This is what happens when your girls daily driver breaks down !

[Grumpy old man]

This past Monday morning I get the call Mrs Grumpy's truck has a problem and she's stuck at a gas station and the check engine light is on and the oil pressure gauge is bottomed out , Now, She's been driving an 02 rcsb dodge ram for the last 10 years and loved the truck but she drove the wheels off of it over 250.000 miles . I've been throwing parts at it for the last year keeping it going until we could find a GMC K2500 to replace it but the prices just weren't where we wanted them to be on a used truck . so the wait for a tow truck was going to be over an hour . And here is the bad part ... we are right across the street from Rusty Wallace Honda dealership and She sees a bunch of used minivans sitting there ... So off we go to just take a look at whats there . Well the thing about used mini vans is for the most part they've been carrying a bunch of rug rats and curtain climbers ,You know tricycle motors around ,They have door dings /scratches and old cheerios in the seats . So Without having any idea whats wrong with the old Dodge I in my infinite wisdom suggest we look for a nice clean car with all the bells and whistles for her . Here is where my wisdom starts to fail and she spots a Pearl white Civic EX-L that's super clean and really low miles Black leather interior and it's spotless clean and the salesman is heading our way with the keys ...Sure honey go ahead and take it for a ride ,We were still waiting on the tow truck anyway ...When they get back from the test drive she has one of those big grins on her face and I know it's about to cost me something ! By the time the "old truck" is loaded on the tow truck the salesman was already putting the tag on Her new " hot rod " It turns out the Dodge just had an oil pressure sensor go bad I fixed it for less than $20.00

You know I wonder if I can take back the robe and slippers I got her for Christmas ???

[67C10Step]

That's the way it happens. I'm sure your daughter will love the Honda, the great gas mileage, and all. Right up to the point she's calling to borrow the Dodge to haul something.

Oh yeah, better keep the robe and slippers, they still want something to open on Christmas day. Don't ask me how I know.......

[Warrens69GMC]

Enjoy the Honda, It will help to get through any gas price hikes.

On the flip side, now you have more time to work on your trucks as this one shouldn't require any maintenance for a while.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

That's the way it happens. I'm sure your daughter will love the Honda, the great gas mileage, and all. Right up to the point she's calling to borrow the Dodge to haul something.

Oh yeah, better keep the robe and slippers, they still want something to open on Christmas day. Don't ask me how I know.......

The Honda is for My girl (Mrs Grumpy) My daughter drives a Mercedes

[67C10Step]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

The Honda is for My girl (Mrs Grumpy) My daughter drives a Mercedes

Ha! My reading comprehension is poor this morning. Definitely keep the robe and slippers for certain. If she really enjoys driving it maybe she won't mind running to the parts store from time to time.

[KW5413]

Clean up the ol' Dodge and sell it for a premium while the market is still tight.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by KW5413

Clean up the ol' Dodge and sell it for a premium while the market is still tight.

Well , I just rebuilt the front suspension upper and lower control arms and bearings / it's got all new tires and brakes so yeah, that maybe what happens to it .

[Keith Seymore]

Whew!

She's a keeper.

My wife called me one time when the oil pressure light came on it her '84 Celebrity. She shut it right down and waited for me to arrive.

I got it home and dropped the oil pan. After some amount of diagnostics I determined it had broken the oil pump drive shaft (like the bottom half of a V8 distributor).

I recall that one cost me $14 by the time I bought the part and gaskets to put it back together.

K

[special-K]

The only thing that'll haul is butt. I bet she's alright with that, too!

[leddzepp]

The civic (hybrid) is one of the cars on my short list of possibilities. Looking for a commuter scooter to run the kids to all of their sports/activities. They go forever, great on gas, low maintenance.

[cwcarpenter98]

My family has a 2013 Civic Ex-L. For what it is, it is pretty fun to drive. If it was a manual, I would probably drive it even more than I do.
I was getting an average of 34 mpg when I was commuting from Milledgeville to Warner Robins, almost 100 miles a day, this past spring for my internship. And our Civic isn't even a hybrid. It's the 1.8L. It likes to sing past 6500 rpm too

[Low Elco]

Just bought a Kia Soul for my 60 mile/day commute. (All Interstate, 30 minutes ish.) Not a bad little scooter, I dig how utilitarian it is. Nice little car! Hope Momma enjoys her $20,000 oil sensor!

