Car got hit while parked at work

Sometimes people surprise me. I came to work today just like any other. Parked my car and went into the office. I had to run to the company storage unit for some things and found a note under my wiper blade. Someone hit my car.

There was no major damage just a scrape on the rear bumper. I called the person that left the note and we agreed to work something out without involving insurance. Works for me since it is less paperwork and hassle for both of us. I like easy!

Now I have to get an estimate and actually collect. We'll see if she pulls through on her promise!

More car trouble!

My car strikes again. This week I went to go to work. Battery is dead. Great...

In the end I had to buy a new battery. I bought jumper cables first just in case but it was dead. I took it to Auto Zone where they test batteries for free. Once I got the bad news I bought a new battery and changed it myself in the parking lot. In the end I was 1.5 hours late for work.

I had to fork over around $150 to get my car running again. I guess I am happy that it was only the battery and not something more serious. Just seems like I have poured a lot of money into it recently. I am learning the costs of owning and older vehicle versus when it was now is a lot more!

Thankfully I have an repair fund for my car to cover smaller items like this one. It is never fun to deal with car problems but when you have a plan and savings in place it is a bit easier.

New Goal: Reach 300,000 miles in my Honda

I realized the other day that since my car has been paid off a few years now! This is a good thing but I basically have no savings toward a replacement car aside from a small $500 repairs fund. The average person keeps a car for about 10 years. With my recent car troubles I am analyzing my options. They are:

• Start a replacement car fund
• Beef up repairs fund for older car
• Ignore the problem and hope for the best

Obviously that last option really isn't one. It is more or less what I have been doing until a few days ago.I looked at the numbers and my budget is already pretty tight with higher priority goals so I am going for the second option. I will increase my emergency fund by 1 thousand and keep my old car as long as possible. I hope to get 300,000 miles from it. I have 98,000 as of today.

This is the most economical option for me at the moment. I would like a newer car sometime down the road but I certainly don't need it. With my work commute down to 1 mile per day plus trains I will be using it a lot less. I am saving money on both ends via less driving and not spending money on a newer car. Just another example of spending on what is truly important to you and skimping on the rest.

Car Problems Part 4: Resolution?

After two days of working on my car my Dad and I got my head gasket replaced. He did the majority of the work and it was quite a process. I bought him a nice dinner last night as a token of gratitude. He has been non-stop since he got here working on it.

Turns out the head gasket was blown. We did a lot of maintenance and tune up items to the car while we had it apart. I now have a new timing belt, new water pump, new thermostat, new serpentine belts, and several new hoses installed. These items needed to be replaced soon anyway so we did it all at once.

The car seems to be running OK now for the most part. It had some hesitations and issues when we first got it back together but I think it is better now. It was running funny but I think it needed to get the junk out of the system and now runs normally. I will be monitoring it for a couple weeks to be sure everything stays normal.

I hope this has resolved it. It has been a stressful situation for the past few weeks. It has also been quite expensive. I am glad my emergency fund was there to cover it because it would sure suck to have all this riding on my credit card!

Car Problems Part 3: Blown Head Gasket

I was running an errand today and my car started to overheat again. I was on a major freeway when it happened. This is obviously not the ideal place for this to happen. Luckily my Dad is a mechanic and he was able to talk me through limping my car back home.

We determined that I officially have a blown head gasket as the Honda dealer suspected. I was able to get my car back to my house without overheating again and without a tow truck. That easily saved me $150 or so at Atlanta towing prices.

Unfortunately this was in the middle of a busy work day. I ended up getting a rental car from the local Enterprise for $185 + fees for a week. This can get expensive real fast. My dad is coming up this weekend and he and I will begin the long job of replacing the head gasket. We will also do some other maintenance that is due soon since we will be working near those parts anyway.

I really hope this resolves the issue. I need this car to last me for at least another 100,000 miles so I can accumulate replacement car money for a few years. My job's office relocation will help a lot reducing my commute to 1 mile per day instead of around 30. My expenses will also drop!

Car Troubles Part 2: back on track!

I went to the Honda dealer this morning and I must say it was definitely worth the 45 minutes in traffic and 2 hour wait. I finally got a firm answer on my car. A hose was loose and leaking lots of coolant. They tightened the strap and now that has stopped.

A little bit of possible bad news is that I may have a blown head gasket. They showed me a test where air was getting into the system. This worries me but they said drive it a bit and see if it leaks out anymore. It could be a very minor hole and not an issue. So I will do that and see what happens.

I checked my coolant before leaving the office today and it looked full still. So far, so good. I will continue monitoring it daily for a week or so and go from there. If the gasket is an issue my dad said he will come up and fix it for me (he is a mechanic, 40 years in the biz). This saves me hundreds!

