take better care of my car

I’ll have my car back tomorrow.

Bad news is I have to pay a $400 ransom.

_{Yep, going on plastic. Guess I should be glad they raised my credit limit!}

but I now have two new tires (and rotated tires), plus they patched my leaky tire (free, of course).

Friday, I get the fuel leak looked at. (That’s going on a credit card…I’m not that much ahead.)

• New windshield wipers
• New spark plugs/wires (apparently the source of the acceleration lag)
• New air filter
• All fluids checked and okay
• Interior completely scrubbed (it was filthy)

Now I just need to

• get new tires (back ones are balding)
• have the leak in the fuel line fixed and possibly get new fuel filter (might have to take it to the shop for these)
• shampoo the carpets
• wash the outside

and I’m good to go until my next oil change. Go me!

He’s picking up a repair manual (I’m reimbursing him), and tomorrow he’s going to give my car a tune-up. He gave me the estimated expenses in a “sorry for your loss” tone of voice. Even adding the cost of dinner/beer (whichever he’d like in payment), it’s still far cheaper than taking it in somewhere! It’s sure nice having handy friends.

_{Here’s hoping he doesn’t break my car…}

(Wait for it…)

Free!

Didn’t take that long, either. Definitely need to do this more often.

Decided to do a search on my dreaded “service engine soon” light (which I’ve been ignoring for months now). And the internet has provided. Most of the recommendations start with going to Auto Zone for a free check. (Free? I can handle that!)

Also, the most common problem is a cheap part that can easily be installed by the mechanically inclined. My boyfriend is mechanically inclined. I might get this fixed after all.

my CDs. It’s been broken for…wow, about a year now. I just did some googling to see how to fix it; apparently it’s a common problem in Fords, not just Mustangs.

Most people recommend replacing the stereo. I cannot afford to replace the stereo.

I found one helpful site that recommends a few options. I’m going to test them out. Hopefully I can fix it without digging into the dash.

I miss my CDs. Hope they’re okay…

haven’t happened yet. I haven’t vacuumed him. Or washed him. But I did get that oil change…which counts for something, surely.

Picked up some leather wipes and console wipes. Today wasn’t so hideously hot (we had a heat index of 120 Saturday), so I cleaned Deej a bit. I think I’m going to have to clean him several more times before I get all the dirt up, but he certainly looks better.

Now I just need to vacuum him. And wash him. And get his oil changed. And tires rotated.

_{Jeez, is that all?}

It needed it, but I’ll be honest: I only cleaned it because when Mom called to tell me the results of Dad’s biopsy, the house was already clean. (Cleaning is apparently an ingrained reaction to great emotional stress.) Got the trash out, dusted the dash, seats, and armrest console, cleaned the windows (streaked the back one badly – it was quite sunny at the time). And replaced the air freshener cartridge.

Also wiped up the tar on the passenger seat from the Tar Stain Incident. Which made me realize just how truly filthy my seats are. Yuck. So I’m going in search of leather cleaner this weekend. Once I get the seats all clean, I’ll vacuum it and maybe use some stain remover on the mats.

As for washing it…eh, maybe I’ll hit one of those automatic thingies. Until they finish adding on to my office building, there’s not much point in hand-washing the puppy…it’ll be dirty again the next day.

My tires are, at least for the moment, ok; had them patch one last weekend (it had a screw in it, from the aforementioned construction, I’m sure) and check the other three for damage. So that leaves the oil change – gotta do that soon. I’m already overdue.

_{Still haven’t done a thing about that Service Engine Soon light. I’m not so sure it’s not just a glitch, and I can’t afford to take the car in for a glitch.}