You don't get what you pay for

A few days ago, hubby and I left our house early in the morning to go to work. We got into my car, I started the engine, and went to put the car in reverse gear.

The gear would not go into reverse.

So hubby suggested that I put it in first gear to see if there was something wrong with the gearbox.

It wouldn't go into first gear.

I had a problem on my hands: an undriveable car. Anyways, we were late, so we hopped into the other car to get to work, figuring out that we'd tend to said problem later.

So yesterday, our friend "E" comes by to see what may be the problem, and get it working enough so I could bring it to the dealership for repair. Before "E" came over, I had called the dealership and asked when I was able to bring in the car. After briefly explaining my problem, they warned me that the clutch might replacing and that would cost $800! Needless to say, I had a mild heart attack.

So "E" takes a look at my clutch fluid, and the cylinder was completely empty. That meant one of two things: 1) there is a leak somewhere, but after a bit of looking around, he could really see a leak or 2) no one was checking the clutch fluid. "E" thinks that this was the more likely case as he didn't see signs of people trying to check the fluid levels (eg fingerprint in surrounding dirt).

I will keep an eye on the fluid level for a leak, but the evidence is pointing at the bozos at the car dealership who didn't check my fluid levels. Bah.