Friday, February 13, 2009

Stopping is essential.

$843. That’s how much it costs to keep my van from trying to kill me.

I was driving down 22nd and steered into the left turn lane to pull into Toys R’ Us. The arrow turned red, so pressed on the breaks.

And they broke.

The break pedal was to the floor, and I was still moving forwards. Into oncoming traffic. I whispered a “shit” as my still-functioning rear breaks screeched in an attempt to stop all 2 tons of my van. 50 feet later, I was a car-length into the intersection, and luckily not nose-deep in the rear of someone else’s vehicle.

Brought it in to the shop and got a bill for the aforementioned $843.

If I can recall correctly, I’ve had to get the breaks fixed three times and the coolant system four times. The suspension, breaks and windows have had to be fixed. And who could forget those three months in which the van kept turning off in the middle of the road for no reason at all. In the past year alone, I’ve paid over $2,000 on repairs to my van.

Kelly Blue Book lists my van’s value at $1,440.

Math says it’s time to get a new car.