I Depend on a Beast

I cannot afford to retire because my car has a money-eating problem. After having spent damn year $5,000 on the beast just a few months ago, today I had to spend another $1,600 on it, getting front strut mounts and replacing the rear struts. Ever since I had the heavy work done on it a few months ago, I have heard a loud "clunk" on the right front of the car.

I took it back to the garage that did the original work, right after the work was done, and they couldn't hear the clunk...then they said they thought it was a part that just happened to break after the work was done. I wasn't buying it, so I declined to have them even quote. But the clunk has gotten worse and worse and, because I need to take my car on the highway soon, I decided I better have it checked. The Toyota dealership said the aftermarket struts the garage had put on probably didn't fit the struts well and the garage had probably tightened the struts too much, putting enough pressure on the strut mount, causing it to crack. Of course, no one will testify to that, so I'm out of luck. Knowing nothing of any consequence about cars, I am forced to let the experts tell me what is necessary. The guy at the dealership told me I could keep driving the car, but he said it was dangerous because, if the strut pulled out of the mount, it could do serious damage to the steering, etc.

So, I fed my car's money-eating habit. I want a new car...I want a replacement...but I dare not get one now, considering how much I have invested in my old beast. It's nine years old now, on its way to ten, and has about 138,000 miles on it. The dealership service manager said the only significant things he could think of that could go wrong now are the transmission and the engine...and he said there is no sign of either being on the horizon (again, with no guarantees). This, after I told him about all the work I had done a few months ago...and about the air conditioner compressor I had replaced a year or so ago.

The car acts a lot like a new car...always has...and seems very dependable, but it's getting a little ragged around the edges. The leather front seats are beginning to crack, despite my (too late) efforts to revive them with leather dressing. The fake wood on the dash and front trim is now almost all gone...doesn't look bad, though, except for the places where the adhesive wouldn't come up...there, it looks horrible.
The leather-covered steering wheel looks awful, the leather-covered shifter knob looks awful, the floor mats look awful...and there are lots, and lots of dings. But, no rust, no significant dents (but plenty of dings and scrapes). I guess I'm arguing that it seems solid now, with only cosmetic damage, so I really should get over my new-car desires. If I were to get a new one, I'd probably test drive a Honda Element, an SUV-like vehicle that gets mileage equal to or better than my car...and has lots and lots of room. But, I won't get one...not even a used one. I have $6,500 worth of investements in my 1997 Toyota Avalon to go through, first.