So... to top off this month's loveliness, my car ate my paycheck. I took it in this weekend for some routine stuff. This weekend here in Massachusetts, we have a special "Tax-Free Holiday." Cool, huh? It doesn't apply to actually buying a new vehicle, but pretty much everything else is fair game. My 2002 Focus needed a state inspection, oil change, and a new tire. Plus, I was worried about this noise that my car made whenever I turned the steering wheel. Sort of like a groaning. I thought maybe I just needed more fluid.
Or maybe it had something to do with the new sway bar link that had to be put in after I drove over a wicked bad pothole back in June. Lost my hubcap, bent the rim, and broke the sway bar link. I had no idea what that was until it broke. =p Apparently, it connects the front wheels together as part of the suspension and helps prevent the car from rolling. Stupid freakin' potholes. The one I ran afoul of was fixed just a few days *after* I blundered into it. Ah, the irony.
Anyhow, back to the present problem. Unluckily for me, the "groaning" meant I had a problem w/ my car's power steering. But just putting in more fluid wasn't gonna cut it. The power steering pump was fine but the fluid was leaking out because my rack and pinion needed to be replaced. (yeah, I looked that up too so now I know what a rack and pinion are.) Not a cheap thing to fix, let me tell you.
So I ended up paying for an inspection, oil change, new tire, alignment, and a new rack and pinion. All told, nearly $800. gak! Thank heavens I didn't have to pay tax on all that. whew. But holy crap this sucks!!
