Bad Car-ma

Last month I wrote about my new (to me, anyway) car and how much I liked it. Well, two days after I wrote that post, my transmission dropped. I had always thought that the description of a transmission dropping was metaphorical. Nope. There was actual dropping involved. My car was in the shop for two weeks.

When I got my car back, I was relieved. I figured that I would be done with all of the automotive nonsense. I drove it around for a few days, and then my car started to have trouble accelerating. I figured that it was the fuel filter, because switching a car that has been running on regular diesel to biodiesel causes a one-time clog in the fuel filter while the diesel is washed out of the tank. So I went to the auto parts store to buy a fuel filter. I checked online to see how to change it, and I decided it was too complex for me to handle by myself.

I called Jiffy Lube, and the guy there said I should take it to a regular mechanic. Since I was on my way to my friend's house, I decided I would take care of it in the morning. On my way to my friend's house, my check engine light came on, and my car wouldn't go over 25 mph even when I floored it. I pulled off to the side of the road and read the engine code. (I bought a check engine light code reader when I got the car. It's come in handy a few times.) The engine code said that there was a problem in the clutch solenoid.

I called my friend and she came to pick me up while we waited for the tow truck. I had it towed back to the same mechanic who did my transmission because the engine code indicated that it was another transmission problem.

That was over three weeks ago. It turns out that the solenoids are fine. The transmission is fine. The computer is fine. The fuel filter is pristine. But there's some faulty wire somewhere that's sending a bad code to the computer, and the computer has locked the transmission into first gear. The mechanic is still looking for the wire that's causing the problem. He said that he's going to send it to Volkswagen because he's completely baffled by it.

So, here's the scorecard on my car: I bought it in February, and it was in the shop for 3 weeks. Then I drove it for a week. Then it was in the shop for 2 weeks. Then I drove it for half a week. It has now been in the shop for 3 1/2 weeks and counting. Total time of car ownership: 10 weeks. Total time in the shop: 8 1/2 weeks, or 85% of the time I have owned the car. What a nightmare! (I can't even sell it because the check engine light is on, which is an automatic smog failure, and cars sold in CA have to pass smog.)

When I get this car back, it had better be worth it.