So this morning I brought the car into The Mechanic Around The Corner. For one thing, the acceleration problem that suddenly cropped up frightened me into thinking the car might not make it the 15 or so miles to my favored mechanic. For another, if the problem is big, such as bad ignition wires or faulty valve timing, I want to give these guys a second chance, for they are the ones that replaced the former and adjusted the latter. Lastly, getting out around 8 keeps my parents on their toes; I don't want them to start complaining I'm not working at a decent time instead of 10, which I've done a lot lately. Doing this makes them think "work" is asking me to come in at weird hours, which should make them think I'm still working.
I start my car -- and again, although it eventually did start, it still took a long time and paused just before it kicked in. The rest of the stuff -- the acceleration, The Second Sound, etc. -- was not there, however. The Mechanic Around The Corner alluded to the problem of not being able to spot the problem when I brought the car in. He suggested I keep the car at their place overnight so they could look under the hood to see what is wrong on the cold start, but I can't tell my parents that I'm bringing in the car again. So I went in with the possibility that they can't solve my problem, or there isn't a problem at all.
They were open when I came in, just a bit after 8. I asked for a test drive when I made an appointment yesterday, and there was the person who usually looks at my car ready to go. I asked him to drive so he can see what was going on, but unfortunately nothing was. The car started up just fine, it didn't idle low or shake, and it appeared to accelerate at a good rate, if a bit hard. I then took a turn at the wheel. Same thing, though I wanted to alert him to what the thudding I heard while idling and the rough way it continues to accelerate when I hit the gas pedal.
However, his verdict: It's fine. The vibrations may be coming from the motor mounts, something yet another car shop told me should be changed a decade ago, and I forgot to mention that the brakes were a little spotty till I made a right at the light. But I think what he said was that although they were getting bad, they are not worth spending now until they get a lot worse. That calms me down ... kind of. I guess I should wait until either I speed into a ditch or the engine just falls off the chassis in the middle of the highway, but then, I'm not in much of a mood to spend money on this car, either. The acceleration problems, according to him, is a result of me not stepping on the pedal fast and hard enough. Everything else, however, he did not hear or see, so until he's sure he can replicate the problem -- such as leaving the car there overnight -- it'd be useless to look at the car. So after ten or 15 minutes I dropped him off and left.
Well, shit. On the one hand, maybe I am paranoid. I want to trust The Mechanic Around The Corner when he said this car is safe. But goddammit, this car is not driving as well as it has before, I know it. He could say it's all in my head, but I told him about the hood popping up out of nowhere, too. I may not be totally wrong. I swear it's as if my car is a misbehaving brat, totally out-of-control when I'm the only one in the car with it, but when I show it to someone it sits there acting like an angel, and when I take it away it turns back to tormenting me again.
But for now, I guess this is the best I can do. The next step, assuming the hard starts in the morning continue (or, worse, worsen), is to wait till my parents are away and bring it in overnight. In the meantime I just hope the car continues to hold together, even if he tells me it's running good. At least I didn't have to pay any money to do this this morning.
I start my car -- and again, although it eventually did start, it still took a long time and paused just before it kicked in. The rest of the stuff -- the acceleration, The Second Sound, etc. -- was not there, however. The Mechanic Around The Corner alluded to the problem of not being able to spot the problem when I brought the car in. He suggested I keep the car at their place overnight so they could look under the hood to see what is wrong on the cold start, but I can't tell my parents that I'm bringing in the car again. So I went in with the possibility that they can't solve my problem, or there isn't a problem at all.
They were open when I came in, just a bit after 8. I asked for a test drive when I made an appointment yesterday, and there was the person who usually looks at my car ready to go. I asked him to drive so he can see what was going on, but unfortunately nothing was. The car started up just fine, it didn't idle low or shake, and it appeared to accelerate at a good rate, if a bit hard. I then took a turn at the wheel. Same thing, though I wanted to alert him to what the thudding I heard while idling and the rough way it continues to accelerate when I hit the gas pedal.
However, his verdict: It's fine. The vibrations may be coming from the motor mounts, something yet another car shop told me should be changed a decade ago, and I forgot to mention that the brakes were a little spotty till I made a right at the light. But I think what he said was that although they were getting bad, they are not worth spending now until they get a lot worse. That calms me down ... kind of. I guess I should wait until either I speed into a ditch or the engine just falls off the chassis in the middle of the highway, but then, I'm not in much of a mood to spend money on this car, either. The acceleration problems, according to him, is a result of me not stepping on the pedal fast and hard enough. Everything else, however, he did not hear or see, so until he's sure he can replicate the problem -- such as leaving the car there overnight -- it'd be useless to look at the car. So after ten or 15 minutes I dropped him off and left.
Well, shit. On the one hand, maybe I am paranoid. I want to trust The Mechanic Around The Corner when he said this car is safe. But goddammit, this car is not driving as well as it has before, I know it. He could say it's all in my head, but I told him about the hood popping up out of nowhere, too. I may not be totally wrong. I swear it's as if my car is a misbehaving brat, totally out-of-control when I'm the only one in the car with it, but when I show it to someone it sits there acting like an angel, and when I take it away it turns back to tormenting me again.
But for now, I guess this is the best I can do. The next step, assuming the hard starts in the morning continue (or, worse, worsen), is to wait till my parents are away and bring it in overnight. In the meantime I just hope the car continues to hold together, even if he tells me it's running good. At least I didn't have to pay any money to do this this morning.
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