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The Holiday Trip From Hell Part 2
The last 48 hours have been some of the most like a TV drama in my life. For the most of last week I spend visiting my family in Eastern Washington and my following of this site were limited in that time. My step dad's net router was down and I was with out the ability to get on the net for any good period of time.. But on with the story.
Last year I purchased a used 1991 Ford Tarsus from my grandmother for 3,000. I had a twenty two year old Honda Civic and I thought it was a good deal plus my now 89 year old grandmother is in good heath but she is at the age that she should not be driving. The car was sitting still for about 8 years and with some new tires and timing belt it was a good car.
Two months ago I had my oil and fluids checked at a good station and everything was good. Then when I noticed that when I drove over to Eastern Washington it was riding a little hot but it was no cause for immediate alarm. And I did not have any problems driving around town in Richland. When I drove back to Seattle I passed Ellensburg and started up the Cascade Mountains. I saw that the "Check Engine Light" came on and my temperature was in the red. I immediately changed lanes and was pulling over when there was a big pop under the hood and smoke started pouring out. I was able to park the by the side of the road and check it out. There was no fire but the oil spewed out from the dipstick and the engine was burning up.
I waited for the car to cool off and was able to get it started again and drove to a restaurant of the highway. There I consulted with my dad and mechanically gifted brother as to try to ascertain the situation and course of action. It was dark and I could not see into the radiator but there was very murky fluid in the radiator fluid reservoir. We assumed that I had a major problem with the radiator pump and it might be possible for me to make it back to Seattle. I tried to get back on the freeway and drive slowly but I lost compression and power and had to take a side exit as soon as possible. I would wait by the side of the road for my engine to cool off in the dark and snow and then after a half and hour tried to coax the car to start. I could not make it very far with out having to stop and wait.
I finally made it to a all night gas station in Cle Elum and was instructed about a good auto shop and cheap motel on the same block. Thank God I was actually able to get my car to the motel parking lot before it finally died on me.
After some calls I was finally able to reach my girlfriend Kymberly on the phone and explain my situation to her. She was willing to drive right then and there to come rescue me but since it was a several hour journey I insisted that she waited until daylight.
My car was freaking dead and I could no longer get it to turn over or crank once it seized up. There was a mechanic at the local gas station who helped me diagnose the damage to my car. It ends up there was a leak in the radiator and it quickly drained of fluid. This might of happened by a hose coming loose or braking. Then it quickly overheated and blew a piston and screwing up the engine beyond repair. I spent the next morning consulting with other mechanics but I was looking at at least $4,000 in parts and labor regardless of towing. I did not have anything like AAA and I was up Shit Creek with out a car.
Cle Elum is a very small town in the middle of the mountains of Washington State. It is very isolated and is with out a major industry. They actually filmed the TV show Northern Exposure here and it is right by Roslyn Washington where they filmed most of Twin Peaks.
The hotel that I stayed in was cheap but dreadful, cold and lacking of any warmth and convince but it was shelter and I was grateful to be there.
I ended with the conclusion that it would be best to just get rid of my now dead Ford and buy a newer used car. I ended up selling my car to a junkyard for a hundred dollars and it was a truly painful experience. I did however had my registration with me but I know that that is a big no no but it served me well in this strange situation. I will never again keep the registration in the car.
My absolutely wonderful girlfriend Kymberly took a day off work to drive a third across the state and over a mountain range while snowing in her fantastic blue classic Volkswagen Bug. This was the first time she has really driven in the snow and has not really been to the town of Cle Elum. I loaded all my stuff in her car and bit farewell to my now dead Ford Taurus with only a hundred bucks in my pocket to show for it.
My stress and comfort levels were in the red for most of this two days but the help of Kymberly really helped me keep my feet on the ground and I could have never gotten through it with out her selflessness and kindness.
The Ivar's Chowder and Starbucks Coffee that I had were among the most delicious I have ever consumed. It felt so damn good to finally get back to my apartment. But I wanted to go car shopping so Kymberly and I headed over to the car dealerships on Auto Way to view their wares.
