Well that certainly puts things into perspective

The whole ignition switch thing sure seems like less of a PITA when you hold it up next to a blown head gasket.

(Although you should know that the new (used) switch is actually doing the exact same thing the old one did, which I don't think should even be possible, much less allowed.)

It does occur to me that maybe the ignition thing was a means of prodding us toward seeking out a new mechanic before we got any really important work done on the car. And if that's the case, it totally worked.

Our neighbor down the street works on cars all the time and I had already spoken to him about doing some welding work to repair rust damage under the car. So when we limped home sounding and smelling like a tractor trailer today, I went over to ask him if he could recommend someone who could work on my engine. He not only had a ready answer, he came right over and got under the hood and under the car and helped us figure out more precisely what had happened and what needs to be done about it. He's having a guy come over to work on it right in our garage tomorrow; with any luck, I'll only have to take the buses to work for one day (seeing as how it's close to an hour and a half each way; quite an undertaking when I'm only there part time to begin with).

Oh, and once we'd figured out the whole gasket/radiator/oil/overheating issue, I asked him about the ignition switch and I hadn't even finished explaining the problem when he was telling me what it was and how they could fix it.

I love my neighborhood.