One interesting thing about blogging is that, as the years pass on, you have record of events. Thanks to my blog, I can tell you that I purchased my Toyota Tercel on November 18th, 2003.
So, to record yet another event, it’s time to record the passing of my 1992 Toyota Tercel.
It’s quite sad. After talking to my friend James and some other people, and describing the symptoms and events, I think I can assert that it “threw a rod”, to use the proper terminology. It only started knocking today, when I went out at noon to run some errands. This afternoon, I hit the freeway, got up to 65 miles per hour (the proper speed limit where I was at), and went to call James to discuss the knocking. While it rang, the knocking got louder and louder to the point that I was practically yelling as I left him a message. Suddenly, the car starts shaking, there’s an incredibly loud popping noise, at least two (and possibly more) chunks of debris hit the road, and I lost all power. I was cruising along at 65 with no engine in the middle of the freeway. I managed to work my way up an offramp (although not all the way, as the subtle hill was enough to conquer my momentum. I called a tow truck, and it brought me home.
Fortunately, my mom is being quite awesome, and is effectively going to loan me the money to buy another car anywhere up to $2500, and she’s even got a couple of people that she knows (through my stepdad) who are looking to sell a car, so I should hopefully have another car (most likely a 1995 Mercury Sable) by the end of the week. Who knows, maybe Lisa will like it more and the Sunfire will become my primary vehicle. I doubt it, but hey. Maybe it’ll have air conditioning and I won’t melt in the summer. Maybe the radio will actually have a visual display and I’ll be able to tell what station I’m on other than “just knowing”.
I try to be optimistic, and things generally work out. It just really stinks, and I’m feeling a bit frustrated and sad – but, on the other hand, I never really developed a huge attachment to this car. It worked well, and got me from A to B, but it always had this slight musk that I could never figure out, and if I ever put the fan on high, leaves blew out of it. I don’t care what season it is, I had the car for 14 months, and it’s blown leaves out every single time I max out the fan.
I had planned to post about the amazing decadence of the Chantico, but not today. Today I am just sad about the passing of my car, but looking forward to something newer.
Man, I feel your pain. Not only is it frustrating to not have a car, the feeling of impotence while you’re standing by the side of the road with your dead car is overwhelming. Sorry I wasn’t more available for talking last night.
Dude, very, very sorry to hear about your car’s passing. On the other hand, the departure of my Sentra to the hinterland was a wonderful, liberating experience. If you can swing a payment, I *highly* recommend a Honda. I absolutely adore mine.