On to plan B...

Mark and I spent almost 5 hours today working on the Jetta, trying to fix it. My dad had gotten us the parts that the guy at the stupid auto shop told us needed to be replaced. We replaced the engine coil, replaced all the spark plugs and all the spark plug wires. Actually, Mark did most of the work, and I held the light and handed him the tools. =) We got it all put together and started it and it seemed to be running a little better, but we hadn't driven it for 2 weeks so we didn't really know. When Mark took it for a little test drive, all the problems were back and the check engine light was flashing once again. Yay. We took a quick break after the test ride to regroup and grab some lunch and were planning on hooking it up to the base's diagnostic system when we got back. Come to find out, their system doesn't work on German cars. What IS it with this town? They think everyone drives American cars and to hell with the rest of us. 39 days until we're out of here.

So since we've exhausted our options here, plan B is to somehow get the car to Oklahoma City, which is where the nearest VW dealership is (an hour and a half away). The only problem with this is that we don't have a car trailer, and U-Haul will not rent to 2002 Explorer's because of tire problems they had shortly after they were made. So we have to figure out how else to get it down there. Fun times.... I just hope it's not going to cost thousands of dollars to fix it. We've already spent about $700 in parts, towing and paying that stupid other auto shop.

On a happier note, our house in Phoenix is all lined up! We're renting a 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house that was built in 2002 and it's only 2.7 miles from base!! We've been approved and should be receiving the contract tomorrow and we are very excited and relieved to have one less thing to worry about.