Sorry, Helen, but the latest 2 incidents I mentioned above are just the most recent in a horrible year for me. I love my car and take very good care of it. What pisses me off is that I think the mechanic is trying to pull something and at the very least is jerking me on the cost. I had to register my car in July to the tune of a couple hundred dollars, put 2 new tires on it in the last 3 months to the tune of another couple hundred dollars and I pay for full coverage insurance at over $600 a year....all of that is the cost of running a vehicle. I'm angry at the mechanic, not the car. Sorry I can't be more sympathetic to your situation but in addition to the car issue my 1 1/2 year old cat could have died yesterday and had to spend the night at the vet's office (which, incidentally, will cost me about $400 when I pick him up this afternoon).