Car Repairs BEFORE Road Trips

Road trips are wonderful. There is something amazing in its own way about all of us packing in a car and having to sit together for hours. Even with everyone’s mind wandering off on their own with no conversations going on, I still feel the bond.

It never surprised me when dad slowed down, or pulled over to the side of the road during a road trip. It was either because he wanted to let the car cool down, or there was something wrong with the water pump. To be honest, I can’t remember a road trip that we survived with dad’s beloved car without the car breaking down somehow! Poor dad, he couldn’t let go of the old ford expedition since it given to our family from our sponsored church. He cherished it as if it was one of his children.

Looking back, I am not sure if he didn’t buy another car because he didn’t feel the family budget would allowed him to do so, or that he was infatuated with the idea of preserving the car for as long as he could with repairs and replacement of the timing belt?

Either way, it was too bad he never had the chance to buy the car he always wanted for our family. Funny though, he would visit the used car dealership every now and then and drive the sales guys crazy with his bargaining ways. I could always tell when he just came back from the used car lot. He would say out loud as if he is talking to me (kids don’t hold conversations with adults that way in my family) that the car he asked about was way over priced and it isn’t as good as the one he has! God knows. Our car needed to go to the junk yard.