There is a demon in my car

Yesterday was easily one of the most frustrating days of my life and we have my car to thank for this. We all know that once you buy a car, you've added a potential liability to your life, if you don't manage it properly and if it doesn't add measurable value to your life.

If I were to run the rule over my car's input in my life. I'd say it has been a blessing and has improved our quality of life. However, for the first time yesterday, I saw the evil side of my car and I don't know if I'll ever forgive it.

Almost like a petulant child trying to prove a point, the car that I have used for two years without ever breaking down while driving decided to prove a point. Not only did it break down, it broke down at what I consider to be the worst possible moment.

As you may or may not know, we're processing our relocation to the UK, so I'm selling off most of my stuff. My car is obviously on the menu and yesterday, I was showing it to a potential buyer.

An Evil Within

The car started normally at home, I drove it there and was mentally prepared for a haggling clash that would see me squeeze out maximum value for the car. Unfortunately for me, the car had other plans.

After the preliminary viewing of the car and all my boasting about the Engine being in proper condition, we wanted to test drive it to make sure it actually works. We started the engine and I heard a strange noise that wasn't there when I came.

If you've owned a car before, you'll know that any "strange sound" is not good at all but moreso when you're right there with a potential buyer. Anyway, I turned off the car, opened the bonnet and to my greatest surprise, it was that belt thingy that was connected to the power steering mechanism that was out of whack.

A bit of the belt had cut and as it was spinning out of place, it was striking one of the connecting rods in its path, thereby making the strange sound. Tried as I may to remedy the situation, but all I did was make things worse, as I trimmed off the part of the belt that was spinning out of its socket.

When I saw the situation, my engineering brain kicked into full gear and just as I mentally expected, the entire belt cut. This resulted in the car's steering being extremely stiff.

There was no way I'd be driving home like that, so I parked the car at a shopping plaza nearby. The car is still there as we speak and in a couple of minutes/hours, I'll be going there with my mechanic to fix it.

For what it's worth, this is not a big problem, in the grand scheme of things. It is something that will be fixed in a couple of hours and will hopefully be inexpensive. However, the entire experience felt like the car was telling me it didn't want to be sold but in the most demonic way possible.

After almost two years of service, I must admit that I'm also attached to the car but holding on doesn't do either of us any good. All I want now is to get the best value from the car.

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