The car is dying, I believe. I couldn't get it above 25 mph Thursday on the way to work, the engine was revving to 4000 rpms, and smoke or steam was coming out from under the hood.
Needless to say, it's sitting at work until I can take it in Monday to get the verdict, but most of what I'm seeing and hearing about it is that it is possibly a fuel pump but more likely the transmission, and the transmission fluid is dark, rather than red, so that increases the chances of a need for a rebuild. Thing is, the transmission was rebuilt a couple of years ago, and it is too expensive to do again for a car worth at most $300-600. A fuel pump isn't much better.
So. That means either saving up for a car that's, say $2000, or doing the unthinkable (with my credit) and trying to actually get a car financed. Ha! you say. But you know, the worse they can say is no.
I looked around and found a vehicle I liked from Glenn Auto Mall, the car lot that is within walking distance. It's a 2002 Honda Odyssey, 98,380 miles (that's 150,000 or so less than my current car), Taffeta White, and running $9,477. Yes, for those uninitiated, it's a small van. But I figure I schlepp five animals about occasionally; it might be nice to have some room, plus the ability to haul things [at least sub-pickup truck things] back and forth can be useful. The car payment would be less than $150-$175, if the credit thing works out alright, and I could do that. When I crunched the numbers, I was surprised that if I take my average paycheque from the store and put it with the hospital's, it comes out to about $6,000 more per year than last year, but then I had more than $1/hour raise at the hospital earlier in the year due to a market adjustment. So I'm hoping that will work in my favour.
Like I said, it's worth a try. I don't fancy a lot of bus travel, and there are others who depend on me for a ride. So it would be good all around to have a car of some type, especially one that has some life in it yet. So wish me luck.
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