Now for a while I have been saving a good chunk of my paycheck so that if I ever get laid off again I can go back to school with out too much financial duress. I had to take a good chunk of it out of savings to get another car. There are no buses that go to where I work and it is too far to bike it or long term car pool. I can't really have the job that I have and live where I live with out some form of automotive.
Kymberly is in a way a professional negotiator and know just what to ask. She is schooled in psychology and has me in awe with her uncanny ability to work with people and get out the truth.
We looked at the used cars at the Honda dealer, the Volkswagen dealer and we ended up test driving a used slightly banged up Honda Civic but I sort of fell in love with this dark green 1997 Plymouth Neon after a test drive, some hard questions and a through inspection I concluded that this was the new car for me. I liked the fact that it had a normal door and windows and seemed like a very simple design. It reminded me of my old Honda Civic.
I took another risk after weighing my options and I cut a check for the Neon and after signing the paperwork I drove it home. My mom was not happy at first at my choice given her love of Consumer Reports but I have read some good reviews of the car online. I know that it is not perfect and I might have to have some work done on it later on but that is about the same as any car. I am very impressed with the milage it gets and it handles well in the cold and fog of Western Washington. I transferred over my car insurance and made some spares keys.
My savings account needs some serious time to recover and I will be saving more next year to compensate for the additional costs. Despite my liberal leanings I am a fiscally conservative in the 1970 definition. The important thing is that I did not get into a car accident and everyone is ok. I think that the entire ordeal was a stressful growing experience and when faced with some hard choices I think that I made the right ones and I will have no qualms living with them.
So I now have the first car that I got 100% on my own and it is the newest car that I have owned. It was built in Bill Clinton's 2nd term for Pete's sake. It gets great millage, is peppy and can turn on a dime the only issue is that it has a CD player and so I can't hook up my Minidisc.
Such is life.
Jake at December 3, 2003 
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Comments
You purchased another American car? I hope this one works out better for you. A friend of mine at work has a 97 Neon and aside from the damage she does to the car it run pretty well. It's still American though...(shudder).
-Dave
Posted by: Dave at December 3, 2003 5:54 AM
Glad things worked out in the end. The Neon was my favorite car - I never ever had any problems with mine. :o)
Posted by: Judy at December 3, 2003 6:07 AM
Bummmer man. You mean title not registration right? As in "Boy, let me see your license and registration"
Posted by: Anthony at December 3, 2003 9:36 AM
Right.
Posted by: Jake at December 3, 2003 9:43 AM
Wow. Nearly the same thing happened to me about a month ago. Except it was a Chevy Cavalier and I was halfway to Everett. I bought a 2001 Toyota.
Posted by: Dunsany at December 3, 2003 10:12 AM
Aw, man. You shoulda invested in a Holden and joined the millions of Australians who spend 1 weekend a year arguing over what brand is better...
Posted by: Matt at December 3, 2003 10:30 AM
Jake
I'm glad it worked out for you.
I was right about the Ford part. sorry!
Good Luck with the Neon.
Posted by: Scott at December 3, 2003 10:37 AM
Aw, that sucks...wish I would have known you were in distress, we probably drove right by you, either stopped on the side of the road or as we flew by Cle Elum.
Posted by: Beth at December 3, 2003 10:52 AM
Bummer. Good luck with the Neon. Should have gotten a Toyota, though. I get a bajillion miles to the gallon on my Corolla.
Posted by: Jay at December 3, 2003 11:15 AM
Or MIGHTY WHEELS - http://www.kiwiblog.com/archives/scooter.php
Posted by: Matt at December 3, 2003 11:30 AM
Geez, Jake. I'm glad to hear you made it through that whole ordeal without any serious harm to you or anyone else. I couldn't imagine being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a car that is on its last leg!
It sounds like you have a very wonderful woman in your life, and she is incredible for helping you so much through everything. Hold onto that one. ;) As for the Minidisc player, many factory radios have an alternate input jack on the back of the head unit. It may be worth looking into. It would be fairly trivial to run a wire from that jack. Otherwise, you can find JVC or Aiwa aftermarket head units for between $100 and $200 that include an input jack on the front of the unit. I have an iPod, so I'm planning on getting a JVC one as soon as possible.
