Car Falling Apart

My car would like to retire. The odometer reads nearly 200,000 miles but the exterior is beat up, scratched with dents. I've used it like a work vehicle. Those are 200k cat miles on that beloved car.

The seat cushions are torn with foam, and in some cases, metal, exposed. Part of the front grill is missing.

A couple weeks ago, backing out of my tight fitting garage, I whacked the driver side mirror backwards, popping out the mirror. This has happened many times. Usually it's me whacking the mirror as I squeeze by and around my car doing work in the garage. This time I barely tapped the frame, which kicks it backwards, doing no harm. But the glass mirror popped out and I was unable this time to pop it right back into place.

This mirror has plastic parts on the backside, upon which it rotates, electrically, from a switch on the door panel. I don't need a switch operated mirror. Or windows for that matter, but one has no choice now. And when those break, my gosh, they can cost hundreds to replace.

I took the thing completely apart, then put it back together, but one side would hang loose. I taped it to hold it in place. While trapping at an apartment complex, a guy who works as a mechanic came to my car window, while I was sitting out there in the dark near midnight. He was hoping I knew someone who had work. He's been out of work for quite some time.

In the end, he tried to get the mirror back into place also. It held for less than half mile before falling loose again.

That's where it's stood, a stand off between the mirror and me, for two weeks now. I asked my mechanic to fix it. Apparently he's busy. He told me to fix it myself.

I tried again today. I again took it completely apart, trying to solve the mystery of why it would not pop back into place. Finally, while using reading glasses, I realized one tiny bit of plastic had broken off one of the swivels, which means it won't hold in place, and there is no hope it ever will unless I replace that part.

I gave up and stuffed the mirror holder shell with torn up plastic bags, to hold the mirror itself out far enough to tape securely. Electronic mirror: dead. All because of a 1/16 inch thick piece of white plastic that is in total about 1/2 inch long. Half of that broke off.

I also was gifted with about 30 cds', no longer wanted by their owner who has all her music on ipod and pc. Thank you, Frodonnah! I had only one cd my car cd player would actually play. I've been listening to the same cd for over a year now. Once I received the cd's from Susannah, I eagerly tried to eject the long standing cd to put in one of the new ones I'd received.

Alas! My car refuses to give up that old cd. It's attached. Obsessed. Literally. The player will not eject it. I tried and tried and tried. I had been so excited about new music. This turn of events dropped my spirits. I wanted to spray the cd player with acid! I e-mailed Susannah, offering to return her cd's. No word yet. It was so kind of her to send them to me.

Not so nice of my car to hold onto the past like that, refusing to eject the cd that has been in there probably two years and force me to listen to that cd forever. Would make an excellent horror movie.

The car is fading. The engine still runs, however, and that's what counts.

Oh how I have loved that car!