Time to Upgrade My Tranny

Now, I know I live in San Francisco, but I'm not referring to the lovely transvestites you see wandering around. Though honestly, some of those shims are gorgeous! Have you seen them? But I digress...

Took my car in at 7am on Saturday morning. Seeing as I had an appointment I thought it would speed things along. Honda loves to prove me wrong. There are two entrances to the service center - one on a side street and one on Van Ness. I got to the dealership about 6:50am. There were 3 cars in line on the side street so I figured I would outwit everyone and wait on the Van Ness side. BIG mistake. Turns out the Van Ness side just drives you through to the side street. By this time there are about 8 cars on the side street. Foiled again!

So I patiently wait my turn and "A" finally comes over to help me. This is the same guy I had spoken with the day before. He gets all the paperwork in order and I ask when they'll have completed the diagnostic work. He says, "By 2pm." I said, "Not acceptable." So he rang the mechanic and said he'd know by 9am. Much better. So I hobble up to the waiting area and read my book. About 9:15 I go find A again and ask for an update. He didn't have one yet but said it shouldn't be too much longer. About 9:45 he finally comes to talk to me. To his credit, he did say the mechanic had finished at 9:10, but didn't let him know. He apparently reemed him since there was the nice W symbol at the top of the paperwork which means a human being is waiting on the information. Turns out I need a new transmission. Oh thrill, oh joy. They have ordered it, but it probably wouldn't be here until Tuesday.

Since I needed a car I had to hobble down to Enterprise to rent a car for the time being. Prior to leaving Honda I grabbed some stuff I would need out of my car and put it in a paper bag. As I was hobbling the block and a half down to Enterprise, I realized that I was walking down Van Ness with a paper bag and a cane. I'm rather certain everyone there thought I was one of the homeless folks. I fit right in.

Anyway, a big thanks to mom for unknowingly looking out for her daughter (I kept her car after she died and sold mine) and purchasing that extended warranty! What are the odds it would happen with 4000 miles left? Generally this stuff happens when the odometer turns 100,005! Thanks momma - my bank account greatly appreciates it!