Seething Center, 27th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Deneb): There are many reasons my blood pressure is elevated. Setting aside politics and the economy, one of the causes has been my car, which has been in the shop for repair since March 25. 

Actually, I first took it in to a Goodyear shop back on March 19 when the "check engine" and every other light on the dashboard suddenly and inexplicably lit up. Mr. Goodwrench couldn't figure out the problem (but still charged me $225 for diagnosis) so I took the car to the dealer to see if they could figure it out. They reset some things on the onboard computer system, another $225, but a few days later, the dashboard lit back up again. I took it back in on March 25 and they've been scratching their heads over it until today.

The good news is they gave me a loaner car to drive while mine was in the shop - a brand new, 2025 Lexus SUV - and even allowed me to drive it out of state to Big Ears in Knoxville the weekend before last. The bad news is that while driving up to Knoxville, an 18-wheeler threw a rock up that struck the windshield and created a big divot in the glass.

Since then, the some two weeks now, I've been living with the anxiety of whether my 15-year-old car is still drivable and what the cost of the repair will be. And how much I'll be charged for the damage to the windshield. I can't afford a new car right now, especially with a madman wrecking the economy and placing tariffs on our trading partners. I can scarcely afford a big repair after running up some big debt with my Big Ears getaway, the prior repairs on my car, and other maintenance, etc. on my vehicle before the dashboard lit up. 

Uncertainty, economic anxiety, awareness of my own vulnerability - that's at least partly why I'm hypertensive.

The dealer finally called me this morning and said my car was ready to be picked up. They found a leak in the sunroof that caused water to get behind the dashboard and corrode some electrical terminals, which shorted out and lit up all my indicator lights. They sealed the leak and replaced the terminals and kept the car an extra day to make sure the problem didn't reoccur. 

The cost? Nothing. Free. They felt bad they didn't pick up on the problem the first time, and were embarrassed it took them so long to figure it out. 

They were also understanding about the divot in the windshield. "It's Atlanta," they said. "It happens." They're self-insured on minor damage and rather then file a claim with my auto insurance, they charged me a $75 deductible (which is less than my policy's deductible) and called it even. Sounded fair to me, especially after learning my repair costs.

I was expecting #3-5k for the repairs, and could only guess what a new windshield for a 2025 Lexus SUV would cost me. I was more than glad to get out of there only $75 poorer.

And I've got my car back.