First time in the shop

After playing with it for a while, and getting to know its problems, it was time to have the car looked at and fix all the bugs, so I could drive it fearlessly. I asked around, and looked online for various VW places, and there seem to be a few. I got some warnings regarding some, positive reviews on others. The local official VW dealer was warned against by many. I noticed a guy a local store in town who looked like he might be into VW's — I just had a hunch because he looked somewhat "alternative." I was right, and he told me about his experiences in town, then recommended Smitty's Auto Service. He said he's honest, good, and fairly priced. Smitty also had good reviews online. So I went to Smitty and he was very friendly and welcoming, which is important. I gave him a list of what to look into and work on. This was maybe a week and half ago.

Getting there was nerve wracking. The car does not accelerate well at all, doesn't make it past 45 mph, and the breaks seem very loose. I took a break once on the road to make sure it doesn't go nuts on me somehow. 

PIcket up the car today.The work done on it was mostly rear break work. I had to shell out about $800, but I'm not surprised that some work is neccessary. It seems to be running fine but I'll have to do some tests. I know we're not done with it, but I wanted it back for a while, just to get a feel for what had been done.

Is the car still working?

Tried to start car again, but it actually tried to move foward. I double checked the stick and it was in third gear, which is how Brannon had parked it. Gear 3 looks and feels a lot like neutral. I put it into neutral and it still wouldn't start but at least didn't lunge. I kept on revving, and after a lot of smoke the car eventually started and I practised driving it. It stalled a few times when trying to start off in second gear slightly uphill. I am obviously not very good yet at knowing how long to wait before I start, how much revving is OK, and which gear I'm in.

The car is the exact opposite of my Honda Hybrid. It's a bumpy ride, it's really loud, the steering is really hard, it's got them finnicky gears, the seats are small and upright, and it smells inside and out.

But I took Bruno, my son, for a ride in the flatbed, which was a lot of fun.

The car is running!

Brannon came over again. I had asked him if he could watch me install the battery so I could learn. I put in the battery and he replaced the fuses. The car actually started and Brannon gave me quick lesson in stick shift and diesel car basics. I am grateful to him for giving me that introduction. 

I had practised shift recently with my friend Ethan once on a tractor, with my uncle Ute once, and with our assistant Bailey twice. I didn't stall on my first try with the Rabbit (proud to say). It can even start off 2nd gear, but not uphill. Driving backwards is a bit jumpy. 

It was very exciting to have "fixed" the car. One of my goals, learning to troubleshoot basic car problems was becoming a reality sooner than I had hoped. And it was exciting to drive it after all the wait and stress. This was a very encouraging day, in all.

The Rabbit arrives

I used DAS Dependable Auto Shippers to get the car from California to Florida. This added about 1000 dollars to the price of the car unfortunately. I toyed with the notion of driving it from California, and make a road trip out of it. But I didn't feel confident enough in my mechanical skills or the car. Anyway, I had it shipped to Jacksonville, then from there to my house. 

Well, I am glad I didn't try to drive it from California or Jacksonville. The delivery truck couldn't get it off the truck, because he couldn't start it. He said the same problem occurred in Jacksonville. He found a way of rolling it off the truck. Brannon, our neighbor was around so I asked him his opinion. He is studying auto engineering, so he'd know how to look at a car. He looked at it, we tried jumping it. There was a lot of corrosion on the battery, and a few fuses and cables that didn't seem right to him. Also, the whole engine compartment looked pretty shabby. I was starting to suspect that I got ripped off. 

Brannon gave me advice on what to replace. I went to Pep Boys later that day, exchanged the battery for a new one (the battery cost less with an old one brought in). Also bought some fuse that looked bad.