Every day is an adventure..

Ya just never know what you're going to get. Here's the scoop. I have a 98 Toyota Camry, great running little car, we've had to have some work done here and there but overall it's been a great car. So this Jan the "check engine" light came on. Hubby took it to Autozone and they hooked it up to the computer and said there was a bad cellinoid(sp?) in the transmission. So I call my brother, who is a car genius, and ask him what to do, or which shop is trustable. He gives me a repair shop to work w/ and off I go. They hoist my car up in the air and start telling me what's wrong. I forgot to mention, the exhaust also had a leak or hole somehwere in it. OK, so the end result is, I need a new transmission($1449.00), and the exhaust is going to cost $377.00. Not TOO terrible of prices, but I wasn't expecting to have to replace the whole transmission, just the cellinoid. REALLY bummed, started joking around w/ the guys to avoid crying LOL. Anyway, talk to my brother again, and he says, "ah just get a used transimission and I'll but it in for ya.." So, we look one up on the internet, and find there's a junkyard in Detroit(I live in Lansing) that specializes in Import parts. They have one, it only has 24,000 miles on it, and it's only $450. We're thinking "GREAT deal" so head down to get it.

Now, I used to work in Detroit at one time for IBM, my job include traveling all over MI for them, but I did work in several areas of Detroit while employed w/ them. I thought I had seen some pretty bad neighborhoods in my travels. Let me tell ya, I hadn't seen anything yet. Luckily my Stepdad went w/ me to go down and pick up this Transmission. We get off the freeway around 6 mile areas and head east past Mound on McNichols road. I'm shocked at what I see, there is NO business in this area that has all it's windows, nor are they still in business. Some buildings are half burned and just left that way, barely standing. There's a lot of traffic, but I don't know where they are coming from or headed to. We did see one person on the street, but not someone I'd want to meet in a dark alley. Keep driving, find the Junkyard, and go in the door to meet a stairwell, there's a way up, and a way down. To go down was into the dark, you couldn't pay me to go that way, so we chose up. Get to a door, and go in, ah ha it's the office, who would have guessed. I can tell you, I've been to junkyards before w/ my Dad when I was a kid. I didn't expect it to be the most spotless well organized place in the world, but I thought it'd be a little less cluttered than it was. No biggie, I can deal w/ that. Talk to the gal behind the counter, told her I needed this transmisson to fit my 98 Camry, she says "No problem" and sends someone to go get it I guess, they spoke Polish to each other, so I don't really know, they could have been saying, "that lady looks like an idiot" I don't know. The guy goes outback, and then comes back talks to her again, and goes out back again, and comes back, talks to her, then talks to the owner guy. The owner guy tells him something and he goes out again. Then the owner guy tells I can have the one w/ 8,000 miles for $450(was supposed to be $550) but never explained why. I'm ok w/ that, sounds like a deal, so I pay for it and we go around back to pick it up. I don't know what to look for, I'm no parts genius, I'm just the gopher in this situation. Deliver it to my brother, and think I'm in the clear.

Flash forward to yesterday. Brother calls me and says that there's a part on the "new" transmission that is bent beyond repair, and we need to exchange it. Ugh, so I start looking for my receipt, and can't find it. Stressing out, cause I need to have it or they won't exchange it, so I would essentially have a $450 paperweight. Also my oldest son has a band concert, and I have to run him to the store after school to get him a new outfit for that. GRR.. had to pick up my hubby at work because we are down to one car because the other one is still not fixed, and get son to the venue by 6:30. Somehow squeeze dinner in too. Then my brother calls me back and asked me when am I picking up his car, cause he's got the tranny in the trunk. I figure I'd do it today right, WRONG! He says well I figured you and your husband would pick it up tonight, so you'd have something to drive in the morning. Good idea, just one more thing to do. OK, well, got the kids from school, went on and got outfit for oldest son, came home cooked dinner, wrapped up some for hubby, packed everyone in the van and left to pick him up, picked him up, drove to school, just in time to drop off oldest son, we go take our seats, and sit through the concert that lasts til 8:15, THEN have to run out to my brothers that is another 20 minutes away one way. Finally get home about 9:30 put all kids to bed and crash.

Get up this morning still stressed as I still don't have the receipt, call the place again and talk to the owner, he says, "sure bring it down and we'll exchange it" SO now, I need to figure out HOW to pick up all the kids from school, AND get to Detroit and back to get this tranny. Call the schools daycare and beg to add on the kindergartener, don't care if I have to pay extra, so she can go the rest of the day til the big kids get out. Call my mom and ask her if she can pick them up, she's fine w/ that as long as we are back before she has to go to work at 2:15. Got everyone arranged and off we go again, me and my Stepdad. Go through the hood, and get to the shop. Tell the lady at the desk that I'm here for the transmission exchange, and she looks at me like I have 3 heads. She goes and talks to the owner, owner tells her yea, he said do it. So she starts typing on her computer, and we wait and wait, and finally she says, do you have the receipt? I said no, I told the owner I didn't have it before I came down here. OK, on and on, again she talks to someone outside, they come and look at the tranny we are returning, he comes back in and tells me there is nothing wrong w/ it. I tell him what my brother told me, he goes and gets the owner and they go look at it again, and come back and tell me there's nothing they can see. I asked if I could just call my brother on my phone and they could talk to him, because I really have no clue as to what is the problem. They talk to him, and then go back outside to look at it again... ugh, finally the worker guy tells me, or at least what I understood was, you don't need a different one, I'll just get you the Neutral switch(which was part of the problem.) I'm thinking, I did NOT drive all this way to leave here w/ the same broken $450 dollar transmission that I came w/. But I wait, cause I wasn't sure what he said. Then after was seemed like HOURS, the gal behind the counter hands me another receipt that states it's for a new transmission. BIG sigh of relief. NOW I'm finally home again, and going to drop off this new, hopefully functional, transmission to my brother in a few hours so he can install it tomorrow. UGH... why can't it ever be easy?

Anyway.. the saga continues.