I did not go anywhere this weekend because besides it being a holiday I did not want to tempt fate and break down when everything was closed. It is amazing all the things you all of a sudden feel the need to do when you can not do them.
I did turn on the car several times during the weekend and there were no flashing lights on the dashboard. Though I know the problem does not surface until I am waiting for a light or at a stop sign, the car starts to idle and the lights come on.
I decided to arrive at my appointment an hour and a half earlier just in case. I was across the street from the clinic when Midnight (that is my car's name) decided to act up at the stop sign. I was relieved to make it into the parking lot.
This weekend I watched a lot of YouTube videos on negotiating the purchase of a vehicle and frankly it made me sick. It seems that any way you look at it you are going to get ripped off especially when you go into the Finance Department which per the videos is where the big money is made.
I did find some very useful advice from Kevin Hunter who used to be a car salesman but now helps people with his very helpful videos. I am sure most car salesmen are not amused. I highly recommend this video even if you are not in the market for a vehicle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S9cQOPxzfg&t=1s
My doctor was very happy that my blood pressure reading was finally normal. I was surprised as well as I related what happened with the car. He gave me some brotherly advice (he is younger than I am) and even recommended a car repair shop he uses.
The northside post office is only three blocks away and I briefly considered walking to it but decided to drive and if I blew the motor so be it! There is a road behind the clinic that is not used much though it is wide and you can go to many establishments like Rudy's Bar-B-Q, Walmart, a large Border Patrol facility, and soccer fields without navigating through the bottleneck that is Bedell Avenue.
I took Highway 277/377 to Sonora and traveled for about 40 miles going the speed limit of 70 mph. When I drove back into town I went directly to Auto Zone which is the first auto parts store when you come into Del Rio. While they could not help with the VSC is OFF light they said they could with the Check Engine Light. However, there was a hitch...they could not do it for me I would have to do it myself since they were not permitted to enter a customer's vehicle due to Covid-19 restrictions. Me, connect the code reader? I did not even try! I thanked them and returned their unused reader to them.
When I took off...surprise...the lights had quit flashing! I headed to the post office on the south side of town to pick up the mail. I had a lot of mail as I sifted through it I was dumbfounded when I saw my stimulus check. Why would they mail it to me when they never have before? All my tax refunds or anything to do with the IRS goes directly to my bank account.
I had my small ice chest and was going to stop at HEB to buy a diet ice cream when Midnight decided to act up again....grrrrrrrrrrrr!!! I was so mad I just went home and pouted 😡
Today we had a high of 92 degrees but with the strong winds out of the SE, it did not feel so warm.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Aunty Acid Saying of the Day
That has to be annoying to not beable to figure this out or have it happen when you near the dealer. Does it act like it is going to turn off?
ReplyDeleteCRS is a pain too.
DeleteGood to hear you Dr. appt went so well, bummer about no getting any ice cream.
I wonder if I should check my mail box for my check, like you said everything goes directly into my checking acc. but who knows what these screw balls are doing.
Yes, it acts like it is going to turn off and stall out. The doctor's appointment went very well he even congratulated me for losing five pounds that I did not even know I had lost! Probably due to all the worrying I have been doing about darn Midnight...grrrrrr!!!
DeleteYes, by all means check your mailbox you might find it there. It was disappointing to not be able to purchase my ice cream as Friday it should be in the high 90's or possible low 100's.
There used to be a radio show on NPR called Car Talk, by two Bostonian guys. (One of whom actually had a PhD from MIT, but they really had a car repair place.) It was hysterical. So, in your case, they would recommend putting a piece of electrical tape over the dashboard light. If you can't see it, you don't have to worry about it. Just keep on keeping on.
DeleteP.S. I think you can probaby listen to the old shows online. They are very very funny. People call in with serious questions, and they do try to answer them in a helpful way, but the electrical tape is often the first step.
DeleteSorry. It was Click and Clack the Tappit Brothers. It's been a long time.
DeleteHello Ms B. You need to join a credit union and let them finance your next vehicle. You can join a credit union for as little as $5.00. I never finance with dealer. I don’t trust them. I use Community Resource Credit Union. Use Kelley blue book to find the value of your trade in vehicle if you don’t know what your trade in is worth. Good luck, careful with those loan sharks at the dealer.
DeleteJudithK - a while back I started to have the low tire sign flashing at me and I would panic. I later learned that it would cost me over $200.00 for a new sensor so I just learned to live with it.
ReplyDeleteIf the car would not begin to act like it was going to stall I would just ignore it. I am simply going to keep on driving it until I blow the motor or it dies as a 12-year-old car with 62,000 plus miles does not have a very high trade-in value.
I have never heard of "Click and Clack the Tappit Brothers" but they sound like they would be a fun show to listen to.
ReplyDeleteRedEyeMule - I am a member of a credit union but it's not in Del Rio. I do not want to purchase a new vehicle but if I have to I will have to rent a car and drive either to San Antonio or Houston where they are more willing to negotiate with you.
ReplyDelete