For those that don’t know, Betty is my ‘new’ car. My old car, Lola, was an ‘87 Oldsmobile Delta that I loved with all my little heart. However, as my Grandma was getting a new car, we decided that I would take her old car, since it is newer and “more reliable” than Lola. I gave Lola to my cousin who needed a car.
Enter Betty. Betty is a ‘93 Ford Tempo GL. In the words of Scott, which I have come to find are very true: “Let me tell you a story about Fords. It’s a short one, so listen well… ‘Fords SUCK.’”
Have a summery:
Dec 2005: $500 – transmission service, engine service, tuneup.
Jan 2006 : Car starts stalling WHILE I AM DRIVING. Apparently only does it to me. Mechanic thinks I am crazy until it finally happens to him. I had to have my coworkers push me half a block to the parking lot cause I was blocking traffic. $400 and a week later.. well, nobody has any idea whats wrong with the car. They’ve replaced 10000000 pieces and even took it to the dealer. At least I’m only stalling every few days instead of multiple times a day.
Apr 2006: Rough starting, bad transmission feeling. Meh. Tightened a wire to the starter that was loose and making the car not start on occasion. $50. Car still stalls on occasion, won’t restart for a minute or so. Breaking down on the freeway sucks and merging into traffic going 60 from 0 is scary.
Jul 2006: $422 – 4 brake pads, 2 rotors. Broken motor mount (that was fun, my engine sounded like it fell out of my car when it broke!)
Sunday night: CAR DOES NOT START WHATSOEVER. Hilary jumpstarts me. I drive home.
Monday morning: Car will not start. YAY.
So, with a running count of roughly $1372 in the past 9 months and new problems popping up all the time, I think it’s safe to say I’m probably better off just buying a new car.
