Monday, January 5, 2009

New Year, New Car, New Blogger

The other poster on this blog who has been astonishingly unheard from to date sent me the following text this morning:

"So of course i try to start my car this morning to move it out of a 2 hour zone and it doesn't start. And i have apparently maxed out on AAA for this term. Didnt even know you could do that. Go f*** yourself 2009."

I can recognize bad luck from miles away but I met the Devil Car at a much closer range and I tell you that car is some bad mojo.

Last year, her 1996 green Nissan Sentra took her for a ride when the brakes didn't work and she had a small accident that resulted in an estimated minimum $1500 in body damage with an estimated Blue Book value of about the same. Fearing further costs, she acted upon the advice of her family and did not have any work done, nor did she have them look under the hood. Instead, her family acting out of love, compassion, and a misguided sense of direction bought her a car. Her green Nissan Sentra was towed to Western NY. In return, she found herself the new owner of...







EL DIABLO!!

That's right folks. A 1996 white Nissan Sentra with about 80,000 less miles on it.

Thank you Maggie, I will take it from here. Hi everyone, I am the owner of the El Diablo, or "unlucky #2." Upon purchasing El Diablo for only $2200, I thought it was a bargain since a family mechanic had been working on it so I wouldn't have to be swindled by Philadelphia mechanics.

My father graciously drove the roughly 700 round trip journey in one day, and within only a few hours of his departure back to NY, the check engine light lit up. Which made the registration and inspections difficult to get that weekend. The next week I went to get my inspection done with a disclaimer of "I know the check engine light is on, please fix that and then inspect it." Upon its retrievel, I found a bill that seemed a little cheap, but why argue with that?!?! That evening, I was driving home from rugby practice (approximately 11 pm down Broad St.) and when I turned onto Fitzwater, I felt a bump. Of course I nicked the meridian and got a flat tire. I pulled over and proceeded to change the tire due to exhaustion and impatience of AAA. After 2 whistling bike-by offers to help, I realized the lug-nuts were rusted shut much, like they had been on the previous Nissan Sentra. So I ended up calling AAA anyways, which allowed me to finally find a parking spot by my apartment around 1230 AM. The next morning I walked to my car to find a parking ticket (I was only 2 feet past the "Do Not Park Past Here" sign), and I called my fellow-blogger to explain the chain of events. As I drove and talked, I hit a bump, inevitably causing the check engine light to re-light up.

The following is a summary of problems with El Diablo since acquisition on 10/10/08:

  • Check Engine light STILL on
  • Air Bag light does not stop flashing
  • Brake light out (and yes I tried replacing the bulb)
  • Right side view mirror repeatedly falls out
  • Cruise Control resets to 5 mph below what is manually set at
  • Possible battery/alternator issue
  • Left front headlight slowly falling out
  • Apparently, no more AAA visits without a COD payment
  • El Diablo has ruined my driving sanity and is clearly the bus to Hell...anyone need a ride?

P.S. I was told over Christmas that the original 1996 green Nissan Sentra has been repaired for less than the original estimate and is running as good as new. My sister has been given this car for free to drive around college. Merry F'ing Christmas while you're at it.

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