Metaphor for My Life

My car didn't start this morning. Again. For those of you who aren't aware, my car has not been a reliable means of transportation for about 7 months now. It always had a little design "quirk" - which means that sometimes the car will turn on but the engine won't turn over. The "fix" (as described in the owner's manual) is to leave the key in the "on" position for 10 minutes, then turn the car off for no more than 30 seconds, then turn on again. The engine is supposed to reset itself after this, and turn over. So this would happen, maybe, once every few months when I first inherited the car from my dad. Then, it started to happen more frequently. Then it started to happen every day. Then I started to have to do the "trick" 3 or 4 times in a row before the car would start. For those of you counting, this would add 30 or 40 minutes to my commute. Finally, no amount of waiting, coaxing, and praying would persuade the engine to turn over. This has caused no end of worry, tears, anxiety, fighting, and failure to meet commitments. A couple of months ago, I finally broke down and took it to the dealership. Surely THEY can fix it - it's a design flaw by the company! So I had it towed (almost $200), and they "fixed" it ($600). I picked it up a week later, and drove it to school - yeah!! I happened to stay late that night; when I went to go home at 9 p.m., the car wouldn't start. So then I had to have it towed from the fourth floor of the Peavine parking deck. They kept it for about a week, said they couldn't find anything wrong with it, that it started up "every time" for them. What could I do? So, I picked it up again. After working for 3 days, it did it again. At this point, devastated, not knowing what to do, I did what any grown-up, independant woman would do - I called my parents. Since it was my dad's car first, I thought that maybe he could better deal with the mechanics. I don't know what they said to the dealership, but Carla went all "Mama Bear" on them. Within an hour, I had the manager calling me and they had secured a loan vehicle for me. After 3 weeks of glorious mobility in a 2010 cherry red Aveo, the dealership called this week to say, again, they couldn't find anything wrong with my car and that I needed to return the loaner. So I did. My car worked for a few days, then, this morning, as I was running late to church (my turn to teach Sunday School), the car wouldn't start. I tried the old trick, it didn't work. So I had to call my pastor (again) and say (again) that I couldn't fulfill my obligation. So that's where I'm at. I've been talking to my parents, and I think they're going to be my salvation once again. My dad is talking about driving his truck up here for me to use until we can figure out something more permanent. I'll keep you posted.