Friday, January 11, 2008

Driving Empty

Posted by Diva's Thoughts at 11:25 AM

I noticed the other day that my car was running a little rough. It was sluggish one day then the next the "Check Gadges" light came on. I'm thinking to myself 'What the hell is going on with this car.'

Now I don't profess to be the most mechanically inclined woman around but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that something was wrong with my baby. I decided to start out by taking her to Jiffy Lube. I figured it had been awhile since my last oil change maybe we'll start there.

I pull into Jiffy Lube, I step out of the car and proceed into the waiting area. About 5 mins later a guy came out and says, "Ms. Diva. When was the last time you had an oil change?"

I started to think about this for a minute. Hmmmmmm... " I was supposed to get one at about 83,000 miles."

"Maam, your car has almost 96,000 miles on it."

"Oh." I exclaim.

"Yes. It was bone dry Miss."

Oops.

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30 People saying stuff:

Anonymous said...

That could happen to anyone....including me.

January 11, 2008 at 12:03 PM
CarmenSinCity said...

Oh yeah, funny thing, I need an oil change right now desperately too. I know it's overdue, I'm definitely heading over there this weekend.

January 11, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Nicole said...

See, car maintenance, lawn mowing, and carrying really heavy stuff are the 3 main reasons why I got married.

January 11, 2008 at 12:28 PM
All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

its 3.03 a gallon here and im complaining

January 11, 2008 at 12:44 PM
JsTzznU said...

Something is wrong here!! See with out ANY oil. your engine would have STOPPED DEAD.. Sorry, thinking that guy was over stating things.

Oh & unless your leaking/burning oil, not changing it won't make it run out hahahah... Think.. BMW's get there oil changed once a year or 15,000 miles!! not every 3,000.. Ever wonder why they can, yet everyone else tells you 3,000??????

January 11, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Rita said...

that happened to me too... but I went on a trip and when I came back i had no oil at all and my car died :)
that is a funny story, now that i'm thinking about it.
that's why we need husbands... to take care of that.

January 11, 2008 at 2:46 PM
minijonb said...

yep. engines are just like flowers... don't forget to water (or oil) them.

...you might want to trade this car in before long-term issues with that lump start showing up.

January 11, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Adrianne said...

I did the same to my other car and it died. So sad.

At least you have a happy ending.

January 11, 2008 at 3:33 PM
Freckle Face Girl said...

Ooops - I blame those kind of things on the non-female type atmosphere at the car fix-it places. Someone should create a chain of them that women want to go to. They should be very clean, have a bright & homey feel, great magazines, have a Starbucks, etc. We'd remember & we would even pay an extra $5 for oil changes. :)

January 11, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Karen said...

ooops. I did that back when I was in high school. I can still heard my dad screaming at me.

January 11, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Ann(ie) said...

I need one now, too and I have for several weeks and I keep putting it off. Thank you...I'm gonna get off my ass and do it already!

January 11, 2008 at 7:06 PM
laughing said...

Okay, so it's not that the engine itself is actually bone dry, it's just that the measuring stick is bone dry.

And it's a lot worse when it's your dad telling you that instead of just some mechanic. Dad telling you that is very scary.

I also need to get my oil changed soon, which I've been planning to do, but I couldn't because of the check engine light. That's a whole other story for later.

Luckily, I have found the perfect place to get the oil change. It is in the back of the Walmart. So during the wait I have my choice of actually going back inside the Walmart to shop, walking across the parking lot to watch a movie at the dollar theater, or walking to a number of other places to have lunch.

January 11, 2008 at 7:31 PM
*Tanyetta* said...

thank goodness nothing major happened to it!

whew!

January 11, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Tired of being broke said...

Coming o think of it, I have been meaning to get one since the Summer. Maybe I should do that before the month ends when I take the car to get inspected.

January 11, 2008 at 11:29 PM
Anonymous said...

LMAO @ oops. I say that alot. my hubby says it gets old, *snicker!*

January 12, 2008 at 1:16 AM
Anonymous said...

There are more important things in life to worry about. Shoes for instance. And nailpolish.

January 12, 2008 at 6:22 AM
Jane said...

My ex husband is a mechanic and for the 13 years I was married to him it was drilled into me about car maintenance. I promise I'm a good girl about this one. lol

January 12, 2008 at 10:10 AM
lisa q. said...

oh yeah...that sounds like me as well and my car even has a light that comes on when it's time and says change oil. :D

January 12, 2008 at 12:40 PM
WendyB said...

Hmm. He says "bone dry" like it's a bad thing.

January 12, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Anonymous said...

*crackin d hell up* what in that world????

LOL@ oops

January 12, 2008 at 6:48 PM
WrkNProgress said...

Well let's be honest, women just Can't know it all right?

I would be the same, but luckily for me the garage call when the maintenance is due--They want the money.

Still it takes me a couple weeks to get around to it.

Glad things worked out good for you.

January 12, 2008 at 7:54 PM
Jeni said...

Not that I am recommending this but, back in 1979, I bought a chevette, new -drove it for almost seven years. It had its first oil change at 117,000 miles -mainly because when I had time to get it done, I didn't have the money and vice versa. What probably saved the car was that I did have the oil checked every time I filled the gas tank and it had a quart of oil added off and on, roughly every 1,000 to 1,500 miles. When I sold the car (for $450), it had 144,000 miles on it and that guy drove it for several years after that -or his son used it as a school vehicle. Oh -I did get one other oil change in on it -at about 133,000 miles. Darned good little buggy that was!

January 12, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Vi said...

Oops! One thing I do, is check my oil regularly!

January 13, 2008 at 4:30 AM
That girl said...

For the longest time I didn't even know HOW to check my oil.

It's such a blue job.

(at our house there are pink jobs and blue jobs - I do the pink, like cooking, cleaning and bathing the kids. He does the blue ones like taking out the garbage, putting up the christmas lights, and checking the oil in the car)

January 13, 2008 at 4:27 PM
Don said...

You don't wanna mess around and lock your motor up. lol. Keep some oil in your car.

January 14, 2008 at 8:00 AM
david mcmahon said...

Happens to the best of us!!

January 14, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Anonymous said...

oops. Hope you don't need a new engine.

January 14, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Tai said...

No you di'int!!!!

January 14, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Anonymous said...

Glad you caught that in time. A lot of people would have kept rolling hoping the problem would just "go away". Much longer and you'd have been replacing an engine instead of $20 worth of oil.

Now that thingy with the numbers they put on the inside left of your windshield? Glance up now and then. ;)

January 15, 2008 at 10:43 AM
The Ambiguous Blob said...

damn! I need one like 2 thousand miles ago.

January 22, 2008 at 1:29 PM

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