Living Car Free - Carless Frustration...

Well I finally got my car sold Monday, whooohoooo. I have an old VW vanagon that I had planned on using occasionally when I had to pick up or drop off the kids at some function or to go fishing or hunting or whatever. I knew it needed a little work, but wanted to make sure I had the money in hand from the sale of the car before setting out repairing the van... Well as it turns out it needs a little more work than I initially thought but that is okay these things happen. So I take my van own to the shop and leave it for some service and they call back and tell me that it won't start. having had several fuel pump problems I was pretty sure I could fix it. I went in after work paid my $48 for the investigative work they did on the rear main seal, and the gas tank and got the keys. Sure enough the fuel pump wasn't kicking on, las time this happened it had gotten clogged so I asked if I could just push it outside their gate into the front and I would come back after dinner with some tools and get it out of there... They agreed and I headed home. To make a long story short, two hours in the rain and I couldn't get the stupid thing started even after hard wiring the pump right to the battery. Just after riding home for 30 minutes in the rain I got a phone call from work, the power had gone out and the phones were dead. So now the rain had turned to snow/slush. I jumped back on my bike and made my way 7 miles to work at 10:30 at night in a blizzard. When i got there the power was back on, so i got all the phones and servers back up and running and headed home. Got back up this morning and rode to the shop to give them the keys and see what my options were. As it turns out their VW mechanic is leaving at the end of the week (tomorrow) for a week and a half vacation.... Great. I guess if they can't get it running today I will have to have it towed to another shop...

This whole car free thing is not starting out in a very stress free way, not to mention my wife who thinks we should drive everywhere at the drop of a hat hasn't been very understanding... :(

I gave up my last car because the fuel pump gave out, stranding me on the freeway, miles from home, in the middle of the night. I was living is a small town at the time, and working in the city. It immediately became obvious that this wasn't the ideal time or place to suddenly become carfree! :D

I stuck with it, however. I moved back to the city and eventually acquired a bicycle. Every new step I took was devoted to becoming freer of the car. Currently I've been carfree for eight or nine years, and it just keeps getting easier and more fun. I hope you'll be able to look back soon and see that you've reached the same results that I did. :)

As for your possibly becoming wife-free, I have no comment. ;)

Seems to be all your problems started and continue to be because of a car, not because of being car free ;)

Having owned two VW Transporters, I understand how quirky they can be. But as a perspective, it seems like you are not having car-free trouble, but continuing troubles with cars.

I can also appreciate your wife's perspective. My ex was concerned when we went car-lite. But she became more confident when she saw me bike commuting and saw that I rode in a very safe manner, and she quit complaining when I had her do the math and she realized that I was spending about $6.00 per month on commuting and that if I had a second car running, that we would be in the red each month.

This too shall pass. I'm sorry that your start is a bit rocky. As Roody said, keep the faith and this shall level out.

I guess the worst thing is the stress related to getting the damn van running again soon. I have no need to drive it any time soon, I am going to Cancun at the end of next week so there will be some time I won't even be here, but it is very stressful knowing I don't don't even have it as a backup right now. It sounds crazy but for some reason it is very taxing...

I guess the worst thing is the stress related to getting the damn van running again soon. I have no need to drive it any time soon, I am going to Cancun at the end of next week so there will be some time I won't even be here, but it is very stressful knowing I don't don't even have it as a backup right now. It sounds crazy but for some reason it is very taxing...

Not crazy at all. When you first go car-free, its kind of like leaping off a diving board and there is that moment when you don't know what the landing is going to be like. For people like Roody and me, we've gone through that point years ago, and now pretty much have answers for any situations that we can imagine.

It's not the lack of a backup, so much as the fear of not having it that causes stress, plus the stress of unanticipated car repair which is always bad news. You will discover your backups, whether it's friends, rental cars, a spare bicycle or a trailer. They are out there and one way or another, your needs will be met.

Can you time your car repair to coincide with your trip to Cancun? That would take some of the pressure off, you won't need the car then and you'll be in a comforting place.

Good luck.

It's not the lack of a backup, so much as the fear of not having it that causes stress, plus the stress of unanticipated car repair which is always bad news.

Can you time your car repair to coincide with your trip to Cancun? That would take some of the pressure off, you won't need the car then and you'll be in a comforting place.

Good luck.

This is exactly right... I was expecting the repairs for the most part, just not the time it would take to do them...

Well I am trying to get all parts (mainly the new gas tank) here in time for the trip so I can drop it off before I leave...

This is exactly right... I was expecting the repairs for the most part, just not the time it would take to do them...

Well I am trying to get all parts (mainly the new gas tank) here in time for the trip so I can drop it off before I leave...
Hey I had a VW van with fuel problems. None of the experts could figure it out for months. It would stop but then at the shop it would run again. It was a fuel filter, INSIDE the gas tank. A screen thing. So some rust built up in the tank and the flakes of rust would clog the screen. After the jostling of being towed the screen would unclog and the thing would run for a while. You gotta drain the tank and get rid of that internal screen and use a clear inline fuel filter where you can see if it gets clogged and you can replace it yourself. Unbelievably bad design except from a VW mechanic's point of view. Except many VW mechanics didn't know about that "feature". I'm so glad I'm car free. You have a car problem not a car-free problem. Rent a van when you need it and let the car problem be someone else's problem- no problem.