That will be $406.75... plus parts and labor

Well, I got my car fixed.
Apparently one of the four engine coils had gone bad.
Whatever the hell that means.
So the guy tells me that when one goes bad, the others usually follow suit in short order. He suggested replacing them all now.
What the hell? It's only money, right.
So I went for it. I just need my car to be in excellent working order since I drive 70-plus miles a day to and from work.
They had it done in a couple hours and I was on my way to work.
I did a little checking on the Kelly Blue Book site and found out that a car in excellent condition has a trade in value of about $15,475. A car in good condition has a trade-in value of about $14,465.
I think my car falls somewhere in the middle.
It does have a few more miles than the average, but all the service has been done at the dealer and the car itself looks pretty good. There is only one little ding on the passenger side.
Kelly Blue Book gave the private-party resale value as $18,000 and the retail value (what a dealer would resell it for) was $21,450.
I really would like not to have a car payment in all this.
I liked my Honda. It was reliable and good on gas, but the Civic seems a little too small for me now that I have had the Audi.
With gas prices what they are and the drive I do everyday, I don't think I want an SUV.
Anyone have any cars they just love?

No love for Audi today

Piece of shit car.
Broke down on my way to work today.
I was exactly halfway to work when the check-engine light started flashing and the car started shuddering and running rough.
Luckily there was an exit right then and there was a hotel at the end of the ramp.
I pulled in planning to just chill for a minute then figure out a plan.
Then I saw the sign for the rental car place in the hotel.
So I left my car there and drove to work in a rental.
I am going back to get my car tomorrow. I am having it towed to the dealer so they can figure out what is wrong with it.
Seriously.
AAA informed me that, after the great tire debacle of 2007, this was my last free tow for the rest of the year.
Swell.
It's not like it is an old car. It's a 2004 that I got in September of 2003. It has had all its services at the dealer since it was under warranty.
There are 56,000 miles on it. The warranty expired at 50,000.
Of course.
I am seriously thinking about trading it in for something other than an Audi.
But man is it nice not to have a car payment right now.

Having a breakdown

The plan for Sunday was simple.

I was going to go with the man friend to take his dad's 1970 Mustang out for a drive around the Peninsula. His dad is out of town for a while, and the car needs to be driven, right?

It had been a while since the car was started, so it took a bit to get it going.

Once we did, we saw it was low on gas. We headed for the closest station to gas up and wash the windows. All is fine until we try to leave the gas station.

Nothing.

Car. Won't. Start.

Good thing we are at a service station, right?

Wrong. No mechanic on Sundays.

We call AAA and they send out a dude in a maintenance truck even though we ask for a tow. He tests the battery and bangs around under the hood looking at the starter. Still nothing.

After about 15 minutes of this, he calls for a tow. So on top of the 30 minutes we already waited and the 15 minutes of dicking around with the car, we have to wait another 30 minutes for the tow truck.

As we are waiting, some kids set up a lemonade and cookie stand on the corner. We amuse ourselves by walking over and getting a cool drink and some snickerdoodles.

Nice.

And while we sat there, another old Mustang pulled up to the next pump. It was a beauty. And it was mocking us as it drove in and then so easily drove away again while our classic ride sat with it's hood exposed like an open wound.

Finally the tow truck arrived and we had him take us back to the dad's house.

Then we took mf's car and had our drive around PV anyway. It was a great day for it.

But it is amazing that even though it was kind of a pain in the ass, the whole time I was still having fun.