For absolutely no reason whatsoever and apropos of nothing, I give you the color of the cars I've owned.
Grey/silver
Blue
Blue
Grey/silver
White
Gold
White
Grey/Silver
POLT
Showing posts with label Miss Cleo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miss Cleo. Show all posts
Friday, July 19, 2024
Monday, February 08, 2010
Just wanna see, baby, well that new car run...
So, today was the day to go buy the new car.
Over the weekend, I had decided on the 2008 Nissan Versa. It's got about 22000 miles on it, has a 7 yr/100,000 warranty on power train, and they were asking $10,888 for it. This morning, once I got up and ready, I met mom and we headed to Chambersburg, her following me, to trade in Miss Cleo.
Miss Cleo was a good car. She was 9 years old, I had had her for 7 years, and this was the first 'real' problem I ever had with here. Yeah, there was the battery issue in the fall of 2008, and the time the driver's seat broke and laid flat onto the back seat and I had to try to drive it home from work holding myself up by gripping the steerin wheel (NOT an easy prospect, I assure you). But other than that, no real issues with her.
And she made probably a half dozen, maybe more, trips to Toronto, countless trips to DC, a few trips to Baltimore, one or two to the Harrisburg area, once to Columbus Ohio and she was driven all OVER the four state area around here.
But, it was her time. I was worried about getting her out of the still snow covered alleyway, but like a trooper, she made it without problem. However, on the way to Chambersburg, as we went up hills, I noticed she was straining and not accelerating as much as she should. It's only about a 25 mile trip from my house to the dealership. I kept talking to her all the way there, telling what a good girl she's been, how I couldn't have ever asked for a better car, could she please keep running just until I pulled into the parking lot up there?
But we were on the outskirts of Chambersburg, the town clearly in view, when we stopped at an intersection with lights and...she shut down. She refused to start. I guess that was all she had. Five more miles and we'd have been at the dealership. She gave it her best shot, but just couldn't make it all the way, God rest her soul.
Luckily, it was on a hill going down, so I just drifted down it in neutral and turned the corner into the lesser used street and pulled over. Because of the snow, I couldn't actually get off the road, but at this intersection, the road had a turning lane as well as a regular lane going the other way, so that left plenty of room. Mom pulled in behind me and I called AAA. The lady took all my info and said because of a large demand, she couldn't give me an ETA. Mom had brought today's paper with her, so we settled in for long wait.
I didn't even get the front page read, less than 10 minutes passed, and the rollback pulled up! And before you knew it, we were in the parking lot of the dealership. The whole ride, including the breakdown, took less than an hour. Normally, it woulda taken us probably 35-40 minutes anyway, so that wasn't bad.
I laughed with the salesman, saying "I bet you never had anybody bring their trade-in in on a rollback, eh?" He told me in 7 years there's very little he hadn't seen. Ends up the gave me $100 on the tradein. And I didn't haggle with them cause, well it came in on a freakin' rollback! But even if I had driven it in, as soon as they started it up, they would have heard the noise I found the problem. I doubt I woulda gotten anymore than $200 for it that way anyway.
At any rate, after a lot of paperwork, I got the keys and drove off the lot at about noon-ish. So from leaving home in Miss Cleo, to leaving the lot with the new car took a total of 2.5 hours! Love it.
And this is the new car below:
It's official color is gold, although it was also tagged up there as beige, and my aunt, when she saw it, said it looked greensih-silver in certain light, which it kinda does. But since the official color is gold, that's what I'm going with.
I haven't named the new car yet. I've thought of a few names, but I'm not sure which one to choose. Miss Cleo was clearly feminine and regal, hence her name. But I feel like this car is more...masculine. Well, more masculine than Miss Cleo was, so I'm picking a guy name (sorta) for it.
I have a preference in mind, but what I thought I'd do is put up a poll here and see what the most popular choice is of the names I have in mind. Let me know what you prefer, maybe that'll be the name. Althought I reserve the right to totally ignore what you guys choose if I become really attached to one of them.
POLT Listening to "The Shock Of The Lightning" by Oasis
Am I the only one who feels lately - latelly being defined as since September 2001 - the nation seems overrun by yahoos? - Leonard Pitts, July 29, 2005
Over the weekend, I had decided on the 2008 Nissan Versa. It's got about 22000 miles on it, has a 7 yr/100,000 warranty on power train, and they were asking $10,888 for it. This morning, once I got up and ready, I met mom and we headed to Chambersburg, her following me, to trade in Miss Cleo.
Miss Cleo was a good car. She was 9 years old, I had had her for 7 years, and this was the first 'real' problem I ever had with here. Yeah, there was the battery issue in the fall of 2008, and the time the driver's seat broke and laid flat onto the back seat and I had to try to drive it home from work holding myself up by gripping the steerin wheel (NOT an easy prospect, I assure you). But other than that, no real issues with her.
