Oxygen Senser

Thanks to sensers and small computers, cars are able to run far more efficiently than ever before. The down side is when one of these gizmos decides to go kaput. Sometime either Saturday or early Sunday morning, the oxygen senser on my car decided to bite the dust though I didn't know that was the problem. The only thing I knew was the check engine warning light came on and stayed on. I checked the owner's manual and it said take the car to the dealership. To me, if you have to take the car to the dealership, it has to be something serious. I was scheduled to work today at the Post Office but, I didn't want to keep driving my car if there was something seriously wrong with it. I never forgot the time I drove my Plymouth Laser and I thought the alternator was acting up. It turned out I was wrong. The timing belt had slipped and the intake valves were smashing into the piston heads. I ended up trashing the engine. Because of that experience, I decided to take the car to the dealership as soon as possible. I called the primary carrier for the route I was supposed to work and thankfully, she was able to work. I called my acting supervisor (the regular one is on leave) and he said it would be fine as long as she covered the route.

This morning, I drove to the dealership before it opened so I could be one of the first one's in line. To my annoyance, the dealership was booked up and the repair representative said it would be tomorrow before they'd get to my car. Damn! As the Post Office wouldn't like me missing two days of work, I decided to rent a car. That ended up costing $40 a day.

Then, luck shined on me. The dealership was able to check my car and it turned out to be the oxygen senser. Better still, they had one on hand. Better better news, I'd be able to get my car back today. The bad news, it was going to cost $340! Ouch!

Oh well, I'll keep my fingers crossed that this will be the last car repair for a while. We'll see.