[mongocanfly]

That's actually not a bad looking car..as long as Mama grumpy is happy..!!!

[FleetsidePaul]

Honda's run forever. And if momma's happy then all is well in the world.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Nice Mrs. Grumpy.

I bought my daughter one of those, 2012 she HAD TO have, something 80Kish on it. First Honda this family. Other than an alternator right away 3-4 years later and probably 40-50K or so no issues.

[LONGHAIR]

That's one of the issues with "modern" vehicles. Once you get newer than electronic ignition, all it takes is a sensor or 2 to malfunction and you're sitting on the side of the road.
Computers and fuel injection give us more power and better fuel efficiency at the same time, along with remote starters and other benefits. They are also far more complex in the way of repair as well as costly and sensitive to variables.
The olden days of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps have all but gotten away from us. They were easy.

[57larry]

why not get the old lady a 67-72 C-10?

[72 tigger]

That may be the last daily she needs- maintain them and they run forever

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 57larry

why not get the old lady a 67-72 C-10?

I already have a 67 short bed for her in the garage, At the current rate of finishing mine it should be done in about 5 years

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

That may be the last daily she needs- maintain them and they run forever

Yep it may well be , I'm getting ready I just ordered a 10 pack of 10mm sockets .

The only things I've noticed so far are

Honda special 0-20 oil $7.50 a qt
Special trans fluid $8.50 a qt
special blue antifreeze $18.00 a gallon

She's had it a week today and I haven't been able to get the keys away from her yet !

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

That's one of the issues with "modern" vehicles. Once you get newer than electronic ignition, all it takes is a sensor or 2 to malfunction and you're sitting on the side of the road.
Computers and fuel injection give us more power and better fuel efficiency at the same time, along with remote starters and other benefits. They are also far more complex in the way of repair as well as costly and sensitive to variables.
The olden days of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps have all but gotten away from us. They were easy.

I used to drive from Northern Nj to Fl in the 70's with my 68 Camaro small block with points a quadra jet and bias ply tires with no problems and if you did have a problem there was always a payphone on the side of the road . One of the reasons I'm building my 67 is because I won't have to have a computer to fix it when I'm old- older

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

I used to drive from Northern Nj to Fl in the 70's with my 68 Camaro small block with points a quadra jet and bias ply tires with no problems and if you did have a problem there was always a payphone on the side of the road . One of the reasons I'm building my 67 is because I won't have to have a computer to fix it when I'm old- older

Payphones. When was the last time you saw one of those? I can't remember the last time I've seen one. They used to be everywhere.

I do see one when I go in my garage. I've got a phone booth out there but I don't think that counts. I've got to hook that thing up one of these days.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Payphones. When was the last time you saw one of those? I can't remember the last time I've seen one. They used to be everywhere.

I do see one when I go in my garage. I've got a phone booth out there but I don't think that counts. I've got to hook that thing up one of these days.

Well , If you broke down you could always dig behind the seat for some change or dial 0 and call collect ! Or when you were traveling you could call collect and the operator would ring the # you wanted and say "Bob" is calling collect from Jacksonville and dad would refuse the call but he got the message we were in Jacksonville ! Breaking the law , Breaking the law

[old Rusty C10]

My wife had a 2005 dodge CCSB that used to be one of my work pigs. It was a turd 4.7 motor automatic 4x4 that had 345000 on it. Much like your wife, mine loved hers and we still used it occasionally to transport a boat or jet skis or something for work. Well it was showing its age with the usual rot starting above the real arches and all and i had been throwing parts at it a while but i was nearing the end of my patience with it. I had also had a 2018 Subaru Forrester wagon that she drove when she needed to go somewhere other than shopping as i was anal about her getting that scratched and dinged up. Anyway i had wound up trading in her subaru and my old 2014 truck for a new work pig for me back in early 2020 and she only had her old dodge.. so last christmas i sold one of the houses and went looking for a new truck for her.. She got the 2020 Ram 1500 Classic this time with a hemi and 4x4.. Its so funny the look in the eyes of a woman when she gets a new ride