My stereo in my car stopped working last week, so I just drove around listening to my ipod. Fixed.

Then about 20 minutes into every drive since then the battery light would come on and go off, so I stopped looking at it. Fixed.

Today I am in the turning lane at a busy intersection during rush hour and my car shakes and dies and it won't turn back on, so I stare at my car in shock. Problem.

I turn on my hazards and hear all the honking, so I scream "Hey asshole! See the Hazards!" while motioning wildly. Panic.

I call Luke's cell phone and he does not answer, so I leave a message with words like die, stuck, intersection. Freaking out.

I call the house phone and his cell phone in rapid succession until I arouse him from his nap, so he yells "What do you want!". I scream "HELP ME!" and hang up. Over reaction.

The police come and then the tow truck, and I tell them how mean people honk alot and they just nod their heads. Crazy lady and her pissed off husband.

Get towed to the mechanic and he asks if anything happened prior to my car dying, so I told him nope. Honestly.

Unless of course the stereo dying and the battery light meant anything, so I tell him that. Luke is shamed.

So now I am driving my 17 year old brother's honda since he is grounded from it. The car was passed down from my 21 year old brother. It looks like someone ran around it beating it with a baseball bat and then opened the door up, dumped 10 ashtrays and year old gym socks in it. Of course it was so below empty I coasted into the gas station and had to get a car load of teenagers to help push it to the pump. I called my brother to thank him and to remind him that Luke and I have been commissioned to babysit him while my parents go to San Diego next week. Muy Ah Ah Ah. He said "Whatever. I'm not afraid of you!" I told him that I found his fake ID in the car. "Who's scared now biaotch!" We love babysitting him. The last time he and he friends came home drunk and we had my friend Mike tell him he was a cop. He searched their cars. They almost wet themselves, it was awesome. But anywho. Then I drove to my house praying that if I got pulled over and the police searched the car, that there was nothing in it that would put me away for awhile. Apparently, Luke believes I deserve all this. I mean really, do those lights mean anything anyway?

Don't worry about the lights. They just come on to make the dashboard look prettier.

So, what's wrong with the car? Just a dead battery? don't they take 10 minutes to fix?

You can just be like Homer Simpson and cove them up with black tape.

I guarantee it's the alternator, judging from how the car shook and then died out. The part cost about 70 bucks, but the labor will cost about 90 bucks. (unless they try to rip you off, then they charge more). It's a really easy part to fix, and you can usually find one at the junkyard that will cost about 30 bucks.

I had a car that did that once. After several instances of shaking and dying, becoming inoperable, and then suddenly coming to life again (after friends who recognized me from the gym stopped to help push me out of the road and into a parking lot); after my dad wasn't able to figure out what the problem was; after the auto shoph started replacing parts at random because they couldn't figure it out either...Battery- fine. Alternator- fine...distributor cap, distributor cap, distrubutor cap...replaced a lotta those...then it worked.

i ignore the lights too rit. i figure taking care of the car is not my territory, that belongs to the husband. also under husband's territory: fixing electronic equipment including the DSL, wireless router, camera, TV, cell phone, and fax/printer/scanner. and also taking out the trash. :)

I'm guilty of ignoring dashboard lights, too. Sorry you had such an annoying day with the car.
What was the problem with it?

Oh my GOD!!! It's been over a month and I am elated!! I've missed you!! Thank you for coming back to us. Don't even leave again!!

I never pay attention to the lights either and get yelled at by my husband. But sweet revenge came yesterday when I saw my husband pouring brake fluid into his car. When I asked what was up he sheepishly admitted his brake light had been on for a few days and he just checked his brakes today when he had trouble stopping... HA!