The one that came on this weekend in the Honda during all of our running around? Well, I don't think I mentioned it, but by Sunday, it felt an awful lot like the transmission was giving up the ghost--lots of juddering and slipping, especially going uphill from a stoplight.
SO, off to take it in this morning to the dealer down the road a bit. Also figured I'd spring for an oil change. They wrote that up, and put down the obligatory 80 buck charge for reading the diagnostic code. (An aside--if there was EVER a profit-center for your service department, it's $80 to read that code.)
Anyway, after dropping it off and taking a leisurely scenic drive into work with their Chet the E-Mail Boy-like driver, I awaited the bad news.
And it got very late.
And so I called.
"Just trying to call you on the other line, Mr. Oglesby--I got some good news and some bad news."
Such words strike fear into the heart of all sane men, no matter how mighty their physical constitution.
"We got your oil change done with no problem, so that's good. And well, it's kind of a good-and-bad thing. The check light indicates you've had a complete failure on your transmission."
Oh, piffle. Is THAT all!?
What a relief.
No, really.
See, this model of Odyssey (built in the former Liberal Party bastion, Canada) had a defect in the transmission, and said transmission was part of a nationwide warranty campaign, which extended the warranty to seven years or 100,000 miles.
FREE TRANNY, BABY!
Of course, the new one won't have near as long of a warranty, but then again, it shouldn't have a designed-in defect, either. AND, since it's a warranty deal, I don't have to pay 80 bucks for some tech to spend five seconds plugging in a code reader.
AND according to the service writer, we can still drive it until the new gearbox comes in--although I intend to take it home and park it until then--no use getting us stuck in the middle of nowhere with an inoperable vehicle.
Been there, done that.
SO, thank goodness it wasn't something non-warranty. You know you're living an odd life when you're GLAD your transmission is the thing that's screwed up.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at January 24, 2006 02:32 PMNo, you're GLAD that it's being fixed under warranty, so now you have more money available for your in-law's anniversary party.
Does this mean that the Volvo now becomes the family-totin' vehicle?
Posted by: MarcV at January 24, 2006 02:44 PMMore than it already is. We'll be using it and the Focus when we have to get everyone somewhere together. The van is pretty much a weekend/Wednesday conveyance right now to keep from having to buy so much gas.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 24, 2006 03:27 PMThe van is pretty much a weekend/Wednesday conveyance right now to keep from having to buy so much gas.
Hmmmmm. Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't you save a lot more than just gas money if you were only insuring/maintaining two cars instead of three? Or did I miss something...
Posted by: Grouchy Old Yorkie Lady at January 24, 2006 05:37 PMWe've got six to haul around, and often this includes piles of stuff, and sometimes we need to haul things that won't fit in a car. The two cars we have are both small and only seat five (really only four comfortably) and there's not much room left over for all the other junk that comes with the deal. So, if we only had two cars, we'd have to drive them everywhere, including the three trips to church each week. Having everyone in one vehicle for all the weekend running around and church running around and recreational running around is much simpler than trying to get two cars around.
But, sometimes we only need a small car--no use driving a big van around with one person just to go to work or to the store for bread. And sometimes we just HAVE to be in two different places at once, and it somehow seems better to use two smaller cars than a small one and a van, or at least to have the option of a big or small one for the other one, depending on need.
And there is also the nice thing of having a backup vehicle, just in case. It's the same thing as when we had The Beloved Franklin--occasional use, but sometimes essential.
It would obviously be cheaper to just have two, but then again, it would be cheaper still to just have one, and cheaper still to not have any, but it's just one of those costs we're willing to pay to have a bit more flexibility in how we travel.
AND WE WANT TO DEPLETE THE WORLD'S SUPPLY OF RICH DARK CRUDE OIL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 25, 2006 10:22 AM(And I forgot to mention that Oldest turns 16 in March, and will be relied on at some indeterminate time in the future to actually be responsible enough to haul herself to the various activities she's involved in. Of course, she might be 35 years old when that time finally arrives.)
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 25, 2006 10:29 AMMine turns 16 in March too. Isn't it horrifying? She can't get her permit until she takes the mandatory state-authorized driver's ed class, which is four weeks long. She can't take it until summer, because her pep squad schedule is too full right now, which is causing great distress and rending of garments. But I've also told her that even if she gets the permit, it doesn't mean she'll actually be driving any actual cars -- that won't be happening until she gets a job and can afford to pay for gas and the increase in our insurance.
Needless to say, this makes us THE. WORST. PARENTS. EVER.
Posted by: Grouchy Old Yorkie Lady at January 25, 2006 03:02 PMNot according to OUR daughter. We are the W!P!E!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at January 25, 2006 03:59 PM