And she made probably a half dozen, maybe more, trips to Toronto, countless trips to DC, a few trips to Baltimore, one or two to the Harrisburg area, once to Columbus Ohio and she was driven all OVER the four state area around here.
But, it was her time. I was worried about getting her out of the still snow covered alleyway, but like a trooper, she made it without problem. However, on the way to Chambersburg, as we went up hills, I noticed she was straining and not accelerating as much as she should. It's only about a 25 mile trip from my house to the dealership. I kept talking to her all the way there, telling what a good girl she's been, how I couldn't have ever asked for a better car, could she please keep running just until I pulled into the parking lot up there?
But we were on the outskirts of Chambersburg, the town clearly in view, when we stopped at an intersection with lights and...she shut down. She refused to start. I guess that was all she had. Five more miles and we'd have been at the dealership. She gave it her best shot, but just couldn't make it all the way, God rest her soul.
Luckily, it was on a hill going down, so I just drifted down it in neutral and turned the corner into the lesser used street and pulled over. Because of the snow, I couldn't actually get off the road, but at this intersection, the road had a turning lane as well as a regular lane going the other way, so that left plenty of room. Mom pulled in behind me and I called AAA. The lady took all my info and said because of a large demand, she couldn't give me an ETA. Mom had brought today's paper with her, so we settled in for long wait.
I didn't even get the front page read, less than 10 minutes passed, and the rollback pulled up! And before you knew it, we were in the parking lot of the dealership. The whole ride, including the breakdown, took less than an hour. Normally, it woulda taken us probably 35-40 minutes anyway, so that wasn't bad.
I laughed with the salesman, saying "I bet you never had anybody bring their trade-in in on a rollback, eh?" He told me in 7 years there's very little he hadn't seen. Ends up the gave me $100 on the tradein. And I didn't haggle with them cause, well it came in on a freakin' rollback! But even if I had driven it in, as soon as they started it up, they would have heard the noise I found the problem. I doubt I woulda gotten anymore than $200 for it that way anyway.
At any rate, after a lot of paperwork, I got the keys and drove off the lot at about noon-ish. So from leaving home in Miss Cleo, to leaving the lot with the new car took a total of 2.5 hours! Love it.
And this is the new car below:
It's official color is gold, although it was also tagged up there as beige, and my aunt, when she saw it, said it looked greensih-silver in certain light, which it kinda does. But since the official color is gold, that's what I'm going with.
I haven't named the new car yet. I've thought of a few names, but I'm not sure which one to choose. Miss Cleo was clearly feminine and regal, hence her name. But I feel like this car is more...masculine. Well, more masculine than Miss Cleo was, so I'm picking a guy name (sorta) for it.
I have a preference in mind, but what I thought I'd do is put up a poll here and see what the most popular choice is of the names I have in mind. Let me know what you prefer, maybe that'll be the name. Althought I reserve the right to totally ignore what you guys choose if I become really attached to one of them.
POLT Listening to "The Shock Of The Lightning" by Oasis
Am I the only one who feels lately - latelly being defined as since September 2001 - the nation seems overrun by yahoos? - Leonard Pitts, July 29, 2005
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Oh. My. GOD!
Okay, firstly, we're preparing to get the "Blizzard of 2010" this weekend. The Virginia governor declared a state of emergency LAST night. Nearly every school in the area has already closed for tomorrow even though the first flake isn't supposed to fall until noon. And we're suppose to get 15-20 inches.
None of this would really bother me if I didn't have to work Saturday. I mean, I can always take off work, but on Saturdays I'm the ONLY one who works in my department and if I don't do it Saturday, then nothing will get done until Monday and things might get backed up. I feel guilty about all that kinda stuff. Still, if I can't get in to work, then I can't get into work, ya know.
HOWEVER, on top of all that, I took Miss Cleo to get her oil changed and inspected. And I wanted the mechanic to check into this rattling noise going on under her hood. I took mom's car to work. While I was there, I got a call from the mechanic.
He said I needed a new motor. I blew a...bearing rod? Rod bearer? hell, I don't know what kinda rod, but apparently some of mine were bad. And we could get a new motor or rebuild one, but that would cost $2700!!! Well, Miss Cleo is 9 years old, I've had her for 7. I was hoping she could hold out 2 or 3 more years, but since she can't, I'm not gonna sink that much money into her when I could use that same money on a down payment on a new car.
