the car

Driving home from various errands on Saturday morning, I was suddenly aware of how hot it was in the car. Looking down at the panel, the AC was off. As were all the gauges and the power windows. I drove the rolling oven I was stuck with all the way home and checked what fuses I knew of under the hood. I saw nothing wrong.
After that, Monster followed me to the mechanic where I left it for a diagnostic. They called a couple of hours later and said I could pick up my car. When I got back, they said everything was working now and should continue to work - as long as I don't run my air conditioning.

There are an entire group of fuses under my steering that I missed checking and those fuses - all or most of them - went out all at once from the air conditioner. So, how do I fix this problem? I have to replace the entire unit for a cost of $2197.00 or there abouts, mostly parts and not labor, and the dealership could possibly get the replacement in by Tuesday or Wednesday if I had gone ahead and bought a new unit that day.

I paid the diagnostic fee of $100 and took my car home. This car is too old and needs too many expensive repairs on a regular basis to fix again at that cost. Every time I turn around, it's another repair in the price range of $2000, give or take $20. Really - the cost of taking my car into the mechanic is nearly always the same.

Monster is going around lots with me in the evening to look for a new compact car to replace my old '94 sedan.
I test drove a Toyota Yaris yesterday. This evening, I hope to try out the Honda Fit. It is a pit that there are no cars left anywhere of last year's Scion or Civic that might sell for something within reach. Monster was eyeing the new Scion at the dealership yesterday, although he's not at all in the market for a new car yet - just dreaming and planning.

My needs are not much. I don't haul much around on a regular basis. Just need something with automatic transmission and air conditioning, and maybe power windows & doors and a stereo I can plug my iPod into. That and in a better, much more visible color this time around than beige or gray. I think the color of my car might be one of the reasons people seem to be constantly running into it in parking lots and while stopped at lights. It's amazing how often I'll just be sitting idle and someone will turn or back into me, or how many times I come back to my car in the parking lot to find mystery dents and scratches. Maybe I need a car in Safety Orange or Electric Chartreuse.