When the check engine light came on last March, I should have paid more attention. But my mechanic said they would try to turn it off, and if it didn't stay off, I would have to have some part of the emissions system replaced before my October inspection date. It seemed like a long time until October, so, when the light didn't turn off, I didn't worry about it (too much).
A little later, I noticed that there was a mysterious spot of something on the driveway underneath the car. I duly noted its location and reported it to my mechanic. I was afraid my radiator was leaking and that one day, I would be stranded with no water/coolant/whatever in my car (which had happened in my old car). Nope, he said, you're leaking power steering fluid, and you don't need to worry too much about that. The level is fine and the worst that will happen is you'll notice that it may get harder to steer. OK, I was fine with that. The car wasn't any harder to steer, and eventually, I didn't even notice any new spots on the driveway.
Just after that, I noticed that my front tires were pretty badly worn, so on my next oil change, I asked them to put the back tires on the front. They agreed that I would need 4 new tires before inspection in October. OK, I said. Plenty of time to take care of that.
From that moment, though, I noticed that the car drove funny. It felt the way I remember feeling when driving a car in the North Country on a 40 degree below zero morning when the tires are slightly flat where they've been resting on the cold ground. Only it wasn't 40 below. The faster I drove, the smoother the ride. It's just the car getting used to the different tires on the front, I thought. And kept driving.
When August rolled around, I was in for my oil change and asked my mechanic to also change the air filter. When the oil was changed, he came out and asked me if I were planning to get a new car any time soon. I was shocked. No, I said, but I did think I should start taking care of the various issues which had cropped up. Why?
He mentioned all the things I've mentioned above, and said, "It's going to cost you $2500.00 to get these things fixed." Little did he know. Little did I know. In the course of this conversation, it turned out that he thought I should take it to the Subaru dealer to get the Check Engine light turned off. So I did. And for $300.00 or so, they replaced the rear oxygen sensors. That was the good news. The bad news was that they told me what the mechanic had said was leaky steering fluid was actually a leaking head gasket. And the bad tires? That was actually separating rear trailing arms. Head gasket I knew, and my heart sank. Trailing arms? Really? Never heard of them.
Well, to make a long story shorter, it was going to take almost $3000.00 to put my car back into driveable, inspectable condition. NO, NO, NO!!! It wasn't time for me to have to buy a car. Yet what was the point of pouring money into a car that had 115,000 miles on it??? Thus began a nearly month-long internal debate about what to do (and for those of you who have had to listen, an external debate).
I think I despise nothing more than I despise car shopping. But last week, after driving down to Needham and feeling certain that my rear axle was going to fly apart with every pothole I hit on 128 around Boston, I knew that the time had come. My check engine light was off, but all that meant was that I had about $2800 to go before I would be safe again.
I learned some hard lessons about car maintenance on this go round. And I've learned that car salesmen are some of the sleazier people out there - or maybe they're not sleazy, but the car industry will screw you six ways to Sunday in order to maximize their profits; despite this, I am driving an ultra-safe, new-to-me, 2009 white Subaru Forester, and up to my neck in debt. While the car shopping was proceeding, I've needed electrical work done at the house; plumbing work in the kitchen and a new roof across the front of the house. Earlier this summer the kitchen ceiling had to be replaced as a consequence of a leak in the upstairs hot water pipe.
The moral to this story? When the check engine light turns on: pay attention - it's not just about your car!