But believe me, on the way home, I was NOT in a good mood at all. I was, in fact, preparing for a breakdown of drama queen diva proportions. I never actually did, cause mom calmed me down before i even started, and she drove me to a local dealership where I found two cars I was interested. They're only $400 apart, are both 2008 models and have about 23,000 miles on them. I prefer one over the other, but would be happy with both.
And they place we went to Fitzgerald, has this no haggle policy, whatever price is on the sticker is the lowest they can go, so they're no haggling needed or down. AND the saleman was very VERY non-pushy. He didn't try to sell me line or schpeal, he just asked me what I was looking for, got me the keys for the test drive, answered my questions and did small talk. It was quite a relief not to have to deal with high pressure salemen throwing you a pitch! I would highly recommend visiting them if you're from the area.
At any rate, if the weather is permitting Monday, we're going back up and purchase one of them. SO I'll have a new car next week sometime. In the meantime, though, I have to take mom's car again tomorrow. possibly have it on the road during the early stages of what is being called a "paralyzing" snow storm. Lovely.
So instead, I'm gonna attempt to get up and get to work about 4:00 am so that I can leave at noon and not have to take any time. I doubt that'll happen cause God knows I have enough trouble getting to work by 8:00 normally, but we'll see. Because of that, I'm gonna have to get to bed relatively early tonight, so I'm not gonna be watching, or posting about Project Runway. ALthough I'll talk to Dave S., maybe he'll wanna write something up and I can post that tomorrow. We'll see.
At ANY rate, once i get home tomorrow, I'm hunkered down and prepared for the storm. I hit the grocery store this afternoon before the mad rush and got the basics. I have my Internet and two Netflix movies. If power goes out, I have candles, flashlights and books to read, with plenty of blankets to wrap up in. I have a cube of Pepsi. And I've already told work, I am not even TRYING to come in on Saturday, but I might try Sunday if I can make it. We'll see.
So despite a pretty stressful day, tonight is really relaxing and calm. The proverbial calm before the storm.
POLT Listening to "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones
Okay, firstly, we're preparing to get the "Blizzard of 2010" this weekend. The Virginia governor declared a state of emergency LAST night. Nearly every school in the area has already closed for tomorrow even though the first flake isn't supposed to fall until noon. And we're suppose to get 15-20 inches.
None of this would really bother me if I didn't have to work Saturday. I mean, I can always take off work, but on Saturdays I'm the ONLY one who works in my department and if I don't do it Saturday, then nothing will get done until Monday and things might get backed up. I feel guilty about all that kinda stuff. Still, if I can't get in to work, then I can't get into work, ya know.
HOWEVER, on top of all that, I took Miss Cleo to get her oil changed and inspected. And I wanted the mechanic to check into this rattling noise going on under her hood. I took mom's car to work. While I was there, I got a call from the mechanic.
He said I needed a new motor. I blew a...bearing rod? Rod bearer? hell, I don't know what kinda rod, but apparently some of mine were bad. And we could get a new motor or rebuild one, but that would cost $2700!!! Well, Miss Cleo is 9 years old, I've had her for 7. I was hoping she could hold out 2 or 3 more years, but since she can't, I'm not gonna sink that much money into her when I could use that same money on a down payment on a new car.
But believe me, on the way home, I was NOT in a good mood at all. I was, in fact, preparing for a breakdown of drama queen diva proportions. I never actually did, cause mom calmed me down before i even started, and she drove me to a local dealership where I found two cars I was interested. They're only $400 apart, are both 2008 models and have about 23,000 miles on them. I prefer one over the other, but would be happy with both.
And they place we went to Fitzgerald, has this no haggle policy, whatever price is on the sticker is the lowest they can go, so they're no haggling needed or down. AND the saleman was very VERY non-pushy. He didn't try to sell me line or schpeal, he just asked me what I was looking for, got me the keys for the test drive, answered my questions and did small talk. It was quite a relief not to have to deal with high pressure salemen throwing you a pitch! I would highly recommend visiting them if you're from the area.
At any rate, if the weather is permitting Monday, we're going back up and purchase one of them. SO I'll have a new car next week sometime. In the meantime, though, I have to take mom's car again tomorrow. possibly have it on the road during the early stages of what is being called a "paralyzing" snow storm. Lovely.
So instead, I'm gonna attempt to get up and get to work about 4:00 am so that I can leave at noon and not have to take any time. I doubt that'll happen cause God knows I have enough trouble getting to work by 8:00 normally, but we'll see. Because of that, I'm gonna have to get to bed relatively early tonight, so I'm not gonna be watching, or posting about Project Runway. ALthough I'll talk to Dave S., maybe he'll wanna write something up and I can post that tomorrow. We'll see.
