Out of the ashes, an even better vacation has arisen!

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I'm posting from a Sheetz outside Newville, PA. The vacation has ended right here. Car has broken down. There is no one available to fix it today, and even if there were, I can't afford to fix the car AN...

I'm gonna leave that as I typed it. Because at that point, my sister called insisting that she get me a rental to continue on and just be delayed instead of canceling.

So now I'm waiting for her to get here from Morgantown because Budget demanded she rent the car in person instead of calling in with her credit card. Once she gets here, we're going to get the car from the Harrisburg airport.

More news as it happens.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I'm already down $95 because all the family AAA memberships had lapsed, and I had to renew. Only to find out there was no possibility of a repair today.

We will see what happens when my sister gets here. Right now she's still two hours out. Until I'm actually pointed towards New Jersey, I'm not holding out a lot of hope.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

It's over. Getting the rental didn't work out, and I don't think at this point I'd be safe to drive. So sis and I are headed from Harrisburg back to Morgantown
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I'm not licked yet. I'm still deeply upset, but I may have a way to still pull this trip off, just delayed. Depends on cost of car repairs. If it's done early enough in the week, not too expensive, and I can score another reservation, I can pick up the car and continue the journey from that point. Stay tuned. [emoji1]
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I'm back in Morgantown, drained as all get out. :(

So here's the deal. I was going down I-81 towards Harrisburg, when I noticed the engine getting louder and louder, especially when I gave it gas. when I pulled of at the first available exit, the car was chugging and nearly wanting to die. When I stepped on the gas, I was now getting loud banging from the engine. The idle was very rough with the oil pressure gauge flickering. Sitting to let the engine rest and cool didn't help. Still chuddering and banging when I pressed on the gas. When AAA said no place was open, I gave up trying. So as of now, my car is at a Sheetz in Newville, PA, and the store has the key locked away with my contact information. Tomorrow morning I'll call to arrange a tow and repairs.

Budget was the only rental place in the area open, and since my sister was going to pay for it, they insisted she do it IN PERSON. Commence 200 mile drive. Once she got to me, the trip from the Sheetz to the airport was filled with trying to figure out how to turn the car in right away and then pick up another one Thursday for me to go pick up my hopefully repaired car and come home. Amtrak from Harrisburg to the hotel was also considered. Briefly.

The walk from airport parking to the rental counter made me realize how tired I was. And looking at the damage done to my clothes and arm from holding on to the moving walkway rail was the trigger to make me give up entirely. My hand and arm were completely BLACK. Plus big black stains on my shirt and pants. That was it. I quit. Canceled the hotel room on the way back to the car.

After a while I finally started to realize that all was NOT lost. As long as the damage to the car isn't too great, and I can get repairs completed in a short enough span, there's still hope to get a trip to NYC done during this vacation. Today is only day 2 of 11. I would pick up the repaired car, and then continue the journey to New York from there. And now, I can make arrangements from the familiar territory of my own home.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Please don't be a seized engine because it sounds like it could be a seized engine (or at least one that's somehow forgotten how to oil itself, like a clogged oil filter or something).

--Patrick
 
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jwhouk

jwhouk

Crap. :(

I guess you should be thankful that this didn't happen in the middle of the Holland Tunnel or something.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I've arranged a tow to a AAA approved repair shop, so that's out of the way for now. All I can do is wait for a call from the shop to find out what's wrong.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Everyone I need to talk to to arrange new plans is still asleep. DAMMIT! :p

What I've found: we never got to the price of a one-way rental. When checking for a rental this morning, I found the drop off fee would be ~$150.

Round trip of the Amtrak Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Penn Station: about $150. :)

Hotel in Flushing, Queens, has rooms at the same rate I would have paid for my original reservation, and is reasonably close to the 7 train to not need a cab.

So now I'm just climbing the walls waiting for my sister to wake up so I can divulge this new information.