It is nice to have this finally figured out. Being on the side of the road putting in coolant every few days is not what I consider fun. 90% out of this mess!

More car troubles: When it pays to pay...

So today my car started overheating again. It just so happened to be when I was out running an errand and so I stopped at a gas station to buy some coolant. I buy it and then my hood won't open. This is going bad quick.

I whip out my iPhone and found a gas station with an auto garage attached about a mile away. I proceed to drive there with heat on full blast and stopping 5 times during that 1 mile journey to the auto shop. I was at my wits end by the time I got there.

Luckily the people working in the place were excellent. The started on it right away (even though they looked quite busy) and got my hood open. I added some coolant and asked them how much? They said don't worry about it! I gave them $10 cash that I had on my. I am going back over there this week to buy them all lunch. They really saved me!

Now I have an appointment with the Honda dealer to get the hood fixed. It is tied down loosely for now I can at least drive it again. I am going to have Honda run a test for leaks and see what the damage is. Fortunately the work I need done is only $115. It could be much worse!

Turns out the hood problem was the direct result of the cheap "mechanic" I used on Saturday to replace the radiator. Lesson learned. In situations such as car and home repair I have learned it is better for pay more and have it done right the first time. Ouch.

Tips for increasing gas mileage

Since I am on vacation 6 hours away from my home in Atlanta I did some digging to see what I could do to make my drive smoother, safer, and cheaper. These steps are simple and easy for anyone to do! A little maintenance goes a long way with cars.

Steps to take to increase life and efficiency of your car:

• Change Oil on Schedule: A well oiled machine works best. This also means the oil should be changed according to your car's manual specifications. In general it is 3,000 miles for regular oil and 5,000 for synthetic.
• Keep Tires Properly Inflated: low pressure in your tires means the engine has to work harder to move the car. Keeping them properly inflated increases gas mileage. It also makes it safer to drive!
• Run Air Conditioner Less: You can save gas by manually turning the air on and off as you need it. Leaving it on all the time burns more power and gas.
• Change Brakes When Squeaky: Change the brake pads when they start to squeak. The squeak is an indicator built into the pads to let you know they are low and need changing. Waiting too long leads to much more costly repairs on your brake system
• Tune Up on Schedule: Having tune ups done as recommended by your car's manual prevents a lot of expensive repair by changing fluids, belts, and other inexpensive parts before they wear completely out. 
• Accelerate Lightly: Flooring the pedal after each red light burns more gas. It is also rougher on the engine and transmission. Lastly, it is also unsafe to "gun it" all the time.

Performing the above regular maintenance on your car not only saves money but keeps you and your family safe. You also head off a lot of expensive repairs down the road by preventing the problems to begin with! You invest a lot of money into your car and you should take care of it to get the most return from that investment!

Staying on top of auto emissions and upkeep

Emissions testing is done every year in most areas subject to it. Here in Georgia they only require it for metro Atlanta counties. My car is still in co-ownership name with my dad so I get to use his county (a more rural one) and do not have to test each year. It is a 2003 model so I am pretty sure there is no issue environmentally. The test here is $20 so I like saving that money each year.

One thing I have found out, at least in Georgia and probably all other states, is that if you have a check engine light on in your car you automatically fail the test. The machines used in testing look for this. The problem could be simple (such as a gas cap) or more complex (such as an oxygen sensor or catalytic converter). The only way to find out is to get the code from a scanner.

You are in luck because you can go to Auto Zone (and probably the other auto parts stores too) and they will pull the code and tell you what it is for FREE. It is normally a "P" code such as "P0407". If they cannot tell you what the code means you can google search for the code and you will find your answer. You can then talk to your mechanic or multiple shops if you do not have one to see how much the repair cost is.

Your should always get the code checked if the light comes on as soon as possible. Most of the time it is some sort of sensor that needs to be replaced but sometimes it can be more serious. The general rule is the longer you wait the more expensive the problem will be to fix. If you have your tag expiration coming up you are better of solving it now so you don't have to pay a late fee for the new tag because of repair delays or worse a traffic ticket.

If the code is not emission related it is always best to get it repaired. A lot of problems can reduce the power your engine produces or waste fuel. This ends up costing you more in the long run and reduces the value of the car if you wish to sell it. A check engine light is a red flag to any potential buyer.

Keep up with the maintenance of your car and all should go smoothly for you overall. Oil changes, tires, belts, and fluids should all be done regularly. Don't let your brakes get too worn out or it costs a LOT more to replace. If they make the "squeaky" noise then get them changed. Being smart with your car(s) is being smart with your money.