New cars are not built to last, they are built for gas mileage and profitability. Detroit has been building cars for a century or so, why can't they build a car that you can drive for a 10 years and 150,000 miles? Sure there are a few good models out there, I had over 250,000 on my 88 Chevy pickup when I traded it in, but it seems that kind of performance is very unusual in today's cars. My 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan has 75,500 miles on the odometer. The transmission has been worked on at 40k and it is now slipping in the mornings when it is cold. I took the van to my local transmission shop and discovered it needs to be rebuilt or replaced. The van's wholesale value is 5,000 dollars, that is just about what I owe on it. I am now faced with a 2,000 dollar repair that will bring its value up to $5,100.
I was just about to cry when I remembered that I did buy the extended warranty on the van. I thought is was 60 months 75,000 miles and with my luck I had just missed the deadline and would have to pony up the two grand. I wanted to double check, so I looked in the glove compartment. I don't know why they are called glove compartments, I have never kept a pair of gloves in any compartment of any car I owned. I have kept the owners manual, my purchase invoice, two tear open packages of ketchup and three unfired 270 cartridges, but no gloves. We should start calling them "document compartments". Anyway, when I did find my warranty papers I discovered that I did buy the 72 month, 100,000 mile package. I have been wondering what to do with the van for two weeks, asking my friend in the car business what I can get as a trade in on the van with the transmission going out, it has not been a fun time.
The transmission gets pulled today and I should be driving it by Thursday. Sometimes I wonder how I make it through the day.
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