A Car Named Murphy

today i took a trip down to our local midas shop. . .

i had previously called them to get an estimate on the cost of new brakes. they told me that they usually run about 90-120 depending on the car. so when i headed down there today it never really crossed my mind to think that i would end up paying OVER 240 BUCKS!!!

First: they tell me i need new pads, which i already knew. . . and of course the pads for my car are the ones that cost the most.

Total: about 120. . . and counting apparently. . .

Second: they tell me i need to have my rotors resurfaced. so i ask how much that will cost. they tell me about 50 total for both. so i decide to go ahead and do it cuz they need to be done and i can probably afford it.

New total: about 175. . . and still counting apparently. . .

so im sitting there in the waiting room and the guy comes through the service door with a not so good look on his face. he asks me if i have ever had a wreck with the vehicle in the front end??? so i tell him that back in 2003 i had a MINOR fender bender when i was in highschool. he then says that the bolts (aka Caliper Pins) on the drivers side were stripped (which meant i needed new ones) and he was just wondering if it might have been from a wreck or something. but my brakes have been replaced since then so i know it wasnt that. his next words were to tell me that the bracket that holds the caliper (which is the thing that holds the brake pads) was also bent a bit, and that it might need to be replaced in the future. he also says that he has had to order the pins and that they were on their way over to the shop, but that they were a slightly bigger pin and he was going to have to shave them down and re-thread the new ones to fit inside the wholes that they also had to re-thread. so i ask him how much all that, the new pins and re-threading, is going to cost. he says that the pins are EACH 40 DOLLARS!!! but without them he cant put my car back together due to the old ones being damaged when they were put in the last time, this causing them to be ruined when he took them out.

OH HOW LOVELY, JUST FREAKIN LOVELY!!!

New total: about 235 dollars, PLUS TAX!!!

and 245 dollars later my car is fixed, sorta. they want me to bring it back in 2 weeks so that they can check the pins to make sure the bigger ones are working and not coming loose.

i have realized today that my car's name must be Murphy!!! its like Murphy's law: Whatever can happen WILL happen. nothing is ever easy with my bug. c'mon people, cant i catch a break for once!?! i love my car but this one thing after another, or one thing leading to another
is really getting old, and im getting sick of it.

o, and did i mention?, the back brakes will need to be done this summer.
WHOOOOP DEEEE FREAKIN DOOOO!!!!!!!