There will be drama...

Yeah, yeah, I know. Color you surprised at the thought of drama in Debi's life. But my most beloved Beetle is in the shop again. Yesterday as I was driving up the hill on my way to Starbucks (another huge surprise for you), the temperature light started flashing red. ARGH! The manual is supremely UNHELPFUL.

So, I park it and take Mike's truck to Starbucks. Until someone at the dealer tells me if I can drive it or not, it's not going anywhere. Even better, we have stuff three adults and a Chihuahua into the truck for the trek to Vashon Island to see Mike's 100-year-old grandfather who just drove in from Nebraska (more on that later).

This morning I called the dealer, and they said to put a cup of water in the coolant resevoir to see if it's a low coolant issue. Sure, make it sound easy. Except that they seem to have used an air wrench to secure the top of the coolant resevoir. Honestly? A hammer and a screw driver to turn the silly thing (there's a LARGE channel running down the center, but no room to lay down anything for leverage).

A cup of water helped. Mom and I dropped it off at the dealer. They probably won't get to it today, and maybe not tomorrow. The service advisor teased me with the idea that it might have been a bubble in the coolant line. When the bubble finally pops, it can lower the level a lot. So again, it will be $100 or $1000.

Update: My car has a "coolant flange" and it's leaking. Only $185. WHEW. I also have an oil leak, but they're fixing it under warranty because I'm the first owner. I had a 2-year/24,000 mile warranty, so I'm unsure how at 8 years and 85,000 miles it's being fixed under warranty, but I'm gonna go with good karma at this point. I can't have it until tomorrow, but it's CHEAP!