2 More Years...

The "Teal Wonder" lives on!!

Well, it's official. Miracles do happen every day! We had our own little miracle happen today. It was time for the 1992 Pontiac Grand Am to go through it's DEQ testing for license tab renewal...miracle was that it actually passed. Just for your info..Kelly Blue Book Value = $550 in fair condition..which it is not.

I will now list the reasons why this car should not be driven for more than the 3 miles it takes to drive to and from work & church. Being the kind wife that I am, I've given primary driving privileges of this beauty to my dear husband.

1. 160,000 + miles (and it shows!!)
2. engine leak
3. transmission leak
4. numerous electrical problems
5. blinkers work on an occasional basis (Clint went 1 month searching for the route with the least number of turns and became quite aware of any law enforcement in the area. If seen..he would just keep driving straight until the officer turned off the road, then Clint would back track and find his way home). When they do work the blinker will sometimes work sluggish. I mean like blink...wait 5 seconds....blink...5 seconds...blink....
6. Went 3 months with no windshield wipers b/c they wouldn't turn on
7. The headlights work on an occasional basis as well. There was a good portion of time that Clint would only work during daylight hours - he printed off the sunrise/sunset schedule - so he could make it to and from work w/o working headlights. Finally got them working when we took it into an auto shop and they hot wired them to work - the shop cautioned us not to go over any big bumps b/c that would throw everything haywire. There are no brights either.
8. There are several leaks - from where we don't quite know - but BEWARE if you want to sit on the passenger side when it's been raining outside. The floor is quite sloshy in that location
9. Clint removed the casing for the steering wheel (you know, that nice "decorative" plastic shield that covers up everything from the dash to the steering wheel?) Well, he broke it in the process, so now, if you're ever interested as to what it looks like under that "extra" piece of your car, come on over b/c it is bare bones steering wheel then all the wires & controls are all exposed. This seems to help somewhat with the electrical problems b/c there is another leak in that general area that keeps getting all those wires wet. Removing the casing allows the wires to "air dry" - VERY handy!
10. Heater doesn't work and you must have defrost on all the time b/c of all the condensation in the vehicle b/c of the leaks. Once the defrost goes...well, we're sunk!
11. The automatic locks occasionally lock you in and then won't work to let you out. Also, if the car is on, the doors automatically lock. It doesn't matter if you've put the car in drive yet like most modern cars. So...you can EASILY lock your keys in your car while it's running. Yes, I've had to have some lovely policemen come and let me back into my already running car. If you try to start it and let it run in the winter to de-ice your windows you have to leave the driver side door open or the window rolled all the way down so you can unlock it from inside b/c it will have automatically locked you out.
12. The warning lights flash at you. The check engine oil, check gauges light and several others seem to try to keep time with the beat of any song that is on with their special "dance" they do for us in the dashboard.

So...b/c the actual value of the car is much less than what it would cost to fix all of this we will run it til it dies. I'm secretly hoping that happens VERY SOON!

While we wait for the end to draw near we've started the "debate" on what vehicle we should get to replace it.

My idea...a nice family car, maybe a minivan or station wagon.

Clint's idea: A Vespa. You know, with the amount of intelligence he displays in many areas..you'd think he could come up with a better idea! (just kidding! I love you, honey). Can't you just see all 6 ft. 4 in. of him trying to fit on a Vespa? Seriously! And, what will I do on the mornings I need to head to church early and it's raining out? I WILL NOT take a Vespa in the rain..or in the sunshine for that matter. I think we have some more "discussing" to do. Maybe God is allowing the Pontiac to hang on until we can come to an agreement...oh, and some money too! We won't get much for a trade-in!