Short version: for want of train fare and a ride to the station, the vacation may still be rescued.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Updated update. Even if I have to unload the entire record shelves, I'm doing this. Train tickets have been purchased. Return trip ending in Harrisburg so I can pick up my car (hopefully). Ride to train has been arranged. Now I just have to repack into a different bag.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
Hard to know without hearing it myself, but it sounds like it could be your oil pump.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
He's going to be able to make it work, mainly because of non-refundable stuff. This may be a pass the hat sort of situation. I got some cash I could give in an hour of need.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
It wouldn't be for his trip. It would be for after when he has to pay for a car tow 200+ miles as well as repair from a place he doesn't know whether or not he can trust. And if the car is dead, then anything we do will help.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

The car is at Hippensteel in Newville, PA. it had good google reviews and a AAA authorized repair logo on the web site.

Although the initial diagnosis just based on me talking to the guy was "it doesn't sound good."

The plan is to take the train only as far as Harrisburg on the way back on Saturday, and hopefully the car will be done by then.

As for right this moment, I'm hauling three crates of records to sell off to try to offset the cost of the train tickets and AAA renewal, about $230. Records are worth more than that.

(and the Weird Al album is staying PUT.) :)
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

DarkAudit said:
The car is at Hippensteel in Newville, PA. it had good google reviews and a AAA authorized repair logo on the web site.

Although the initial diagnosis just based on me talking to the guy was "it doesn't sound good."

The plan is to take the train only as far as Harrisburg on the way back on Saturday, and hopefully the car will be done by then.

As for right this moment, I'm hauling three crates of records to sell off to try to offset the cost of the train tickets and AAA renewal, about $230. Records are worth more than that.

(and the Weird Al album is staying PUT.) :)
Click to expand...
Think of it this way: half the fun of collecting records is actually looking for them. Now you get to look for them ALL OVER AGAIN!

I'm so, so sorry.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

AshburnerX said:
Think of it this way: half the fun of collecting records is actually looking for them. Now you get to look for them ALL OVER AGAIN!

I'm so, so sorry.
Click to expand...
A large number of the records I took in were just lucky finds while flipping through the bins. Once I go through the new purchases, they would tend to sit idle for months on end before playing again. Now they'll be someone else's lucky find.

I didn't get quite what I'd hoped for, but I covered the AAA renewal and train fare. So I'm right where I left off when I got in the car here yesterday morning. :)
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Dave said:
It wouldn't be for his trip. It would be for after when he has to pay for a car tow 200+ miles as well as repair from a place he doesn't know whether or not he can trust. And if the car is dead, then anything we do will help.
Click to expand...
RIP my Suzuki Aerio, 2002-2015. After getting a $3-4K estimate on engine replacement, we've decided not to repair it. We have a Nissan Sentra my mom was driving before her knee surgeries. As of right now, all we know it needs is a jump, a flat tire inflated, inspection and renewed registration. My sister is going to have it towed to our preferred garage in town. I'm going to call the garage in PA now to let them know we will make arrangements to deal with the deceased.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Not unexpected, given the symptoms. If your car stops slopping oil around its engine (like it's supposed to), it doesn't take very much driving of it afterwards for it to pass the point of no return (at least, not without a new engine).

I am sorry for your loss.

--Patrick
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
I lost a Mazda MX-6 GT the same way. Only, it was a coolant problem, not an oil problem. Still ended with a melted piston head, though.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

About to pull into Harrisburg. Where it all came to an end on Sunday. I will not be happy until the train pulls out again and I'm on it headed east.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

WOO! Let the first full day begin. First off, hauling luggage in a rush hour subway car is not fun. I didn't pay cab fare, so I hoofed it the few blocks to the hotel. Which is TINY. Room is smaller than our smallest room, and way smaller than our standard room. But for where it is, and what I'm paying, it's fine as just a place for me to crash and post stuff like this before and after I start my day.

I made it to the Mets game, got some food and a Gatorade to keep me from passing out from exhaustion, and got to my seat just in time for the first pitch. Nice seats and a good game for the Mets. I wandered a bit after the third inning, and left after the fifth. There was no chance of a no-hitter, and it was an official game. I feel I got my money's worth. (Hey, @jwhouk, who would give absolution for the sin against baseball of leaving an MLB game early? An ump? Can you ask Bob Uecker? Is this case merely a venial sin? :))
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

What the ginger said. It's a METS game. You're allowed to leave early.

And I think the OP needs to change the name of this thread... ;)
 
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