Should run for a couple more years

I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am. I’ve had it since 2001. It’s my 3rd car, but the first that I got all on my own. My first car (also a Grand Am) was one that Dad found for me, paid the insurance, and made payments on (I was still in college). My second car (a Chevy Celebrity if memory serves me correctly) that Dad again found and paid insurance on, but I made payments on. This car I found all on my own and had the keys in hand before Dad even saw it (he came up that day to take a look at it, but I just couldn’t wait … LOL). I made all the payments and pay the insurance. It’s completely paid off now.

When I got it, it had around 60,000 miles or so. It now has 113,800 miles. So I’ve put it through its paces. For the most part, it’s been a good car. But for the past couple of years, it’s been slowly driving me crazy, and I call it a POS quite often. The biggest thing has been starting it. Some times it would start great, but when I started driving, it would die. And some times it just didn’t seem to want to start, but once I got it going, it was all fine and dandy. I knew it had to be something with the fuel system, but I just never had the money to get it taken care of.

Now that I have this new (but old) job, I have more money. And I didn’t spend all of my tax refund. So I had a good amount stored up in my checking and a good amount in my savings. Since it’s warmed up again, I decided to take it in (since the shop is within walking distance). I needed an oil change anyways, and the last time I got an oil change, they told me that the transmission fluid needed to be flushed (apparently it was getting pretty icky). I also told them to check things out and figure out what was causing the rough idle (if replacing the spark plugs didn’t take care of it).

The repair shop guy called me mid-morning to let me know what was up. Apparently the fuel pressure regulator was leaking. That’s what was causing the issues I was having. It was kinda spendy, but it needed to be done. And I had the funds to do it. So I told him to go ahead and replace it.

So, all said and done, I had the oil changed, the transmission fluid exchanged (total fluid exchange), spark plugs replaced, fuel filter replaced, and fuel pressure regulator replaced. He said it would cost me $401.08, but since I’ve got AAA (it’s on Dad’s account, but I pay him the dues), I got a 10% discount. All told, it cost me $357.81. So my car should be happy now. It did start really nice when I got in it. I didn’t even have to hit the accelerator to get it started like I’ve had to in the past.

The only thing remaining (well, hopefully the only thing) is the brakes. The repair shop told me that the front brake rotors were warped. So, I need to replace the rotors and pads. He said that would cost around $200, so I didn’t do it right now. But I plan to get that taken care of within the next 2 weeks. I get paid on Thursday, and I should get my rebate next Friday or around that time. So I’ll have the money to get the brakes taken care of. Then all will be happy with my car.