with the freestyle just turning 4 years old this fall, i was not surprised to hear the engine turning over slowly during the last couple of weeks. cold weather, almost 90,000 miles, 4 year old battery, over 20 start-ups a day...yeah, it was getting close.
yesterday, the beautiful mrs k came to me whilst i was eating breakfast and broke the news to me. it was almost like she was telling me a distant relative had died.
"well, your car didn't start."
knowing how many trips i had to make in the family truckster, i had to spring into action. i grabbed the jumper cables, hooked the truckster up to the fusion, presto. started right up. drove straight up to the auto parts store, left her running, and plunked down $84 for 640 cold cranking amps. done deal. it really couldn't have been easier, except for that $84 part. 6 year warranty? good lord. the freestyle will have 250,000 miles on it by then!
in it's 90,000 miles, the freestyle has needed:
rear brake pads
car battery
tires
gas
oil
febreze
lysol
air fresheners
i'm impressed with this most boring mode of transportation. i'm sure i'll need front brakes and rotors by spring. it will be due for it's 100,000 mile transmission service, too, which is about $350. all in all, it doesn't have the expensive service intervals that "nice" cars have, and i'm still able to eek 20 mpg even with all the start-ups and full loads that happen on a daily basis.
sometimes, quietly doing the job makes a product extremely satisfying. now i just need my manhood back.
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