Yesterday, I put the shields up around the house.  Most people generally refer to them as the storm-windows though.  Our unusually long bout of warm fall weather is scheduled to come to a crashing close this week.  Today we warp out, or at least hope to.  Our planned drive to Michigan for the holidays had a hiccup last week when I noticed that the spaceship’s car’s temperature gauge was behaving “funny”.  On Saturday, trying to be proactive, I took it into the local shop that we have always dealt with.  I knew things were not going to be pretty, when I showed up to pick up the car.  The service attendant said, “Your car is all ready.  I’m just working-up the estimate.”

No, this Jaguar is not my car.  It was on the repair shops lot when Anne cruised by and snapped this photo.  I have two questions to the owner though:  “What color is it suppose to be?”  and “Who would buy such a colored car anyway?”

At the end of the day, I picked up my car.  Half a C-note poorer, I listened to the service attendant’s explanation.  My car has hydrocarbons in its coolant.  While this news is nowhere as bad as it would be if my doctor were to say find blood in my urine, anthropomorphically speaking, it is just about as bad for my car.  It signifies a possible head-gasket replacement in the not too distant future.  But wait, this shop just did a routine radiator flush last August.  Now that makes me suspicious.  I listen to the Car Guys on NPR you know.  Anyway, the attendant, alternatively offered assurances that we would be fine on this trip with cautions about regularly checking the coolant levels.

So with some trepidation and little if no warranty for the work paid for, we set off for the Great Lakes State.  A state that is traditionally more in favor of purchasing new cars, rather than fixing old ones.  Even if this shop has acted competently and in good faith, I won’t trust them any further with this problem.  I’ll bite the bullet and go to the dealer instead and if the original shop is correct then we can continue doing business.  Over the last ten years, I have invested heavy in my children.  Even now, I am beginning to double down.  Maybe though with a fleet average well into the six-digits, it is time to buy new?  Please though, not in that Jag color, metallic mauve.