This morning I couldn't get my car started. I know the problem: yesterday it was warm (well, relatively, 40F) and humid; a lot of water condensed on the parts inside the distributor; the temperature dropped to the mid twenties; the condensation on the distributor parts froze.

Anyway, I just used the brute force method and cranked the starter motor for a full half minute until all the ice came off the distributer and the engine finally turned over. A good thing I have a good battery. If I had a second car, I would replace the distributor in a heartbeat, but I feel uncomfortable messing with my only mode of transportation. Especially in the winter.

The last time I did a mundane job on my car; change my front brake pads and rotors; I snapped off the heads of a couple bolts, which I had to drill out and re-tap. This job that should take an hour at most, took me almost 6 hours instead. Now I'm very hesitant to work on this piece of junk car myself again (it is 12 years old by now...).

In any case, so I need another car. I'm looking in the $15K-$20K price range. This means I'm look at cars like the Corolla, Cobalt/Malibu, G5/G6, Civic etc. However, I wish it was so easy. When I go online to price cars, and I call the dealership, they have entirely different prices. Anyway, knowing myself, I know I won't get to buying an actual car for at least another couple months.