"He's dead, Jim"

Or something to that effect was what my mechanic said about the van's transmission.

I dropped the van off yesterday to get inspected, an oil change and have something done about the transmission. The van's tranny has been acting up for quite some time. mostly just an occasional warning light and a slight hesitancy between gears. I've been meaning to take it in for the past couple of months but between our crazy schedules and actually needing the beast to haul around flowers and food for Jake's Bar Mitzvah it has been put off.

Sunday was the last straw, I had already arranged with Larry to drop it off Monday night and I think it knew. As I drove to Richmond for a dog show it was awful. The van struggled to reach the higher gears. I was very grateful when we got to the show on time and were able to limp back home.

When I dropped it off Monday I was told they don't "do" transmissions. I was a bit puzzled as I had gotten a quote for a new one a month or two ago, but I shrugged it off. On Tuesday and three new tires later I had a car that was legal to drive, but could only at best struggle up to 30 mph. I talked to the day manager and about the transmission issue and he clarified that they only replace transmissions, not rebuild. That was fine by me, at just over 100 k miles I was willing to spring for a new (or rather rebuilt) one. So the van was towed back to the shop (I refuse to drive it until it's fixed). This afternoon I got the call I was expecting. Ma' am, you're right, the transmission is no good.

Parts have been ordered and should arrive on Monday and I should get it back by Wednesday. It won't be cheap, but it's better that getting a new one.