Sal-Mobile, R.I.P.

Friday, on my way to school to watch my middle son play in a basketball game, I noticed that the Sal-Mobile was running a little ragged. Nothing too serious, just a little hesitation, a funky hitch in the giddy-up. No big deal, I thought... when your car is 15 years old, it's entitled to a little dirt in the injectors now and then. But on the way home it was more pronounced, and then I looked in the rear view mirror. I was letting out a smoke screen worthy of any James Bond movie. About that time, the "service engine" light lit up and the temperature gauge buried itself in the red area. I limped it the last 5 minutes home and called Philip, my mechanic extrordinaire. His exact words: "that's not good." Turns out I've blown my head gasket, which means I have a $600 car with an $800 problem. So farewell, Sal-Mobile. I'm a little ticked that I've put over $200 in her in the past month ($167 for the exploding window and $30 for a busted radiator hose), and more so that I passed up the opportunity to buy a neighbor's low-mileage car for $1000 a little over a month ago because my car was running so well. But it's alright. Next week after I return from our 7th grade class trip (more on that in a later post) I'll go out and buy another paid-for clunker and drive it for the next several years. The Lumina has been a great car. Hope the next one lasts as well.