Posted by: Jeff at December 3, 2003 11:33 AM
I have never owned a scooter or a bike but given the hard core rain we get here in Western Washington I wanted to get a actual car. Pitty the Smart Cars are not over here yet. I might just make some mix CDs of my favorite MP3s to hold me over until I figure out how to hook up my Minidisc but that is not a priority.
I am now quite happy with my new car and it is growing on me.
Posted by: Jake at December 3, 2003 12:02 PM
have been on the phone w/Amir from the dealer trying to get your inspection sheet. Hopefully it will be coming thru any minute. Also want to change plans tonight if possible. Want to go to dinner @ 6:15 and then go back to your house and watch the last disc of the Twin Towers. I can just lay there on the couch and you can do your Blog, video review stuff. Feeling sick and just want to relax and watch the rest of the Lord of the rings. Hope this works out for you. E-mail me back at work if you can. Otherwise I will just met you at the Thai restaurant @ 6:15.
Posted by: kymberly at December 3, 2003 1:12 PM
There's nothing wrong with Neons. There was actually a lot of good stock Neon racing around the time of the initial release, although it's died down considerably over the years to club race status. (due to lack of televised coverage)
Posted by: InsaneDavid at December 3, 2003 2:14 PM
A Neon! I have a Neon and I like it well enough. Fun to drive. A little loud inside, though. How many miles on it? Because if you are less than 50,000 or so you will want to save some money for the inevitable blown head gasket. They eventually redesigned the flawed gasket, during the 1999 auto year. Unfortunately my 1999 Neon was made during the first part of the year, so it had the bad gasket, and it blew at around 40,000 miles. But Chrysler fixed it for free, so I really have no complaints.
Posted by: litlnemo at December 3, 2003 3:59 PM
It has 84,000 on it. I have no idea if the head gasket has been replaced or not. It looks like if you have to pay for it out of your pocket it is about five hundred bucks. That is not that bad.
Posted by: Jake at December 3, 2003 4:03 PM
$500 not that bad? Oh, it's bad enough. Hopefully yours has already gone, but it would be a good idea for you to make a habit of looking under the car for leaks. That was how we noticed ours.
Posted by: litlnemo at December 3, 2003 5:57 PM
It ends up the head gasket was replaced by the dealer that I got the car from so I am sitting pretty there.
Posted by: Jake at December 3, 2003 8:11 PM
Excellent! You have a good car, then.
Posted by: litlnemo at December 3, 2003 8:31 PM
Remember folks, there is no such thing as an American car anymore. Ford=Mazda, Dodge=Mitsubishi
etc...in fact the eclipse (non turbo) of the same year as Jakes Neon uses his motor. 97 eclipse GS=Dodge neon engine...16valve dual overhead cam etc. Different drivetrain, same engine. My Mitsubishi eclipse turbo uses a Dodge transmission.
Posted by: pete at December 4, 2003 12:00 PM
Right and lots of "Japanese cars" are made in the US and Mexico. We live in a post NAFTA-WTO-FTAA world.
Posted by: Jake at December 4, 2003 12:03 PM
Almost all Hondas are made in Ohio....which is wierd if you think about it...
Oh, Hi, OH.
Posted by: pete at December 4, 2003 2:43 PM
Ohio is pronounced the same as Ohayo the Japanese word for "Good morning".
Posted by: Jake at December 4, 2003 2:47 PM
Yeah that's what I was getting at
Posted by: pete at December 4, 2003 3:05 PM
I've had cooling problems with many cars and trucks but I never wrecked a vehicle because of it. Continuing to drive with an engine that you knew was over heating was dumb. You should have gotten the $20 hose replaced before you wrecked the engine and lost your $3000.
Posted by: Charlie at June 3, 2004 9:52 PM
I did not know the hoses had the rip in them. Thank you captain obvious with your amazing powers.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at June 4, 2004 9:02 AM
