December 5, 1996

The Jetta runs. It took a bit of under the hood, a bit of in the dash and a bit of inside the wheel wells, but together with Glendale Auto Parts (we're like old friends now) and Elite Auto's service garage, we've pieced a $275 parts car into a gem. We had our doubts though. "Was this car really a good idea?" For several days we vacillated. The car vibrated like crazy. We recalled all our other VW's; they too vibrated - a little bit, but with this one, the dash wiggled, the seats pulsed; it felt like we were going into orbit whenever we turned the key. "I've got the perfect name," I said. "Vibreena."

But a moving massage machine was the least of our worries. Two days after purchase, that 'drivability problem' we were told about reared its ugly head. Four miles out of the driveway we stopped, and there we stayed. No idle, no power, no go. John instantly got under the hood, resumed his Opel mechanic pose and scratched his head. He tried everything. I, not quite as car-mechanically inclined (although in the last week, I've increased my knowledge tenfold), also got to work. I too tried everything I could think of, namely marching across the street and into the garage of Elite Auto. At least our break-downs are convenient (if you can ever call a break-down convenient). The sign on the garage read "Ten minute oil change, alignment and general auto repairs." Perfect. We had your basic, general auto problem - the car wouldn't run.

The people at Elite Auto were very helpful. As soon as we could get the car to their garage, they would take a look at it. They even gave me the number of a towing company that could haul it across the street. I made the call. But as soon as I hung up, I saw John across five lanes of traffic close the hood, get in the car and move it forward. "Cancel that tow, I think she's rolling."

Yes she was rolling, but at an incredible rev. John was stepping on the gas pedal keeping that tachometer needle in the red. It was the only way to keep her from stalling. Our poor little car didn't appear to enjoy the ride, In fact, she appeared to be steamed. It was coming out of her her mouth, her nose, her ears. As John inched her across bumper-to-bumper traffic on Orchard Lake Road and down the sidewalk (to save from pulling into traffic again), she lost a pint of anti-freeze. And then another pint, and then, just as she came to a stop, she exploded. The rest of her fluid hit the ground. "Now that's not exactly environmentally friendly of her is it?"

"It's always the little things that get me steamed," John said. How could he be humorous at a time like this? A simple switch wire had come unhooked and the radiator fan never came on. Now, to add to our troubles, we had a busted radiator hose - naturally the one furthest back, sitting just under the condenser. But David at Elite Auto proved to be our savior. He knew VW's. He found the 'driveability problem', timed her, replaced the radiator hose and made a list for us of all the other things wrong with the car. (A greedy child's Christmas list would be shorter.)

On Monday we took the car back to him and had him replace the timing belt, the power steering belt, the alternator belt, the ball joints, the tie rods - and the Partridge in a Pear Tree! Now we just have to have the exhaust manifold gasket replaced and we'll be in business. After all of this, we hope our only problem will be to find a new name for the car. Vibreena may no longer apply.