Maintaining my first Baby

Long before Beanie was ever conceived or even thought about, my first "baby" has always been my car.

It probably sounds crazy - and maybe a bit sad - but my car has been my child since 2003. Years ago my car got hit while it was parked and I cried when I saw the damage. Pathetic I know :-(

I absolutely love it and am happiest when I am behind the wheel.
Even though its a really old model now, it looks brand new given how much I take care of "her" and I have never had car envy with all the new makes/models out.  My own car model has changed over the years. I even test drove the 2012 version last year and while it had a ton of bells and whistles, I like mine better.

Today I took her in for a big mileage maintenance. I was lucky to find a good mechanic many years ago when I moved here, which allows me to avoid the dealerships.  He is honest and I like that about him. He has been wanting me to change the timing belt on the car for 2 years now and I have put it off since its a good $600+ cost given the car brand.  The change is needed based on the car's age, not the mileage since I don't have a lot of miles on the car.

Today he brought the topic up again - ugh!. Basically if the belt breaks it can within 30 seconds ruin the entire engine and we are looking at a minimum $3500 cost to fix it all.

My Dad was with me so I decided then and there to bite the bullet and agreed to changing the timing belt as well. I don't want to take a chance and have to spend to fix the engine later.  I am also having him inspect the brake pads as with Beanie coming I want to make sure everything is in good order.

I expect a really large bill by the end of it all (sigh!)......but sometimes you have just got to do, what you got to do.

The guy did say that any day I want to sell my car he would buy it in a heartbeat since its so beautifully maintained and well taken care of, which is a huge compliment coming from a mechanic.

I remember the first time my Dad and I took the car to him, his eyes nearly fell out of his head when we whipped out a folder with every single receipt of work done on the car. He kept commenting he had never seen that before. I also have him religiously stamp my owner's manual after every mileage maintenance and oil change.

That is the least I can do for my first "baby"!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

Single or attached, I hope you are doing something fun tonight. I bought myself some flowers (not roses those are a rip off on V-Day) and a decadent dessert for Beanie and me to enjoy after dinner.