A rebuilt transmission is going to cost me nearly $6k. That’s more money than my first three cars cost me. Last week, the universe thought it’d be great for both Jenny and my cars to start going wanky; Her brakes and my car not going into reverse very well. Turns out she had almost no brake fluid because a caliper is leaking. And my Chevy Malibu’s transmission is almost dead at only 52k miles.
My first car, a ’78 Chevy Impala had to have the transmission fixed. We bought a $90 repair kit, pulled it out, and fixed it ourselves. Then my ’95 Eagle Talon’s transmission quit working at 10 on a Saturday night at the Oklahoma/ Kansas border. That cost a grand. In 2004, I sold a Mazda 323 to a friend. He said the transmission dropped out 3 days later. Then, at almost exactly 100,000, it happened to the 2000 Ford Taurus I owned. That was a couple grand. To say I’ve had bad luck with transmissions is an understatement.
Both our cars have been in the shop since last Thursday. Jenny’s was finished today: all new brakes, rotors, calipers, pads for $1,500. That price blows my mind. I’m told that my car will be ready in “two weeks or less”.
I actually started weighing the pros and cons of getting an electric bicycle. Pros- cheap transportation and maintenance, fits in my office, and don’t have to tip as much to the valet. Cons- guests would have to ride on my handle bars like when I was a kid and I’d have to spend more on a basket for grocery shopping.