Day of the Mazda

Last year, Nightrain decided to forgo his wheels to pursue a more urban lifestyle. We are the lucky recipients of his zippy little car. On Monday, we cracked open the garage door, pulled off the blue tarp covering the Mazda, and turned the key to start her up. Not surprisingly, the battery was dead (it had been sitting in there for over a year). So, Jesse removed the battery and we took it down to the auto parts store where they determined that it was "too hot" and "bad". Uh, ok? We bought a new one.

Tuesday morning, Jesse woke up bright and early to transfer the car title and renew the registration. Afterward, we installed the new car battery and killed a family of spiders that was living in the hood. J hopped in the car, turned the key, and the lights came on. YAY! Success! But the engine didn't start, just the noise of fans blowing. Hmm. Try again. Nope, nothing. Damn.

Totally sad and defeated, we decided that we would give it a good cleaning before calling AAA for a tow. We rolled it out of the garage and realized that there wasn't enough room for a proper cleaning (Bob and Mary Ann were having new windows installed, so the driveway was occupied by a workbench and truck). So, back to the garage for our little dead car. I pushed, J steered. This time though, I needed a little momentum to get the car over the garage bump. Every time I would rock the car, J would put on the brakes thinking that I was about to get rolled over - totally halting my momentum. I yelled and he got frustrated, but the car made it back it the garage and we both got a snack.

Since I know very little about cars, I googled "new battery, but car still won't start" and found troubleshooting guide. One of the first things it asked was, "did you press down the clutch when starting?" I had no idea, since Jesse was the driver, so I asked. And he hadn't. So we ran to the garage, he threw open the door and hopped in, and I held my breath. J pressed down the clutch, put in the key, and turned. I closed my eyes and heard the engine cough and sputter. I opened my eyes and saw some dark-looking exhaust, but it was running. Triumph!

We quickly checked the oil and took it for a drive around the neighborhood. That drive lasted longer than I expected and we ended up going straight to lunch with Larson and Serena for his birthday. After lunch, Serena came over and we went to the auto parts store (for the third time in two days) and purchased items for the car wash that never happened. I did some vacuuming, and she is quite the abled scrubber. In no time the interior shined like new.

I still haven't gotten around to the outside, but maybe when it comes back from its tune-up and smog check today I'll give it a good scrub.