up just about everything I've touched in the last few days.

[aadarshinah]

We had an old 84 Taurus that was very solid, and they've only improved since then. They're not very sexy (or costly), but they get the job done and I don't remember a lot of repairs and the repairs we did get were cheap (as opposed to our frickin' Volkswagens and Nissans).

We have a '00 or '01 Taurus that we've had, well, for the last ten years. Had a lot of luck with it and it's survived everything that my teenage brother has thrown at it since he got his lisence.

Speaking of my brother, he, apparently, does not know how an alarm clock functions because, though it is currently o'dark thirty I have to wake him up for one of his stupid school events, despite the fact that I have no reason to be up for another 2 hours, at the very least. Stupid brothers. Ah, there's his overly-loud music now. He's up. So I can try to go back to sleep.

But good luck with your car problems all around.

[Aquarius]

Bad to worse...

To recap: Car broke down at a party store yesterday and natch I had to have the ex come to the rescue for a jump start because I'm too damn broke for a tow truck. Got that all set, fine...

And I get about 4 or 5 miles down the expressway and the car starts losing power and various dash board lights come on and I have no blinkers, and I have to figure out how to scoot across 3 out of 4 lanes on I-696 to get off at the next exit. It's uphill. Needless to say I didn't make it to the nearest parking lot as I hoped, but was rather stuck on the shoulder of one of the busiest exit ramps in metro Detroit. Call ex again. Comes to get me again...

We jump-start the car, and the decision is made to limp it to his house. We had to stop a total of four times to recharge the battery to make it that far. Suspects it's the alternator, which is consistent with what was happening. Couldn't get under the hood to take the part to be tested because it started to rain. Took me home the hour to where I'm now living. I have my mom's car to get to work today. So when this is over, he's going to have to follow me home--an hour--in mine, then I'have to take *him* home--still an hour--after we drop off my mom's car, and then I have to turn around and come home for the night. With my trip to work this morning, that's a total of four hours of driving today.

But like I said, it gets BETTER...

Most of you know that I'm a hairdresser and I work two jobs. This means hauling my equipment bag back and forth--scissor case (big one--I have nine different cutting instruments to choose from), a blow dryer, clippers, trimmers, etc. I left said equipment in ex/s car last night, so now I have to stop at his house and pick up the bag. I no longer have a house key to just go in and get it, so now I have to call him from the driveway to be let in in order to get my stuff and go to work.

Think we're done? Not even. My cell phone died last night...and the charger is *in that bag*. Car charger is in my car...which the ex has...because it's broken. So now I have no way to call him, and I have to hope that he's awake enough to hear the doorbell and me nocking so I can get my stuff and not be late to work. Related to this, my cell phone is my alarm clock, so I could very well have over slept this morning...except since the move my bladder has a habit of waking me up an hour before the alarm goes off..which it did today, but I had to stay up instead of going back to bed in order to make sure I wouldn't oversleep. So now I'm sleep-deprived, too.

And I have a migraine.

[honeybee]

Oh, Aquarius, you're having a bad couple of days! I, swear, moving just throws everything out of whack karmicly speaking and little crisis-es like a car breaking down blow into big ones. But I'm sure things will calm down. I'm so glad you're going on vacation next week. You so need it.



I had a VW New Beetle that I had planned to drive until it couldn't be driven anymore. My parents were (Mom still is) the type who bought sturdy practical cars and drove them until it just made no more sense to do so. So much so, that I did not know car payments existed until I was in college because my parents told me that the only way to buy a car was to save for one and they had not bought a car since I was in junior high. I didn't realize they were being philosophical about the only way thing. I was a little ditzy.

But, in 2005, someone creamed me on the turnpike in my New Beetle - the poor neon glowstick colored little car that I still miss was mushed. Thankfully, its extra headroom saved my life. I got a new hybrid car out of the deal on top of the months of physical therapy and braces because the whiplash caused my teeth to get crooked, but all things considered I would rather have my VW back and still be driving it even though it would be almost ten years old at this point.

Right now, I am coveting the Nissan Leaf, though I have a commute that is just a little too long to make it work. If the green gasoline, biodiesel station adjacent to my University installed a plug - it would be feasible - but a new car is still quite a few years away.

[honeybee]

Update! Little Max went to the vet today and got some antibiotics and a proper cone. He had an infected anal gland and his chewing last night drained it. Yuck. With the antibiotics - it should clear up nicely. Yeah for vets with Sunday hours.

The vet was cute, too.

[Entilzha]

Counted my last months work hours. I clocked in 336 hours . I can´t get a day off until the job is finished and the other complicating part is that I´m the electricians foreman. 11 days to the deadline and I´m so tired.

[justTripn]

YIKES! That's more than 11 hours a day including weekends!!! How do you even eat?!

[EntAllat]

Bad to worse...

(recap deleted)

Holy cow.

Talk about frustrating!! I can sympathize with getting off the freeway after the alternator dies since I had to do that years ago, across four lanes of traffic only to have it die on the side of the off ramp, with cars wizzing by me at freeway speeds. I didn't own a cell phone at the time so it was a long walk off the freeway and to convenience store to make the call for a tow.

Just remember, all of this shall pass and in five, six(?) days you'll get to meet Connor at the Vegas convention.

[Entilzha]

I usually eat a sandwich for a lunch and some Chinese or a kebab for evening and lots of energy drinks.

[Aikiweezie]

So, my poor little dog got a rash on his rear-end - and started chewing it until it was bleeding. It was too late to get him to the vet and the only 24 hour animal hospital is downtown. Thanks to ehow, I made a cone out of a flower pot. It is very sad. You may see the pathetic here. He seems to be feeling okay, just not happy with the flower pot.

That's so cute and so pathetic all at the same time. I hope puppy's butt is all better.

Aquarius - sorry for all the headaches, literal and figurative.

[honeybee]

Thanks, Aikiweezie. The doggie's butt is getting better - he isn't even wearing his cone of shame. He doesn't care of the antibiotics, but he should recover soon thanks to them!.

[Alelou]

I know it was an infection risk, but it sounds like the poor thing was kind of doing what he would need to do if there were no vets in his world.

[honeybee]

Yes, he was doing the right thing. And, in fact, he broke and drained the abscess himself before I got the makeshift cone on him last night. It made a scary looking mess, but the saliva does clean the wound a bit. The vet said it's quicker and more sanitary if its done at the vet's office, but he was definitely in pain so it's a good thing that he was able to do that before I got the cone on him.

But afterward, he started chewing it raw and that is where the cone became helpful.

I've had him nine years, and I swear, he never has vet emergencies during normal business hours. Ever.