My car crapped out on me again. Perfect fucking timing, as usual.
Today when I went to do errands around 11:30am I pulled out of my spot and then went down my street. When I went to stop at the stop sign, the breaks sank further than usual before I noticed it doing anything like slowing down or stopping. I was wondering if it was just my shoes (I was wearing flip-flops for a change), but a few miles up the road I was convinced. Went for haircut, then the grocery store, and before I went in I whipped out the manual.
Found where the brake fluid goes in, checked it, it seemed low. Wrote down what type was needed, got some, added it, drove home. Brakes seemed slightly better, but not a lot. Looked for oil patches each time I stopped and never saw one. Went for more errands in the afternoon, still crappy, checked the brake fluid again, added more b/c low again, went home.
Finally, ran into my landlord/mechanic when I got home after a third set of outings at 10pm, described the issue to him, he checked *both* brake fluid reservoirs, saw that while the *front* was low, the back was fine, pulled it out and in of the spot, and declared that there's a leak in the front brake line but the back's fine, which's what was stopping me. Further declared that I was right, I really shouldn't drive it down to NYC this weekend for my 10-year high school reunion.
So now the question is, bus or rental car? Missing the reunion is NOT an option. Bus is $76 round trip, I'm constrained by the bus times, it takes 4-4.5 hours, and I have to get to and from the terminals. Rental car is $51 for 3 days, I set my own times, trip takes some 3-3.5 hours by car, they may have pick-up/drop-off service, and unlimited mileage. Add some $45 for gas, and it brings it to $96 (compared with $76 for bus). I *think* I do not have to get collision insurance (while I do not have it, it looks to be optional with Enterprise), but if I did it could bring my total as high as $171 (vs. $76).
What do y'all think? I leave tomorrow evening.
Today when I went to do errands around 11:30am I pulled out of my spot and then went down my street. When I went to stop at the stop sign, the breaks sank further than usual before I noticed it doing anything like slowing down or stopping. I was wondering if it was just my shoes (I was wearing flip-flops for a change), but a few miles up the road I was convinced. Went for haircut, then the grocery store, and before I went in I whipped out the manual.
Found where the brake fluid goes in, checked it, it seemed low. Wrote down what type was needed, got some, added it, drove home. Brakes seemed slightly better, but not a lot. Looked for oil patches each time I stopped and never saw one. Went for more errands in the afternoon, still crappy, checked the brake fluid again, added more b/c low again, went home.
Finally, ran into my landlord/mechanic when I got home after a third set of outings at 10pm, described the issue to him, he checked *both* brake fluid reservoirs, saw that while the *front* was low, the back was fine, pulled it out and in of the spot, and declared that there's a leak in the front brake line but the back's fine, which's what was stopping me. Further declared that I was right, I really shouldn't drive it down to NYC this weekend for my 10-year high school reunion.
So now the question is, bus or rental car? Missing the reunion is NOT an option. Bus is $76 round trip, I'm constrained by the bus times, it takes 4-4.5 hours, and I have to get to and from the terminals. Rental car is $51 for 3 days, I set my own times, trip takes some 3-3.5 hours by car, they may have pick-up/drop-off service, and unlimited mileage. Add some $45 for gas, and it brings it to $96 (compared with $76 for bus). I *think* I do not have to get collision insurance (while I do not have it, it looks to be optional with Enterprise), but if I did it could bring my total as high as $171 (vs. $76).
What do y'all think? I leave tomorrow evening.