July
7th
Woof!
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I didn’t mean to take a hiatus for so long, but
it’s been a crazy summer! I shall endeavor to tell you all about it in small
digestible blog posts. Let me see, where to begin. Ah yes… that fateful day my
masters decided to get a car…
Sometime
around July 2nd, my masters decided to get a new car, you know,
those loud gas guzzling beasts that threaten wildlife. While I find myself
enjoying walks in the park, there is nothing quite like sticking your head out
of a moving vehicle and feeling the wind in your fur. J They finally settled on an older Toyota
Camry, with a 4 cylinder engine and cruise control. It is a dark maroon and
very pretty. Then came the adventures…
First
of all, the car was having a hard time shifting, and seemed to stutter a lot.
After taking it into the mechanic, (the Toyota dealership) we found out 2
things: 1) dogs aren’t allowed to sniff new cars on the lot, and 2) the car,
while only needing minor repairs, was going to cost an arm and a leg to fix.
After some panicked phone calls to the family car expert (We’ll call him Bob)
he assured us the minor repairs could be fixed up with a little DIY maintenance.
So we headed over there to get the plug wires and spark plugs, and fuel
cleaners and oil. After some food, good advice, and a little wrench time, the
car was running like a dream. This actually took us about 4 weeks between
appointments, purchasing the car, taking the tags/car to dmv, and fixing the
car (Cars can eat a lot of time). The final touch was a stereo my master bought
for his wife as an anniversary present. She was super excited, and while not as
pretty as a necklace, very practical.
Car
repair can be an ongoing thing, and there is such a thing as spending too much
on a car. My masters tried to hit a middle balance of fixing what needed to be
fixed, and keeping an eye on the other warning signs of the car. Their list of
items to fix over the next year or three include:
Alignment
New Tires
Timing
Belt / Water Pump
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