Just Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

How disappointing. My husband's car is only 3 years old, with a massive 38,000 miles. And not only did the strut mount fail, but the car is already rusting rather dreadfully on the underside.

Now, there are a couple competing factors, but the outcome is still shock (horror) and disappointment.

1. This is Michigan. One of the Rust Belt states. And Michigan has a delightful obsession with thinking that winter time means that roads should be free from snow. So, there is continally enough salt on Michigan roads to turn black ashphalt white. This salt eats cars. It is the cancer of Michigan cars that can be held at bay for only a little while before it creeps in, slowly destroying a car from the botttom (where you can't see it!) up. My own car has terminal cancer. It has months to live, if that.

2. My husband follows directions well. If you wash your car frequently in Michigan winters, it will delay the inevitable rust. So, if it's 33 degrees, my husband is washing the car. (Me, not so much... hence the death sentence on my own car ;-)

3. My husband's car is the third Cavalier we've owned. The 90 Cavalier didn't rust too bad for some 7-8 years. And was still in good shape, rust wise, when my mechanic got tired of working on it. And the repairs were worth more than the rest of the car was worth. The 94 Cavalier didn't rust too bad until I started driving it about 3 years ago. Heh. Yeah. No lesson learned. It's like they forgot to undercoat it or something.

My cars are supposed to go 200k miles or 10 years, at least. That's the minimum. At the current Rust Rate on Hubby's car, we won't get that. It looks like my rust bucket did a few years ago.

Seems like each car we got has succumbed to rust sooner than the predessor.

It would help if people could just drive in the snow. Then there wouldn't need to be so much stalt. It's not hard if you just slow down and pay attention...oh... never mind.

Stopping

So, yesterday, I alluded to my adventure in driving. I drive an old car. A nice old 1994 Cavalier with some 155k miles on it. It's a good little car. Mostly.

Except when it doesn't stop. That's the one failure on an old car that is complete unacceptable. I've always and only ever owned old cars. If it's not years, it's miles. Of the four cars I've owned, this is the second one that had the brakes fail.

The first, my old blue Tortoise, popped a brake line in a parking lot late one night. Fine, fine.

My little green car decided to pull the same stunt on GRAND RIVER (aka the busiest damn road in the county after the e-ways) at lunch time. Luckily, I had just pulled onto Grand River and luckily I wasn't going fast since the next line was clearly red. I hit the brakes only to find that they, um, weren't stopping me. I hit them harder-- and felt the line pop. Thank goodness for modern cars! I still have enough brake fluid and pressure to stop before I nosed into the car in front of me.

In fact, I had enough braking that I was able to crawl (limp) my car across town to the reputable car repair shop I use when my Zans for Cans (aka Mechanic Brother) is unavailable for immediate repairs. Like brakes failing in the middle of the day...

The thing that always bothers me with brake line failures is the lack of warning. There's a reason that my Hubby has the new shiny not-worn out car and I have 'old and busted'. He grew up with sisters, I grew up with brothers: I know the difference between a slightly busted, mostly busted, and completey broken car just by sound and feel. (No, I don't fix it myself. I'm an indoor kitten.=)

Of course, the type of car a person (real or fictional) drives says something about them. So does their reaction to any driving problems. I'm not a panicky person-- though I was eyeballing the ol' curb and wondering if I should try hopping it rather than nail the SUV in front of me. (Always an SUV... my little car would be extra-mangled sliding under one of them!)

Though having the brakes fail on Grand River is at least something I may be able to put into a story. Maybe make a mystery of whether it was malicious or not? Maybe make it more exciting? Yes-- as I was sitting in the repair shop waiting for some sort of chariot to bear me home, I strated thinking of scenes and stories. Nothing solid, but it is a nice way to pass the time. That and listening to the stories people tell when they come in with *their* cars.

What's your favorite tale of car mishaps?