oh, *that's* what that was

I called the mechanic and asked if he'd checked the car out yet.

"Yeah, so I went out to the car this morning, I got in the car, and it started right up. Started up six or seven times."

"Oh."

"Then just now I went out there and, uh, now it wouldn't start. So that's the good news."

He called later to report that with the car up on the lift and refusing to start, he "poked the starter with a screwdriver and it started, so that's definitely it, it needs a new starter". A mere $300 for parts and labor.

(I love my mechanic. Autoquest in Redwood City. They're awesome.)

As soon as I started it today, I remembered that the sound of the starter has been bugging me for months, like it took a half-second too long to get the engine running, with a vague wheezing to it. With the new starter, it was instantaneous, without the noise that was bugging me.

So the car did warn me something was wrong, but since it continued functioning flawlessly, I wasn't willing to waste time/effort/money having the mechanic chasing ghosts. I wonder if I would weigh that choice differently if sudden carlessness were a serious problem: if I had kids, or an unforgiving job, and planning carlessness was worth the risk that nothing was wrong. As it is, oh no! I had to ride my bicycle to the dojo and to my errands around the neighborhood. I think I survived okay.