When I get car problems, I get them good! I get so many of them that I send my car into the shop having already diagnosed the problem myself... lol... I play dumb when I send it there, but they always come back with the expected response.

This time it's my AC. Turned it on last week and it wasn't cold. That can't be good! I drive a 1998 VW Jetta and VWs shouldn't have AC problems. They are designed so the AC kicks in when you turn on the defrost - all year long. You never have an issue with it blowing warm air, but sure enough it was. This brought me back to the question whether to fix something so "trivial" or get a new car. I'm just not ready to get a new car though!

Well flash foward to Saturday and out running errands. We get in the car and it makes a horrible WHOOSH!! noise. Lasts for a few seconds and stops. Uh oh. Did it again on the next couple of start ups and a couple more times randomly. Ok, though, the car runs ok besides that occasional noise. It was determined I could take it to work today and we'd try to get it in the shop this week. Nope. Got almost to the interstate and the car started running rough, idling around 300. Back home and off to the shop it went.

Would you believe something is shorting out in my AC compressor and dragging the whole car down? $850 and I'll get the car back Weds or Thurs. Have no choice but to fix the AC - or the whole car wont run! What a fluke! The shop was able to duplicate the problem if they turned on the AC or the defrost. It was happening for me with no air running though. No work-around here, even temporarily.

Time to start putting some thought into my next vehicle I guess. Not going to rush this. Just needs to be a smaller, 4 door, 5 speed car. My VW is still getting 32 mpg!!