Monday, July 2

The econo box

I purchased my 1997 Honda Civic Coupe from a girl in Malibu (via autotrader.com) a couple of years ago for significantly below the Blue Book value. I figured it was a good idea considering there were no signs of the gas prices letting up anytime soon. Aside from a couple of minor inconsistencies (some paint chipping and warped break rotors) i was pretty happy with my purchase. The price was better than fair, the motor felt solid and the interior came as advertised, immaculate! (Thanked God for girl drivers... non-smoker too, nice!) After replacing the the break pads, break rotors, and upgrading the tires, she was as good as new. Well, as new as a 119K-mile car could possibly get anyway...

I'm kind of convinced this car is going to last forever. And with that notion, i have been sort of neglectful with the car (well except for oil chances... that i never forget. In fact the Civic gets the full synthetic oil treatment). The driver side power-window motor is broken (doesn't roll all the way up without manual intervention), the cabin air-filter smells funny, tires need rotating, tranny could use new oil (perhaps i need to get the coolant drained too), the breaks feel wobbly (been 25K since the last break-pads) and most importantly, the clutch has been giving me a lot of trouble lately. While most of the above mentioned issues are not seriously damaging to the car, they could lead to rather expensive repairs if neglected completely... If there was one thing i disliked about the way the Civic drove when i first test-drove it, was the way the clutch felt on my foot. It seemed a little tightly wound (and i remember reading an article about the troublesome clutch/tranny, particularly in the 1997 Civic). Despite that, i still bought the car. Repair and maintenance cost is relatively cheap anyway. I guess i could argue that the transmission troubles is a small trade-off for a virtually indestructible daily-driver that is about as gas efficient as a four-door hybrid... Still, i dreaded that day.

This dreaded day came on a warm June morning, the 19th to be exact. She fired up just fine but putting in gear proved to be laborious. When i finally was able to (about five tries later), i stupidly drove myself to work instead of coming into a realization that the clutch was on the fritz. Shifting up through the gears took a little more effort than usual that morning so i had a feeling the clutch wasn't going to make it through the day. Why i still drove it to work is beyond me. Perhaps i have too much faith in the car (if there is such a thing...). I made it to work okay but when i was leaving for lunch (somehow i thought the problem would go away) the gears got stuck in reverse. I fiddled with the shifter for some time and when i was finally able to force it into 2nd gear (i figured i could make it home in 2nd, 1st gear would be too slow) i went straight home lol. I think i made my boss panic when i called him because i spoke in such a heightened state of panic myself "I gotta go home, NOW!".

I could have dropped the car off that same afternoon at the shop, but somehow i decided to make better use of my time and went shopping for Bike Parts instead (lol). Hey, at least i got my priorities straight right? Oh, tell me if this makes any logic at all. I actually knew exactly what was to be replaced and exactly how much it would cost me (Yes i know my car like the back of my hand). And even though i had the money in the bank to pay for the repairs at that time, i waited ten more days just so i could make the repairs on a payday (abnormal i know...). Obviously there is no inherent benefit to procrastination, i suppose i wanted to give the car a break and let it sit in the garage for several days. A kind of Automobile hiatus if you will...

So once again, she is as fresh as a daisy. Only now with over 143,000.00 miles on the counter... She has a new clutch, new breaks, new tranny oil, and new axle hubs for a grand total of $630 (price of a one month's lease for a big BMW!), and guaranteed for five years (at least the new Clutch). I've had her back now for just over three days and i can't even begin to tell you how much i had missed driving her to work and back, to my basketball games, and to where ever she is called upon. Sure my truck is bigger, nicer, and more comfortable (and not to mention, the automatic transmission), but if you ask me, i would trade all those creature comforts for the Civic's near 40 highway miles to the gallon. Especially because i drive almost 31 miles one way to work... Obviously she is no longer as young as she feels, but she ain't no slouch either. She does her job and she does it well. And that's about all you can ask for, from an old lady...

I'll tell you what, I really missed her most when i pulled into the Simi Valley Shell on Yosemite to fill-up my truck for the first time since my last snowboarding trip in March of this year. Accustomed to my Civic's small gas tank, i just about fainted when i realized i had just paid over $63 to fill up. The worst part? A full tank would last me but four short days to and from work. Yea, totally crappy!

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