Happy Birthday Car!

[beth_leonard]

I want to wish my car a happy 15th birthday! It's now officially the car I've put the most miles on ever -- just recently passed the 123456 mark on the Odometer. My last car that I sold to abernat in 1998 was just slightly under that mark when I delivered it.

Unlike that car however (which was about to explode and I was really worried about whether or not it would make it down to LA), my current car seems to still run just as well as the day I bought it. The CD player eats CDs and the radio knob has come off, but the engine seems to be doing fine, knock on wood. Somewhere along the lines I learned that maintaining a car is important, and we found a great local mechanic I trust who keeps it in tip-top shape.

If you're local, I highly recommend Frank at A-1 Auto Tech, 89 Pioneer Way in Mountain View Ca. It's more expensive than Jiffy-lube for oil changes and tire rotations by a factor of 2, but the trust factor is really important to me. robszewczyk's sister is the one who originally recommended it to me and I've been going there ever since. Once I took it elsewhere for a "free oil change" at the dealer and they mis-threaded the filter and dripped oil all over my garage. You get what you pay for, and I've been really happy at A-1.

--Beth

Comments

[kirin]

Mine's at 177k, and I'm hoping for a couple more years out of it. It's old enough that it eats cassette tapes. ;) (Well, cassette tape. There's one in it that I don't think is ever coming out.) I think at this point I've replaced most of the parts aside from the engine, transmission, and breaks. I'll borrow some of that wood you're knocking on...

[beth_leonard]

Wow! My last one was definitely no longer reliable at 120,000. Our previous minivan was still going strong at 110,000 but then it got totaled while parked, so I never found out how far it would have been able to go.

--Beth

[wrenb.livejournal.com]

That's some car! Thanks for the mechanic recommendation. The oil change light just came on in my car, the second car we've owned since your Lumina, so it's time to find a mechanic. :)

[beth_leonard]

They are fairly expensive -- it's like $60 to get the oil changed, $90 if they also rotate the tires, but they also do a full inspection, change lightbulbs, lube, etc. For me, the peace of mind is worth it, and it's not that often that we need to get the car serviced.

--Beth

[singerji.livejournal.com]

Long ago I decided that in general it was worth paying more to get better service. You can't always identify how and when to do that, but auto mechanics are a good example.
I'm on the third car I've ever owned, thinking of changing to a fourth. I seem to do so every eight years.