I Now Know This Much About Cars

I spent pretty much the entire day today playing with the car. No, not the new one. The other one.

Our car needs a few things done in order to be in tip-top shape and now that we have alternate transportation, it seemed like a great time to schedule all that work. I spent the much better part of the day running around to different car places getting things done to the car, and making appointments for things I couldn’t get done today.

For example, I spent two hours at the tire store waiting for my two front tires to be replaced. And I also spent about 30 minutes in a car parts store trying to educate myself on the different kinds of windshield wipers and deciding which one would better fit my needs, only to decide on two passenger side wipers, which the clerk had to correct.

Then I spent a long while at the Super Cheap Stuff store buying a car vacuum, because I like the idea of being able to clean up a cracker mess right after it happens, not several months later. (Let’s just say I was 7 weeks pregnant, and my horrible morning sickness hadn’t started yet. I was just nauseous.)

After that I spent a looooong time cleaning the car, vacuuming, wiping the interior and trying to figure out if all those things my husband puts in the trunk really do need to live there. The only thing I was able to move into the house was my pirate hat from Halloween, which for some reason had taken primary residence in the car. I used my new $10 car vacuum and I must say I’m very happy with it. It’s not super-powerful, of course, but it does the job well. And it comes with attachments and a carrying case!! I finished by spritzing it with vanilla-scented car spray, of course.

Finally I decided I would replace the windshield wipers, because I saw they came with instructions. Of course, they had no instructions on how to remove the old ones, and I could not figure it out for the life of me. I tried to reverse the process shown on the new ones, but it didn’t work. In about five minutes I will look up instructions online. I’m hoping I won’t have to play the damsel in distress card and ask my father in law to do it, but that’s also an option.

I made an appointment for an air filter and PCV valve replacement as well as a power steering flush, and I am having my alignment looked at. I think with how crazy busy David is, I’m now in charge of car maintenance. That will be nice, because I will get to learn about stuff I know nothing about, and because I’m more organized than he is.

Next oil change: 2/28/08
Next tire rotation: 6,000 miles