My 2006 VW Passat starting acting up when Liz and I traveled to LA in May. The engine light went on going north on I5. I thought it was minor, like bad diesel or a gascap.
On Friday, August 15 I was headed to my San Quentin class when the car When lost power. I drove it to Meineke's and the news was not good. I put $2000 into the car. While under repairs, I drove a rental car to Mount Lassen. The car was fixed I thought, but then it broke down again. This time the bill was $2500. Way too much money!
On the way home from my Utah road trip on September 20, in the town of Groveland, just west of Yosemete, the VW died again. This time it was the trasmission.Below is the last picture of the Passat wagon in Yosemite.
It cost $200 for the tow to Ralph's Transmission in Modesto. To fix or not to fix? I slept on it -- at a Motel 6, rented a car and drove to San San Mateo on Sunday, the enxt day.
On Monday, the transmission shop said the repair was in the neighborhood of $4500 and the Blue Book was about $5000. I managed to sell the VW to the shop for $750.
Charles Varaday followed my rental in his own car to Modesto on Wenesday. I traded my title for the cash and he drove me back to Hayward, where I rented another car from Enterprise for one day. |
