258,959 Miles, R.I.P.
Driving down I-40 at 3am is quiet, dark, and relaxing. As I head into work each morning I catch up on sports and current events on radio as my cruise control keeps me at a steady pace.
Last Friday, it was cold in the 20s and I noticed that my heat in the car wasn’t working. As I got within 5 miles of our station, my eye caught the temperature gauge of my Camry. It was buried in the hot; oh oh.
Well the next two minutes killed my car. I had to get to work and so I drove. Bad move, the car shut off on the beltline after 2 miles and I pulled over to the side.
My 15 1/2 year old dependable Camry wagon was dead. After towing it, I found out that my car has a blown head gasket and it would take around $1500 to fix it. That was the price I was hoping to get by selling it. I enjoyed driving this car so much that I waited on selling it.
I had been strongly encouraged to sell the car while it was running well, I waited too long and now I have a car I can’t drive in my driveway.
Huge lesson learned; never drive a car any amount when it overheats. The other lesson learned, listen to your mechcanic and friends when they tell you it’s time to sell your car.
One last thought, about 8 years ago while visiting a Toyota dealership to pick up some touch-up paint; a salesman approached me, I was wary. He saw my Camry and said, “Toyota doesn’t make the wagon anymore, if I were you, I would keep the car and drive it into the ground.” I guess I did listen to someone!
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