  Rrrr.. So there is a problem that is now semi-major but it could have been avoided all along. There was a problem a while back where one of the lugs on the accord wheel came loose and it was causing the others to be loose also. We figured it out before we lost a wheel, which was good. We were on a trip to Houston at the time so it was bad.
Still, no damage had been done at this point. We needed to get a new lug because the one went awol, but those are a couple of bucks so no bid deal. Still. Here is where the kicker comes. I don't drive the car and I don't really remember these things unless I am reminded about it or have made an explicit point to do something about it. So lots of time goes by and I am riding with Mere and am reminded that the wheel is not completely on because it is making lots of noise. And Mere is driving at least 70 on it in a 65 area. If you know your wheel isn't on very well, would you speed on it?
Rrrr... I have a set of rims that I used to have on the accord but took off because the tires are too expensive and one of the rims is slightly bent. I told Mere that I would put those on until we could get the lug and then she wouldn't have to worry about losing a wheel or something (the rims take different lugs so I had all of those...) When I go to remove the loose wheel, I run into an obstacle.
The bolt snaps. Ouch. So now a couple of dollar problem means replacing the entire hub. I don't know how much it's going to cost, but this is something that I'm going to let the mechanic do instead of myself just for time constraints and tool availability. And I think I'm too upset about it for now. Why am I upset? I guess because sometimes it feels like I am doing the maintenance on two vehicles instead of just one. I have to change all the oils and filters and fix whatever is wrong on them or make the decision to get whatever repaired.
The problem is that I am not in one of the cars that often, and some of the things I don't know unless I am told about. Like I need to know ahead of time that in a day or so the oil needs to be changed. Not when it is past due a few hundred miles. I need to know that the break pads are wearing out before they are to the point that they are starting to cut grooves in the rotors.
Blaugh. And how do you never know how much gas you have? I check my gauge religiously. I know I want to fill up at about half a tank, so when I am closing in on 200 miles for the trip odometer then I start making mental notes. "If I drive another 40 miles then I'm going to get gas". Then when the forty miles is up I get gas. Unless it's an inconvenience and then I make a note that I'm going to do it later. I don't constantly end up at the bottom of a tank of gas and not realize it until the empty warning flashes.
What's more, she should be paying attention to this since there are some mechanical problems now. I think it is something to do with the fuel line. I don't believe the fuel pump is working correctly and is causing the engine to stall at times. Not to the point where it dies, but where it is in a jerky acceleration. It doesn't do this on a full tank of gas, but does when it is lower than half a tank very frequently.
So it stands to reason that you are doing yourself a favor by making sure you have at least half a tank of gas. Not to mention you get better gas mileage on the top half of the tank to my experience. It might even be the dent in the oil pan is causing oil starvation.
I want to replace that too. Then once again I'm in the repairing two cars at once kind of thing. It's not that I think Mere does these things on purpose or anything like that. It's just that these things are annoying to me. I have a view on cars and how I think they should be treated and maintained. I don't like to see any car not maintained to those levels, especially one of mine. I think Mere is going to get a new car in a few months so that would be the end of that problem. She will have a maintenance schedule and she will have to take it in or void her warranty. That will make her more aware.
Also a professional will have to do it so I can just concentrate on one car. We'll see how that works out. 
