Car Trouble!! UUUGGGHHHH!!!

Well, after 10 years of no problems with the Audi, it decided to be a pain in the butt the last couple of weeks. I went to get my emissions done and it failed due to a "secondary air intake" problem. I (not getting much of the car gene from my dad) had no idea what that was, but figured(rightly so) that it was not cheap. So I take it to Audi and they give me a loaner. The next day they call and tell me it is fixed, so I drop off the loaner and pay them $250 for a little bit of work and an oil change. WHEW!! Not near what I thought.

The next morning I crank it up and, guess what, the check engine light is back on!! CRAP!! I take it back to Audi, this time they did not send me to the rental place, but give a 2008 S3 turbo as a loaner (tricky bastages, putting me in a new Audi). It was really sweet and pretty damn fast for a 4 door hatchback. They know what they are doing. So this past weekend goes by and I get a call Monday afternoon about 3:00 telling me the car is ready. Damages? $1005.54!! HOLY CRAP!! The tech told me WORST CASE would be around a grand. Guess What? It was worst case! I am now the proud owner of a brand new, Audi installed, $1000, secondary air injection system!! YEEHAA!! Apparently it uses valves and various other parts to push air into the fuel system, during start up and under load, to "reduce emissions". What a bunch of CRAP!! Anyway, according to the emissions guy, I needed to drive it about 2 weeks to reset all the sensors, chips, and computer stuff. So I still could not get my tag.

Guess What? I crank it up the next day and THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AGAIN!!! AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! I just dropped it off again and they sent me back to the rent a car place, I guess I did not rate another Audi loaner since I did not buy the S3 on the spot. I tried to trade them even, but they said no!! Imagine that. So here I am waiting to hear from them about what the problem is this time. This one should be on their dime, as they said they ran a full diagnostic and everything was "good to go". I guess I cannot complain too much as I haven't had a car payment for 5 years, but it is still aggravating. Donna's car will be paid off in March and we will hopefully be able to go a couple years without a car payment and then I will get something new again, probably another Audi. MAN it has been a good car.

CYA Sunday at Ryker T.'s Birthday! 2 years old already! Wow my little buddy is growing up fast!!