This is what we in the business call "deep hurting". Especially as the vehicle I drive is a Buick Regal. The Buick Regal is a mighty car, and very rarely does anything go wrong with it. When things DO go wrong, however, the car is very surly and hard to fix, namely because to get to any of the components that are likely to suffer failures of the non-"Well, let me get you a catalog of other cars..."-type, you basically need to remove the entire top layer of stuff from the engine. It's not that this is difficult, it's just that it takes a while. In other words, mighty, mighty labor costs (at least the mechanic was honest about it: "This costs so much because your car is a royal pain in the ass to work on.")
So, expensive components, expensive labor costs... Ah, well. The car has run about six years without anything failing, so I suppose it was about due. I just hope this doesn't forecast other parts reaching the end of their maintenance lives and needing to be replaced... although the tires are looking a bit aged...
The sole plus side to all this is the fact that there's a car repair plaec right next to where I work (literally right next door), so once I got 'er started up (using up another of my Triple-A calls... only two more until Feb when my membership is renewed...) I just had to drop the car off, sign the work order, and stroll over to my place of employment. It don't get more convenient than that.
Rant 'o the day contains no additives, preservatives or small woodland creatures of any kind. Use only as directed. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Do not fold, spindle, multilate or remove identifying tags. Handle with care. Contains less than 3% milk fat by weight, not by volume. Squeeze the lemon.
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