Cars, etc.

[originunknown]

Yes, the car is a 1991 Buick Park Avenue with 120,000 miles. I never noticed idiot lights glowing in the dark (I always park in the garage) but the gauge (voltmeter) for the alternator always seemed fine (staying around 13 dead center) from the beginning except of course last Friday when everything on the car started slowing like signal light, wipers etc and voltmeter fell to 8. For the first time ever i saw the needle fall to the far left of the gauge. I knew I was in trouble so I shut everything off and we barely made it into the driveway. I think the battery really was dead as it was 8 years old. I see alt are about $200 new here but knowing my mechanic he will probably find one used in good shape for far less.

Power steering did spew again last Thursday but after adding some Gunk sealant it seemed fine on Friday before alternator incident. Car may soon need a cv joint as I hear a clunk in front on driver side. Tuneup and brake job and oil job are due soon. Drive train seems fine and I have two sets of tires that are probably in their last year. It actually runs quite well and smoothly but it is so unreliable lately that I am losing confidence in it except it does always breakdown in garage or nearby!

What started all this was that after the last fix it worked fine for two days but then it got hard to start. Finally in the sweltering heat at Home Depot Friday afternoon it would not start. I went to call CAA for a boost but when I tried again before it arrived it started again (hesitatingly). The next day after driving around about 30 minutes the alt started dying on me half a mile from home. That last traffic light seemed to last forever :(

Thanks for all your help. I will get the car towed to the mechanic and see if the alternator is the answer.

I really appreciate your suggestions and assistance. I was about to post the car for sale but now you encourage me to give it one last chance ....