to-do list tuesday

ok. i'm super ashamed to admit it but as of yesterday, i had something on my to-do list for almost 8 months (yikes)! the check engine light (and 2 other ones that were always questionable) started randomly going on and off for the last year. it caused me concern initially but my mechanic said it was probably just a rogue sensor and he could reset it (but in the near future i should bring the car in and he'll take a look at it). so of course i went in for my car's routine maintenance a few months back and totally forgot to have him look at it. at the time, the light wasn't on and i plum forgot (damn).

fast forward to yesterday. my parents are coming into town this weekend (which entails me driving us around) and i didn't want the check engine light going on and off. so i made an appointment to take my scion xb in today. to make a really long story short, the cam shaft gear had malfunctioned (apparently the model of my car is known to do this). and it needed to be replaced (double damn). at the tune of $600--and that was just for the part and did not include labor (we're going straight to quadruple damn). anywhoodle, my uh-mazing mechanic (seriously love this guy) decides to call the dealership to see if my car is still under warranty for this part (which i totally didn't think to do--partly because it's almost 5 years old). turns out, it is! the kicker? it's a 60,000 mile warranty. wanna know what my odometer read this morning?! 59,943!!!!! um, yeah. basically if i had not taken my car in today, i would be $1,000 out of pocket. huge lesson learned. do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.