Thank goodness for warranties!!

Well, the van is in the shop. For a week!!! Drew and I were driving around on Saturday night while the girls were at my parents' house, and the tranny made a loud pop! and then grinding noises upon acceleration and deceleration. Not good! We took it in to Toyota and they said, "Yes, it's your transmission. We do not repair them, we replace them." Oh, very swell. What's that gonna cost? "Nothing. You are still within your 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty."

Drew and Mattie do the happy dance.

The bummer bit is the loaner. I'm so glad that we get a loaner, but it's a Camry. A Camry, folks. Not the new Tundra or the Sequoia, or even the new Highlander. A Camry. I'll bet you anything it's a 4-cylinder with the oh-so-fancy cloth and plastic interior. You see, I'm used to being in my shiny gold, leather and faux-burl wood, traveling movie theater Sienna with 240 horsepower. I am spoiled. I could look Sigmund Freud in the eye and admit that.

The last time I got a loaner Camry from a Toyota dealer was in Sanger, CA when the Sienna had to have one of the seatbelt do-hicky thingers replaced. (It was a service bulletin, and didn't cost me a dime. just like this tranny issue.) They gave me a dirty early-model Camry which I am almost certain belonged to someone who worked there. It smelled like old Burger King. I am hopeful, ever hopeful, that Roseville Toyota, in its snobbery, will give me something nicer. I go pick it up tonight, with the help of my mom to watch the kids, and of Abby to ferry my ass to the dealership. In her Suburban. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I have a soft spot for Suburbans and have been nagging Drew to buy me one for simply ages. That's another story, though.

They refused to give me a Sequoia off the lot. The nerve!


LATER:
6:42 p.m. They gave me a Highlander! Cool! It's a sparkly blue, but at least it has a V6 and 4wd. I'll post my full review with pics tomorrow.