So, backing out of the garage this morning, the shifter felt funny. Made it to the street, only to discover shifting no longer had any effect. Yep, freaking transmission went out. I managed to drop it down into first and get back into the driveway so at least I’m not a target. Now I’m waiting for the repair shop to open and see if they can get it in, and how much this is going to set me back. Waiting on AAA to come and fetch me. Not a pretty start to the day so I thought I’d do some more whining here.
Addendum: Now that I have a chance, I pulled a card to try to predict the outcome of this event. All things considered, I think this is extremely apropos. I got the Four of Pentacles:
Here’s a fellow who’s hanging on (tightly) to his money. I think this bodes well! I’ll let you all know how it turns out.
fillingspaces.wordpress.com 
Sorry to hear about the transmission. The good part is that at least it went out when you were at home instead of the highway or up in the hills (if you take short cuts).
Hoping your day get better and they have the Christmas spirit and not charge you too high.
LikeLike
True, if it had to happen, this was probably the best place for it. I won’t know until this afternoon if I need a whole new transmission or if it can be repaired. The shop I go to is just really awesome, they have been really fantastic over the years. I’ve been going to them since I bought the car used almost 10 years ago so they’re practically like family now. He seemed hopeful that it could be repaired, I’m crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts.
LikeLike
I’m crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts as well.
Maryj mention you have a Mercedes. Those suckers are build to last. Great body always look new and need engine wise very minimum work. All we drive are Mercedes so I am definitely sure what ever the problem is it can be fix depending it is not so major.
LikeLike
Yes, it’s a 190E, 1989 vintage. I’ve got better than 240,000 miles on it, and I’ve put some money into keeping it running, but I still think it’s cheaper than being under $500/mo car payments for years.
LikeLike
I can totally agree with
LikeLike
startingover makes a good point – at least it didn’t happen on the highwsay, on some cold morning. Of course it suchks that it happened at all, but I have high hopes that they can fix it – those old Mercedes’ are like tanks that just keep going.
LikeLike
Even worse, I drive the backroads – narrow, two-lane with ditches on either side. Things could have been ugly. I’ve been fairly lucky in that regard. When things have gone horribly wrong I generally have been in safe locations, or able to limp to one.
My mechanic, about whom I can not say enough good, said he’s seen this before where he was able to change the filter, flush the system, put more transmission fluid in and it was fine. I remain hopeful. I may pull a card for this, but I’m half-afraid to.
LikeLike
Go boldly forward with your trusty machine. having a good relationship with your mechanic is key — s/he won’t lie about the patient. cars you’ve worked on over time are like family, too. and i echo the thoughts of the others — a few feet from the driveway is where you want to be when this stuff happens.
LikeLike
Speaking of keeping the damage to a minimum, the replacement arrived today for my recliner chair that broke on Thanksgiving (nobody’s all that fat; Big Brother just shifted his weight a little and the cheap reclining mechanism cracked in half. The infuriating thing was that Kitty never took a shine to that chair, so the upholstery on it is still in pristine shape – if nobody’s sitting in it the damn thing looks brand new.) The new one is a nice neutral sagey/beigey color and we caught a good sale at Macy’s. Here’s hoping that DD’s automotive issues are resolved with as little trouble and expense.
LikeLike
Well, they’ve still got the car. I called them last night on my way home (with earbud in, handsfree talking) and he told me he had been able to get it in gear. They took the pan off (not entirely sure what that means, but …) and didn’t find any pieces floating around where they didn’t belong, although he said there did seem to be some metallic coloring in the transmission fluid. They’ll put it back together today and test drive it, see what happens. I’m hoping I’ve dodged the bullet yet again with this beast.
LikeLike
SQUEEE! The car is back, $177 for a transmission service and whatever else they did to get it feeling better. I think I’ll bring them some Christmas cookies. Very glad to get out of that rental. Had a Chrysler Sebring, lousy on gas. That thing sucked down in one day what the Mercedes uses in 2.
LikeLike
Awesome! You really dodged the bullet.
I hate rental cars, all of ’em. I sometimes think they do something to them to inhibit their get-up-&-go, so renters aren’t tempted to do anything crazy. Seriously, has anybody ever driven a renter that had any pickup at all?
