Running in Circles

The Jetta. 

It is our one and only car.

 I bought it as a 16 year-old Junior in high school and had it paid off two years later.

 I have loved it...until now! 

Brice kinda hates driving the Jetta- he's over it now but he thinks only "certain types" of guys drive Jettas.

 And it fits kinda tight. 

These concerns are the least of our worries.

In December we got our notice of upcoming registration fees- this included a smog and emissions test that needed to be done. The tricky thing is that we've had a check engine light on for months now. We finally plugged it in at AutoZone and got the codes of possible problems and then Brice got started. I am so happy that he is smart and willing to work, he has saved us so much money! After several "small" changes that dumb light stayed on. Finally, at the beginning of January we took it in to the Volkswagen service center to get it checked out...the list went like this:

Fuel Pump, Filter and Labor....... $1200.00

Front Brakes...... $397.00  

Two new tires....$250.00

Since that adds up to our entire checking account we decided to do it ourselves. Brice changes our brakes for less than twenty bucks. Buys a used tire from Big-O-tires for thirty bucks and exchanges our spare onto the car. Two problems solved! While he worked on the car I headed to the DMV to request an extension on our registration.. another 140.00 total.

Two weeks later we finally get the fuel pump in the mail. It took a lot of searching but found a deal for $80 instead of $250. We got it on Saturday and Brice got to work. Done and done! We got gussied up to go on our hot valentines day date- that ended up turning into a hot mess! Halfway to our restaurant, in the middle of an intersection on State Street the car loses all power and stops. Luckily Brice got over real quick and a nice guy helped push the car into a close gas station. Now call a friend to pick us up. done! Find a neighbors SUV to borrow and tow strap to tow the car. Heaven forbid if we had to pay more for a tow truck...

While we are so grateful for our friends Kelsie and Weston who towed us, it was the scariest thing in my life. Being jerked around a bit, driving miles through Provo after a basketball game, and praying so hard to make it home safe. As we pulled safely into the parking lot we coincidentally ran over the tow strap and it snapped in two. At least we were home. New tow strap for neighbors $20.00. 

This story is coming to an end, don't worry.. Brice and I stayed up late fixing the hose that was falling off when the car was turned on. A late night run to AutoZone and another $20.00 later..the car works! We drive around for a bit just to check! All good- except for that dang light! Well we heard it takes about thirty miles for a light to turn off so we drove around a bit tonight and still nothing. So another trip to AutoZone and another $13.00 Brice is changing the filter. I feel like we can't catch a break. And to top it all off... our extended registration is up tomorrow and we still haven't been cleared for a emissions test.

 I think our last option is electrical tape over the light. 

I wish I was kidding.

Our life is good, but I'm ready for this issue to be fixed and behind us. Any help?