OK, and I suppose I should give a little info about the car, too

Vincent has to be put down.

Yes, it's true.

Vincent is no longer an automobile, per se - he's more like a rolling ash tray.

It will be cost prohibitive to put the amount of money into him that it would take to get him rolling again, possibly fixing him for yet another imminent breakdown - and next time, God knows where.

Even my mechanic advises against resuscitation. The parts affected are the tension arm, the timing belt and timing apparatus-thingy, and then the engine will need a lot of work - if it can be fixed. The pistons (I think that's what he told me) are damaged and the least that portion of the work would cost would be $1200 to $1400. Even the Mazda dealer thought the money would be a bad investment, as the possible damage could extend far beyond a first fix to the engine block. Sooooo.....

I be laughing on the outside, and crying on the inside.]

Once more I am looking for a vehicle (yes, for those of you keeping score, Brian is up one working car, and I am minus one). Eventually we will get it all straightened out.