LikeLike
Seriously. And that transmission was a little shaky, too, very rough whenever I hit the accelerator. I have to say I will never own another Chrysler product. I owned a Dodge Stratus right before the Mercedes, but it was totaled in a 5-car pile-up. I was three of five, so the front and back ends were destroyed. In fact the shop said the back was worse than the front because the car that hit me slid under me and crushed the exhaust system. $14,000 in damage and the airbag did NOT deploy. Needless to say I was not impressed. After that was when I bought the Mercedes.
LikeLike
177! This is great news and hardly nothing, you lucky chicky!
LikeLike
I know!! I was so happy! I kind of wonder if they gave me a break on the charges, that seemed excessively low.
LikeLike
all the more reason to bring those mechanics some “made with love” cookies! so glad to hear your jalopy is back to street legal status.
rental cars are a necessary evil….. made to have you appreciate your own car all the more. once we thought we’d ‘treat” ourselves on vacation and rent a mustang convertible — for a family of 4 — with luggage!!! made for a pretty funny trip where we basically looked like a bunch of clowns squeezing in/out of the thing. what were we thinking? i suppose the bright side was if the top was down nobody could hear anybody complaining….. or the radio …. or the sound of your own thoughts for that matter.
LikeLike
What you guys needed was a big ol’ hoopty Cadillac convertible with roomie leather bench seats. I’d cruise DisneyWorld in a ride like that!
LikeLike
Thanks, Rosie 🙂
Egads, I can only imagine what that little road trip was like for you! I’ll try to remember that if I ever decide to ‘treat’ myself with a convertible. Of course up here in Oregon you can only have the top down during three months out of the year, which keeps me from considering buying one as my mode of transportation. We once rented a minivan for a vacation trip, that worked well. Big cushy captains chairs for both driver and front passenger, lots of room for the kids and all our camping gear. Made me remember why we all love BIG cars so much here in the U.S. Our little Mazda323 was in the shop at the time, I forget why.
LikeLike
LOL…. i think there was another time where we ended up with a PT Cruiser with some flames painted on the side. the kids thought it was a hoot, but i had to wonder just where my spouse was renting from…. he is famous for finding these deals on long-term rentals, but we’ve taken some really long, strange trips from the airport to the car rental lot….. but the most notorious trip was when we drove down to FL from NJ and said spouse injured his shoulder while we we down there. although we drove our own car, it was a harrowing trip home. i drove the whole way home sure some cops would pull us over for kidnapping. The hubs was on serious painkillers, folded into the back seat for 4-hour stretches. Whenever he woke up he offered to drive (what a guy!) until the minute passed and he fell asleep again. He also kept insisting we stop at the Chik-Fil-A at exit 31….. in what state is still unclear. yes, good times… good times.
LikeLike
HAHAHAHA! That is novel-worthy material there, my friend 😀
LikeLike
The Chik-Fil-A at exit 31 is a brilliant detail – the kind that’s hard to make up. I finally started “Going After Cacciato” and I think Cacciato’s Paris is sort of a stand in for Mr. Rosie’s Exit 31 – sort of a nearly-real, vaguely possible future where strife is over, the rest rooms are clean, and all will be well.
LikeLike
ya know, family vacations are the ripest fodder for all sorts of stories…. each member has a totally different take on the events. i’m sure my kids would recount vastly different versions…. but one thing is certain, it is an indelible part of our family folklore that we laugh about with increasing gusto the more it moves into the past.
LikeLike
One of those trips that makes you swear you’ll never take a family vacation again 😉
LikeLike
It’s your family’s “Little Miss Sunshine” 😉
LikeLike
Glad everything worked out okay, DD!
LikeLike
Thanks, Tasha! Maybe it’s a Christmas miracle 😉
Reminds me I need to renew ‘Cacciato’ today. Three weeks, and I’ve barely gotten into it.
LikeLike
The first chapter was kinda rugged, but I am 100 pages in now and am really digging on it. O’Brien’s language is really special – not quite poetry, not quite prose, not quite magic realism – he articulates the stuff that drifts between the brain, the heart and the gut and usually goes unsaid. It was published in ’79, when we were youngsters like the character Paul Berlin, and I know I couldn’t have possibly understood what those guys were going through – no doubt you’d have done better, Didge, w/your experience in the military. Now I read thius stuff and it makes me ache, how terribly young they all were, with so little comprehension of the reasons for which they were being sacrificed, but still always hanging on to a young person’s belief in the possible. It reminds me of a question from Jeanette Winterson that I discuss w/my students: “Is that the gambler in [them] or just ordinary human optimism?”
LikeLike