Merlin, my royal blue 96 Corolla, is in the shop this morning. He has been choking at start for about month now. At first I thought it may be the battery again, but when the radio comes blaring in, and he didn’t do the click click click click sound like when the battery went out, I knew it was something else. He just plain wouldn’t turn over. But, a few seconds later, he would pick up and purrs like a kitten all over again. Merlin has been like this for about a month.

It’s a hit-or-miss situation. I could go days before he stuttered a few times before he caught second wind a few minutes and a brief prayer to my protective golden Buddha in the car later. Brandon has only encounter such occurance once.

And then this Saturday, Merlin just threw the hissy fit at Brandon and refused to turn over. After a few hours, I came back to him with a phone ready to dial AAA for a tow, and managed to coaxed him into starting up.

And now, it’s a waiting game. I can’t get to work or anything. *Sigh*

The upside to this is a comforting confirmation that buying a Toyota is the best decision I’ve made. This thing is about 10 years old. In the 4 years that I have him, Merlin has spun out on the 10 on ramp and went over 2 medians, and been crashed into on the driver’s side door. This starter is the first major mechanical failure. Ever.

There’s a reason why Corollas are the choice for Bangkok’s taxi cabs.

Yeah, chalk that up to Brandon’s 12 year-old Ford Explorer. That thing is not going to last much longer.