so, as i expected, the rear brakes on the subaru were totally hosed. the right rear caliper had done a good job disintegrating itself, but did a good job gouging out the rotor before it died. the left caliper was non functional, but the system was not as damaged, but i decided to completely replace both of them. i am replacing the battery for good measure as well. unfortunately, they could not find cheaper aftermarket parts available (in the area that is), so there are just getting oem parts (i assume from the dealership), so it is more expensive than it had to be… i would’ve just taken it to the dealership if i was going to pay the premium for parts. grrr. but then the dealership probably could not see it until next monday.
in retrospect, i should have went ahead and taken the car in a couple of months ago when the check engine light went off (but i assumed it was nothing, since it went out again after a couple of days). the check engine light had come on again last weekend (but went out again)… probably it meant “YOUR BRAKES ARE GONE YOU IDIOT”.
i am not taking very good care of our autos these days, at least compared to what i have done in the past. it is probably a result of the fact that we drive one hell of a lot now, and have to pay a premium to keep our cars running at all times with no downtime. in the past, if something was up with the car, i could just bicycle to work for weeks while waiting for cheap parts, the right mechanic or shop, or whatever. nowadays, our cars just have to be running, since i have got to make it back to buffalo (esp. now since i don’t have a whole lot in ithaca), amanda has to get to class or hospital or whatever. life is much more complicated with much less time to do things; the way we take care of our cars is yet another thing that is vastly more complicated because we live in two different places. so what can you do.
i was thinking again whether or not it was worth it to buy the subaru, rather than say a new car. the subaru was not an perfect choice (again we needed another car fast at the time), but we did not have to leasure time to look around to cars for weeks/months on end like when i brought the corolla wagon. it was the best choice at the time tho. i still think, however, that it was worth it, because when one considers the mileage i put on it since we got it (almost 40k in a year and a half), the money we put into it isn’t all that much on a per mile basis; most of the stuff has been wear and tear expense.
ok, enough venting. perhaps i am just a tightwad.