I was getting my oil changed a few weeks ago in preparation for our 1,000 mile drive to Chicago and the service guy mentioned that the tread on my tires was pretty low and that I should probably look into getting new tires sooner than later. Since I was planning on driving all the way to Chicago and I had only gotten two new tires back in 2007, I figured it was probably time for two more.
I shopped around a little bit, but I knew I was going to use Discount Tire since that’s what I used last time and was happy with them. Plus, there’s a shop right down the street from my house. I made my appointment online and the next day I had two fresh tires and a bill for $171.48.
Then we went to Chicago.
When we got home from Chicago, Bird’s car wouldn’t start. Doh! We had just put $300 into back in June.
Thankfully, my folks have an extra vehicle so we borrowed that and Bird took my car to work. Yesterday, her little Jetta got towed to the dealership and they said they would run tests on it today. I have no idea what’s wrong with and no idea how much it will cost, but I usually estimate a minimum of $200 when a car has to go in to the shop and probably at least another $100 for the tow. Woof!!!
So we’re probably looking at dropping at least a grand on our cars in the last 2 months.
I’ll let you know when I hear something from the mechanics, but for now, fingers crossed that it’s a cheap fix! Until then, I’m the guy driving the pale blue minivan to work 
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Cars. Bane of my life (and we only have the one!)
Tell me about it. And on top of that, I had a 9 am appt for them to look at it and I called at 330 pm after not hearing anything and they said they hadn’t even looked at it yet. Blergh!
With older cars, you might seriously consider paying for AAA or some other road service. It would only be something like $60 – $90 per year (and really, you could get by with only one of you as a member). Just one tow per year pays for the membership. They’ll also come out and jump your battery, change a tire, unlock keys, etc.
When we had young drivers at home, we used our AAA just about every other month, because with all the beater cars we had, someone always was breaking down, a battery was going dead, a tire went flat, etc., plus we had a few incidents of keys locked in a car.
And if you still love maps in these days of GPS, AAA can set you up with all sorts of state and city maps!
You know, I think I’m starting to warm up to that idea. We’ve now gotten that car towed twice in the last two years…thankfully we haven’t had any flats or key issues, but you’re right, the membership would have paid for itself with the towing. Since both of our cars are now over 10 years old, maybe the membership wouldn’t be so bad for a couple years until we replace one of them. Something to consider. Thanks for the comment.