At ANY rate, once i get home tomorrow, I'm hunkered down and prepared for the storm. I hit the grocery store this afternoon before the mad rush and got the basics. I have my Internet and two Netflix movies. If power goes out, I have candles, flashlights and books to read, with plenty of blankets to wrap up in. I have a cube of Pepsi. And I've already told work, I am not even TRYING to come in on Saturday, but I might try Sunday if I can make it. We'll see.
So despite a pretty stressful day, tonight is really relaxing and calm. The proverbial calm before the storm.
POLT Listening to "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tires singin' between white lines...
Since we'll be taking Miss Cleo to Toronto, I wanted to ensure she was prepared for the journey.
This is Miss Cleo after an oil change, and with her spiffy new full set of shoes. Cost me damn near $400, better be like riding on air. But she's worth it. I've had her 5.5 years, she's 8 years old (I don't know how old that is in car years), and she's got over 117,000 miles on her. And she's had the same tires since I got her. I figure, after all that, she's worth a new set a shoes, ya know?
POLT Listening to "Run On" by Moby
"You are not a loser who's losing. You are a loser who's winning." "Like George Bush." - Significant Others
This is Miss Cleo after an oil change, and with her spiffy new full set of shoes. Cost me damn near $400, better be like riding on air. But she's worth it. I've had her 5.5 years, she's 8 years old (I don't know how old that is in car years), and she's got over 117,000 miles on her. And she's had the same tires since I got her. I figure, after all that, she's worth a new set a shoes, ya know?
POLT Listening to "Run On" by Moby
"You are not a loser who's losing. You are a loser who's winning." "Like George Bush." - Significant Others
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Applyin' the same logic to the gearshift...
Okay, so if you've been reading along, you know that yesterday I had to fork out $394 for a new starter. I picked the car up, drove it to mom's where I left it overnight. This morning I drove it to work. After work, I stopped to get my comic books. Then I drove to the insurance company and paid $349 for my car insurance. Then i drove to a Chinese restuarant to get my supper.
I get back into the car, turn the key....Aaaaaaand nothing! NOTHING! Won't start AGAIN. Oh, I'm fuming. $400 for what? NOTHING!!!
I grab my phone and call the mechanic. He answers and asks how I am. And I tell him: Not happy. And I explains going on. His reponse?
"You're kiddin?"
Oh, yeah right, like I got nothing else to do with my afternoon but call my mechanic and joke with him about something going wrong with my car that I just paid $400 the previous day to fix! SUUUUUUURE!!!
So he asks if it's clicking or anything, and it isn't. Then he says, "Put your foot on the brake, put it in neutral and then try to start it." I do, I do, and I do...and it starts right away. Apparently, it needs a 'gearshift adjustment' or some such shit. I ask if I need to bring the car in tonight, and he says no, not now that I know what to do. And when I bring it in next time, like to change the oil or what have you, he'll do the adjustment then. he seemed like it was not big deal.
I hope it's not, but tomorrow, I'm gonna ask the mechanic at work what he thinks about this. See if a 'gearshirt adjustment' is just a simple thing, or something like changing the transmission. *SIGH*...Miss Cleo....she's a good girl and a real classy broad...but damn, she's getting old.
POLT Listening to "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
"Coach Norv Turner is looking for some defense." "Coach Norv Turner is looking for some Maalox." - Dan Deardorf, AFC Divisional Playoffs, Jan 2008
I get back into the car, turn the key....Aaaaaaand nothing! NOTHING! Won't start AGAIN. Oh, I'm fuming. $400 for what? NOTHING!!!
I grab my phone and call the mechanic. He answers and asks how I am. And I tell him: Not happy. And I explains going on. His reponse?
"You're kiddin?"
Oh, yeah right, like I got nothing else to do with my afternoon but call my mechanic and joke with him about something going wrong with my car that I just paid $400 the previous day to fix! SUUUUUUURE!!!
So he asks if it's clicking or anything, and it isn't. Then he says, "Put your foot on the brake, put it in neutral and then try to start it." I do, I do, and I do...and it starts right away. Apparently, it needs a 'gearshift adjustment' or some such shit. I ask if I need to bring the car in tonight, and he says no, not now that I know what to do. And when I bring it in next time, like to change the oil or what have you, he'll do the adjustment then. he seemed like it was not big deal.
I hope it's not, but tomorrow, I'm gonna ask the mechanic at work what he thinks about this. See if a 'gearshirt adjustment' is just a simple thing, or something like changing the transmission. *SIGH*...Miss Cleo....she's a good girl and a real classy broad...but damn, she's getting old.
POLT Listening to "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
"Coach Norv Turner is looking for some defense." "Coach Norv Turner is looking for some Maalox." - Dan Deardorf, AFC Divisional Playoffs, Jan 2008
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