Feeling safe again....

I've always had a very soft spot for my 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle. Not only did it project my true personality, it brought back nice memories - my son was with me when we bought it, and that evening when we took our new car out for a spin and I turned on the lights, we exclaimed, "WOW!" - the interior lights were a bright combination of red and blue.

I've had many expensive problems with it over the past two years. During my road trip to Arizona six months ago, the persistent "Check Engine" light came on yet again - and I had just paid $2,000 to get it fixed. At the time it came on, I was about to cross the San Joaquin desert with my little elderly dog Missy in the back seat. Poor Missy was violently ill with carsickness - there's nothing like dealing with a dog having bloody diarrhea and vomiting, then having that cheerful little Check Engine coming on. I pulled over, called my mechanic, and after several discussions on the phone, we decided I should get Mr. Beetle to Los Banos, CA and hook it up to a car computer to see what it read.

After two hours at the shop, trying to keep Missy comfortable in the 99 degree heat, and finding out that the Check Engine light did NOT show a really serious problem, I had to decide what to do. I tried to rent a car, but there were none to be found in Los Banos (which means "The Bathrooms" in Spanish, BTW)...so I decided to just keep driving. I figured either my car would do ok or it would break down again in the desert, or it would completely die. By that time I was so fed up that I just didn't care. Luckily everything turned out ok, although the light stayed on until I spent another $2000 to get it fixed (turned out the problem was an innocuous little sensor in the engine that went out).

Two weeks ago my mechanic finally said, "Roberta, it's time to get another car". A part of my heart sank. I'd always enjoyed driving my 2001 New Beetle, especially because it had a turbo engine; I loved its power and passing other cars going up steep hills. But the turbo itself was the cause - it was leaking oil, and it would cost close to $3,000 to fix it. Plus I never knew when it would break down again, and it had cost me a fortune lately.....time to say goodbye to Mr. Beetle.

As usual I did lots of research before my big purchase and I ended up with a 2009 Honda Fit Sport, painted a deep dark purple (Blackberry Pearl) with spoilers on the front and back - rated the best compact car of 2009. It was a smart buy with its good mileage, and it's fun to drive...but I do miss my Beetle.