The Saga of the Sentra

For those of you who don't know the beginning of the story, I would encourage you to ask me about my history with my car. Word of caution though, you may want to pack a lunch as the tale takes some time to unravel!

For those who know the beginning, here is the middle:

The other day I was preparing to visit a customer and looked on my desk at my mobile phone. I hesitated for a moment and decided that I did not need to take it with me (don't ask me why I even had to think about taking 2 seconds to put the 4 ounce useful tool into my pocket). I grabbed my keys and hopped into my beautiful 1999 Nissan Sentra and drove off to my meeting. After the successful visit, I returned to my glorious Japanese crafted chariot and drove off into the wind! Windows down, breeze against my face, engine running oh so quiet.

Wait, too quiet! Uh oh. It's not quiet, it quit!

Ok, this part you really have to trust me - it is all true.

With a smile on my face and no foul words to be muttered, I gathered my belongings, including the registration, and started walking (remember how I decided to leave my phone on my desk?).

Within 2 minutes, a minivan with a handicap pass hanging from the rear view mirror pulled off the road in front of me. As I approached I discerned that there was only one occupant in the vehicle- a 320 pound female. She was as friendly as a beam of sunshine on a cloudy day! So, realizing that God sent me a rescuer (is that a word?) I thanked Him and hopped in. Side note: it turned out that she worked in an office building right behind where I worked and I knew her boss!

Safe and sound in my office, I called Kirsten and shared the news- she was not thrilled; about the car or the idea of me getting into a van with a strange woman. Go figure.

Being frugal (read: cheap) I thought of who in my network would have access to a tow dolly and be able to recommend a trustworthy mechanic (oxymoron?).

I called Mike and after listening to my situation replied with encouraging words: "sorry, can't think of anyone". We continue to talk and I remembered that Mike's Dad has a hobby of buying junk cars, dragging them home, and rebuilding them. Mike said he would call and find out if his Dad had a tow dolly and call me back- in the midst of the conversation it turned out that Mike trusts a local mechanic for his cars- so the moral of this bitty ditty is to never trust the first thing that come's out of a Pastor's mouth. :^)

Turns out that Mike's Dad, Byron, had a dolly, and would be avialable to help my that afternoon! We towed my broken down jalopy to the mechanic and after thanking Byron 15 times, he dropped my off at my house.

The next morning I get a call from "Hoss", the mechanic, and he tells me that the distributor went bad, so he fixed it. My mind immediately recalled the mechanic in National Lampoon's Vacation and expected the worst. After a deep breath I asked in my best southern twang "What's that gunna set me back, ya reccun?" Hoss told me that including tax and labor the charge was only $498.

Now, for those of you who shudder ar the price of a distributor and installation, let me tell you that 2 years ago, the same distributor went bad (that would be the first part of the story I was telling you about) and cost me $600. So I figured that $500 every 2 years to keep my method of motion in motion was a better deal than what monthly payments for a new car would be.

So now my luxurious Sentra and I are back together, and enjoying each other's company.

I hope this relationship lasts a long, long time!