In years past, I regularly worked on our vehicles. It was an economic necessity. As a lower enlisted man in the Navy, I simply didn’t make enough money to pay someone else to work on my car. Hell, I could barely afford to do it myself.

With each newly acquired vehicle, I purchased the appropriate Haynes Repair Guide and learned my way around the car. I replaced alternators, starters, shock absorbers, brake pads and rotors and performed my own tune-ups. Once you gain a sense for how a car actually works, it really isn’t very difficult. But it can also be insanely frustrating. Lacking an expansive toolbox, I scraped plenty of knuckles, stripped plenty of nuts and swore and cursed enough to make my sailor buddies proud. Fucking cars.

Anyway, Jen drives a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta nowadays. Back when it was new and under warranty, we naturally sent it to the dealer for service. But once the warranty expired, Jen continued to insist on dealer service, believing it to be head and shoulders above the rest.

Until they droped the ball, that is.

For some reason, I’d always believed repair shops to be full of crooks and con artists just waiting for the next sucker. And, in my mind, “Authorized Dealer” repair shops were the worst. After one $600 repair bill after another (no matter the symptom), I think Jen came to agree with me. Bloodsuckers, all of them.

In my eternal quest to avoid dealing with scum, I’ve taken to paying cash for my vehicles, always used. Naturally, I maintained them as well. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve lost interest in sticking my head under the hood, even if it means keeping more of my hard earned cash.

Recently, my 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee began to act up. As I sat at stop signs and traffic lights, the transmission slipped out of gear. Most times, it corrected itself once I hit the gas. I quickly realized that if I shifted to neutral, I could avoid the delay altogether. I *knew* the jeep needed to be serviced, I *knew* I couldn’t do it, but I *still* dealt with the inconvenience, not to mention the risk of costly repairs later on, rather than drive down the road to see my arch nemesis, the car mechanic. When it began to slip out of gear at speed (meaning, while I was moving), I was like “Uh oh….”.

Almost simultaneously, the Jeep began to stall randomly. Just as with the transmission issue, it acted up mostly at rest, with an occasional stall at speed. Stalling while in motion is no joke. That’s when I swallowed my pride and called Jen’s mechanic, who’s actually a pretty honest, trustworthy guy.

Having said that, I think it’s pretty clear that today’s mechanic relies upon the ever-present computer to tell him what’s wrong. This case was no different. He pulled the diagnostic codes and made his recommendations. There were two issues, an unrelated sensor issue (Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit) and the ignition coil. He explained that the ignition coil could cause the stalling issue, by interrupting spark. It sounded plausible, it really did. And besides, the computer said it needed to be replaced. $400 later, I was rolling out of there, content in the fact that I wouldn’t be left on the side of the road.

From there, I took the Jeep to Capitol Transmission, in Hartford. They found that the transmission issues were caused by leaking transmission fluid cooling lines. Thankfully, I didn’t need a transmission rebuild. $300 and I’m outta there. I was generally happy with the whole experience.

Two days later I was on the side of the road, on the phone with AAA.

I’ll save the rest of this story for a follow up post, mostly because I’m tired of typing. Don’t touch that dial.