expect the unexpected...

It's totally rough when the something happens that could have been avoided altogether. So I have a 98 Elantra and my step-father from time to time fixes it for me. The last time something was wrong it was the exhaust and he rigged it, at my request, until I could get the car taken care of. So it's like I'm walking down the street and I'm warned about something and yet I continue to walk in that direction without changing a beat. I have no one to blame but myself. Why? My exhaust is starting to break again and my first reaction is "sell the f*cker." When I finally came to my senses I realized I'm not gonna give up on this car. Not yet. I can't. When sh*t hits the fan the first thing I wanna do is the fastest, easiest thing to just make the problem go away. Well today a friend suggested I try to see what I can do to get my car taken care of. I go to a garage and explain my problem and he seemed like he wanted to help. Another employee says "Your in the same boat I am and I work here." But the guy I was talking to suggests another place. I attempted to go there and all I remember him saying was the street and McDonald's. What do I do? I find McDonald's and give up. Well not completely I think "WTF he said *the name of the street* and McDonald's (again my fault for not really paying attention and only taking key words) so where is it." Well across the street is a garage and on a whim I stop to check it out. I walk in and there's 6 people in there just standing around. 4 mechanics, 1 secretary/cashier, and 1 random person. One guy walks over and says "can I help you?", and I reply with "I sure hope so." I lay the whole sob story out, practically on the verge of tears, telling him I can't really afford to pay to have the car fixed the way it should and just the look in his face I knew he knew how I felt. He said he'd take a look at it on Monday morning and that I could leave it there Sunday night. The last thing he said as I walked out the door was "I'll take a look at it and see how much it'll cost you and what i can do. Don't worry... it'll be ok." And with those last five words I walked away thinking... it is going to be ok. I'll find out on Monday if it's truly worth me trying to fix the car or just sell it. Foreign car parts are a fortune. One small pipe was 290 dollars. I'm gonna have to do some movin and shakin but a little extra time in at work and I should be able to pull it off.