I picked up my parents with my car, not their minivan. They deserve to ride in style. Also, I wanted them to know that I had faith in my car, despite the oil leaks. None of it was to be.
Mere minutes into driving the car for the first time in two days and using my free drink at McDonald's, I feel my car struggling to accelerate. Between 45 and 50 -- I guess that's fourth gear or something -- it starts to pulsate, like it's unsure of whether it can speed up, or, gosh, like something is slipping loose. Also, there was this weird gurgling noise emanating from under the hood, kind of right in front of me.
I felt it again, but I was hoping that it'd smooth out once I got it going at highway speed. After all, I did not start this car since Tuesday. And maybe I'm deluding myself, but it seemed to be working fine. Just in case, though, I did not turn off the car and loiter in front of the small terminal at MSP to pick up my parents. I drove in circles, around and around, until they finally appeared.
We couldn't just go home, though. We had to make a detour to St. Paul to get out money from this Hmong woman. Because it was hot and because I had passengers, I turned on the air conditioning. And these days, after I have the AC on for a while, the car makes this new noise, a secondary noise that seemingly harmonizes with the usual roar of the engine. It kind of feels like air is being pushed through a new hole somewhere in my car.
That's when Father said, once again, that there's something wrong with the transmission. That's when I finally went with my semi-lie: I told him I went to the car shop because I couldn't ignore the oil leaks anymore. I really went Tuesday, but as long as I told him the truth, does it matter when? Anyway, I told him that it runs fine but that there are leaks everywhere. He didn't say anything, instead they just acquiesced to my fear of damaging the car (further) by cranking up the AC and just rolled the windows down, even though we were on the highway.
By the way, I didn't believe him before when he said it was the transmission. Turns out the leak/hole in the tranny is the most important thing to investigate and fix. I didn't trust Father because this secondary weird sound always comes on after I have the air conditioning open for a while. I thought it was the coolant, or the radiator. Turns out Father was right on this one. I should have listened to him, and I regret that.
Once we got home I went in and quickly went back out to see if I could spot any oil leaks. Finally, for the first time ever, I saw actually fluid dripping down from my car. It had already made a small puddle when I reached underneath to dab my finger on it. The fluid was clear but it felt greasy. Yep -- oil.
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After dinner (at around 5 o'clock) Mother suggested that I finally junk my car. But instead of saying that I could get one of the other cars the family has, she said I should by a new ... Kia. A Kia??? I told her that, frankly, I would rather keep mine.
I'm torn about this. Mother volunteered her help in finding me a new car. But I got backed into a corner when she started asking me what I could afford to pay. For some damn reason I blurted out $6,000, and even though I do have that, that's practically my entire savings. Moreover, I am still lying to her about working, and so paying for a new car is out of my reach. I really do think that it'd be cheaper for me to just fix the leaks in the car, even though I can't afford it right now. But on the other hand, maybe she's right and I should find something new. After all, Friday was the blue moon, and they say it's the perfect time for fresh starts and new beginnings. But am I ready to let go? Isn't this really throwing something that's broken away when you could fix it?
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I was so scared of the car I decided not to go out tonight. But my best friend changed all those plans when he texted me to come out and see him. I knew he'd be back from vacation some time this weekend, but with all my worrying over the car I forgot.
When I went out to start my car, the scariest thing happened: The fucking thing wouldn't turn. I immediately had a heart attack as I stopped the car and tried turning it on again. Thankfully it picked up like it was no big deal. And the shift wavering wasn't there. But the noise was, at least until I started picking up speed.
I though my best friend just wanted to eat, but he was jonesing to go to a stripclub. I told him I was flat-broke and worried as shit over my car. So we pulled over to the side and had a discussion, not only over the car (he recommends I just get a new one) but whether we should just go to a restaurant instead of a titty bar (we went to My Favorite Stripclub [Cover Division]). Seriously, we were just talking to the side of the road for about 20 minutes. And quite frankly, it was the best part of the night. I could've just stayed there, spitballing about what I'm going to do, underneath the blue moon.
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Good thing we took his car; it was about 20 miles away. If I were driving I would be fucking freaking out over every little noise or feeling I think I heard or felt. But when I started the car for the drive back home ... nothing out of the ordinary. No false starts, no wheezing noises, no unsteady transmission. I think the car's going to be OK! Or, maybe I'm deluding myself.
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