More car troubles

[naomikritzer]

I was driving Molly to preschool today when I heard this really strange sound coming from the car. My first thought was, "crap, the muffler is dying." Except then the car started driving really strangely, and I decided, okay, this isn't the muffler, something else is going on. Something BAD. I pulled over with visions of a broken, engine-destroying belt of some kind dancing in my head.

It was a flat tire. I was relieved.

We walked the rest of the way to preschool. I then returned with Kiera to try to solve the problem myself. I had a can of Fix-a-Flat in the trunk that's been there forever, and I tried that first. It was a miserable failure -- the stuff fizzed out all over my hand. I wiped it off with a towel I found in the trunk. Is Fix-a-Flat ever useful, or is it the automotive equivalent of Drano? (Drano being useless for anything other than filling up your clogged drain with caustic chemicals and annoying the plumber you will inevitably end up calling when it doesn't work.)

Since the Fix-a-Flat was a bust, I tried jacking up the car and changing the tire, but was stymied by the hub cap, which I couldn't figure out how to get off. Yes, I am lame. Lame lame lame. I have changed a tire (my father made me put the snow tires on the car one fall back when I was in high school, so I'd learn how) but it was a long time ago. And, you know, it's not like AAA refunds your money if you don't use your three free service calls, so I called AAA. Just as well, since it turns out the spare was also flat. He put air in it and put it on the car.

I do not want to put any money into this car, at this point. I want to get rid of it and replace it. I took the girls over to Keewaydin Auto to test-drive the minivans we've been looking at, and decided that I really, truly want to buy one of them. (By the way, for the Twin Cities residents on my friendslist, I highly, highly recommend Keewaydin Auto for car purchasing. It's this little used car dealership run by a married couple. They're really nice, they don't play stupid car dealership games, their prices are excellent and they have been, in my experience, honest and ethical. Most of their cars are lease returns in the $6,000 - $15,000 price range, though they get the occasional outlier.)

I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the extra money to try to sell my car vs. trading it in. Anyone in the market for a car? It's a 1994 Geo Prizm with 90,000 miles on it. It got rear-ended two weeks ago and is short a tire. It also has a bunch of hail damage, which is entirely cosmetic (that's why I never fixed it). Also, the front driver's side door sometimes sticks when you try to open it from the inside. The A/C works, it has a stereo (the antenna is broken, but the radio stations come in fine when you're in the cities) and it runs just fine. You would need to get the bodywork done on the back end and replace that tire; anyone who would buy this car would probably be no more bothered by the hail damage than I am.

Comments

[littleclaypig.livejournal.com]

Fix-a-Flat has worked for me at least once that I can concretely remember, though for some reason I think I've used it twice. But yeah, the mechanics hate it -- something about the gases in the tire being potentially explosive. (I've also have good results with Drano, though I feel like I am personally killing Bambi's mom whenever I use it.)

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

I've never tried Fix-a-Flat. However, my car is so teenie that I can pump up the tires with a foot-operated bicycle pump when needed, and I have no idea what happened to the hubcaps. For what it's worth, I've changed many, many tires in my life and I, too would have been completely stymied by a hubcap.

Thanks for the heads-up on Keewaydin Auto! Someday when we're dual-income again, we might get rid of my little death trap and buy another car.

How much are you hoping to get for your car?

[springbok1.livejournal.com]

My roommate S just sold her car through CarSoup.com. She said that the Riverview movie theater is doing some sort of promotion of them, so if you type in "riverview" somewhere in their form you get $5 off an ad. Shira's car was an early 90's Corolla in good shape with low mileage. I forget what she asked for it, but she got her asking price.

[channe.livejournal.com]

Fix-A-Flat has saved my sorry arse more than once. I always keep a can in my car, and a voodoo doll to curse the people who sold me the offending tire.

Okay, not so much on the voodoo doll.