Silver Lining

Well, my financial aid money came. Hooray. It came just in time to pay $918 to fix my Honda. I distinctly remember buying a newer Honda so that I wouldn't HAVE to worry about it breaking down. I get regular oil changes, transmission services, I check the fluids, hoses and belts.... never had a problem with it, until this past Wednesday. My Accord coupe "Mei" had a stroke. (I associate auto repairs with medical proceedures and diagnoses....so if you have a CV Axle clicking = broken wrist, head light out = black eye, oil change = dialysis, etc etc) Apparently, the Actuator that controls the 4th valve of each cylnder, which is apprently the brain of the "VTEC" system in the engine decided to fry itself stupid....so it was running on only 3 valves per cylinder. The chip that regulates the activities of the actuator also fried in the process. She had a damn stroke at the tender age of 116,300 miles. So Mission Valley Honda in San Diego was the hosiptal to which my baby was towed, and they were surprisingly very good to me. They explained what happened, they told me that there was nothing I did to cause it, and nothing I could have done to prevent it, it just happens sometimes, and they were up front on their estimate. Now, the second day, they told me they needed the car for one more day... this obviously was a HUGE inconvenience to me, so they generously said that they would not charge me for the second part they needed, they only charged me for 3 hours of labor and the actuator cost, AND they gave me a *FREE* loaner car from the used car lot....which is a 2009 Honda Accord LX sedan. Very nice, very confortable, very plush...all in all a sweet ride. Im not really a fan of the transmission because unlike the automatic tranny in MY accord, this one is overly shifty and tries to hard to keep the RPMS super low for efficiency, and it ends up draining the power and acceleration. So its adequate, but not fun to drive or peppy. Im not complaining though, I have a loaner for free so Im over the moon.

I go down to pick up my baby after I get off work, then life will be better. I think she needs brakes though...the back brakes i think need to be replaced.... Ill work on it Im not sure. Im just happy she is alive and well.