Sometimes being an adult has it’s advantages. This time… it doesn’t. I found out yesterday that there are a number of things wrong with my car. The rear differential is leaking, the torque converter in my transmission is bad, and I may possibly have an abs issue. Total cost of fixing everything? Probably about $3500. I think my truck is worth about 4g’s… in GOOD CONDITION! So the dilemma I face now is should I fork the money over and fix it or give it up and get something new? Keep in mind the car is running right now and is drive-able. However, I’d rather not wait until the car dies to make a decision.

I do have the money to fix the old thing if I choose to do so. But is it really worth putting that much money into it? I actually haven’t had too many problems with it since I got it back in 2002 brand spanking new. I bought it for about 19,000… since then I’ve replaced all 4 tires twice, gotten new brake pads twice, had the fluid’s flushed twice… I think that’s about all. So the total cost of the car including maintenance has probably been about 21,500  for the last 7yrs. Is that good or bad? I really have no idea. I’m pretty new at this whole car buying, repair… business. Should I put more money into fixing a car that is most likely going to have more problems down the road? I’ve got a bunch of miles on the thing…. 115,000. 3 road trips to Florida and back probably didn’t help matters. But if I just suck it up and pay to fix it, I don’t have to worry about a car payment. Not having to make a payment the last 3 yrs has been pretty  great.

Another option is getting a new one. Actually a new ’09 is absolutely out of the question unless I can get one at a bargain basement price. Which I guess in this economy is possible, but probably not with the kind of car I’d want. I started looking around yesterday and I think I’m set on a Nissan Pathfinder. I can’t not get an SUV of some sort. I don’t feel comfortable in cars… they are really hard for me to get in and out of b/c of my bad knees… occupational hazzard… .. j/k. Some have suggested crossovers, but I don’t really like the look of those either. I know they are all the craze these days, but I really think they just look like modernized station wagons. So now I’m on a mad hunt for a used low mile pathfinder. Well it seems Pathfinders have a pretty good resale value so finding a good deal on a used one has proved to be harder than I first thought. Plus with the economy being so bad, more people are buying used cars which is driving the cost of them up. What I found yesterday, though, is that some dealers actually still have new 08′s on the lots. Well this sounds okay to me. There’s not much difference between the ’08 and ’09 models, and I’m sure these ’08s have been sitting on the lot for a while seeing as we’re in the 3rd month of 2009! I’m thinking the dealers are wanting to get rid of these asap. Couple that with the fact that a car depreciates 35% after the first year, I’ve got good bargaining tips to negotiate down from. So with that being said, if I can get a new ’08 for just a little more than a used older model, I think I’d be willing to go that route.

I haven’t made any final decisions though. Like I said, my car is still running and it all depends on how desparate these dealers are to get rid of their SUV’s.

The T-shirt thing did not work. I was up just about all night b/c he kept managing to wiggle out of his shirt. I think he’s actually Houdini reincarnated b/c that shirt was pretty much tied to him, so I don’t know how he was able to wiggle out. Unfortunately I fell asleep between 4-6am and in that time he managed to get his shirt off AND pull out his drainage tube. Well I wasn’t sure how much of a problem this would be so I spent 7:30-8:00am this morning trying to call the vet to ask if I needed to bring him in. Also during that time I went to ANOTHER vet to see if they had a cone collar that would fit him. Sure enough they did. The Doc finally called me back around 8:30 and he said as long as the hole was still draining and fluid wasn’t getting backed up then it would be fine. I just needed to keep the hole where the drainage tube open. This involved placing neosporin in the drainage hole, which by the way was really disgusting. So as of right now poor Indy is at home by himself with a cone collar on, dripping fluid out of his leg, AND probably extremely uncomfortable.

Well I’ve got Indiana home now and he’s doing pretty good. He’s slept most of the evening, but he’s still alert. He gets up when I get up and follows me around just as he normally does. He’s just got a little less pep to his step. When I first brought him home I noticed a slight limp, but I don’t really see a limp anymore. When I first saw the drainage tube, I must admit it made me a little queasy. (I can’t believe I ever REALLY considered being a vet!) He’s got about 10 or 11 staples on the incision on the inside of his leg. He also had a small incision in his lower abdomen, but this site didn’t need staples. He’s already tried to start chewing on his leg where the staples are. This could pose a problem b/c he could inadvertently pull out the staples or the drainage tube. Unfortunately the vet didn’t have an appropriately sized cone collar for him, and I can’t watch him 24/7,  so I had to improvise. I put him in one of my signature gray t-shirts. The t-shirt is long enough that it covers his back leg and abdomen, so if he sits down or lays down and tries to chew or lick the area it’s covered by the shirt. I had to cut holes in the shirt to get his back legs through it. This helped to keep the shirt on him and prevented him from tripping on it.  Funny thing is, I put the shirt on him backwards. Meaning the tag side is on this chest instead of his back. Classic Daisy move right there. And since I already cut the holes in the shirt, I can’t just turn it around or I’ll have to cut new holes for his back legs. So Indy will just have to wear his shirt backwards… Pooooor Indy…

    

For those who are concerned about Indy’s well being, I spoke to the Doc not too long ago, and he said Indy was doing fine. He was just starting to wake up and look around. Apparently the growth in his leg was the size of a lemon! Due to the size of the growth that was removed, he had to put in a drainage tube. This will be removed when I take him back to have the staples taken out. He also found a couple smaller growths around his stomach that he also removed. Overall he said the procedure went very well and I will be able to pick Indiana up sometime after 4 today. I’ll post another update when I have him back home with me.

I kept an eye on it all week hoping it would go down and eventually go away. Unfortunately it didn’t so I had to take him to the vet today. It turns out that he has a lipoma  that has formed under the muscle of this right leg. Basically just a fat deposit. (No fat jokes!) Sometimes when an animal starts to gain weight fat deposits will accumulate under the skin. Normally they aren’t anything to worry about. But since this one is under the muscle and very near the knee, the Doc suggested having it moved b/c it is in a high risk location. If the lipoma gets any bigger, Indy may start to have trouble walking. So I decided to schedule the surgery, and my big guy is going to be going under the knife on Wednesday. It’s suppose to be a very low risk procedure, but everyone keep him in your prayers and wish him luck!