Car Maintenance

I hadn't taken my car in for scheduled maintenance since I moved, so I got that out of the way. My car is at 117,800 miles, close enough to the 120K major service I just had that done.

Naturally, that wasn't all my car needed. In addition to the stuff they did for 120K miles, my car needed something or other done with the "left front CV axle" and replacement of the front brake pads. The total was $1020... after I elected not to replace an oil seal, somewhere so difficult to reach it would require removing nearly everything and cost and additional $1100 (mostly for labor) just for that (!). The dealership said the seal replacement was optional; I will just need to pay attention to the oil level. Sounds good for saving $1100.

My last few major service visits have run about $2000 each. That is annoying, but it is also much less than having a car payment every month. ;) Still, there is a good chance by the end of 2006 I'll buy a new car. Mine has served me very well but it will be 10 years old.

I'm leaning towards a hybrid. It will be icing on the cake if I can fold down the rear seats and fit my bike into the trunk.