It was a disaster.

I started my engine and heard a dull grinding. Thoughts flitted wildly through my head-about costly repairs and my parents’ reaction to hearing that I had actually killed my car.

I stopped the engine and reached for the lever that would pop my hood. Tottering in three-inch heels, I opened the hood of my car and peered hopelessly down into an abyss of twisted metal, despairing of the fact that I had never listened to my dad when he tried to explain the various pipes and gauges.

Gingerly, I unscrewed the cap on my motor oil and pulled out the dipstick. I stared at it, uncomprehending. I knew how to check my oil…but what exactly was I checking for?

Finally, a tired-looking man in a Honda Odyssey parked his car and walked over to me.

“What seems to be the problem?” he asked jovially. I explained that I thought my oil was low but I wasn’t sure.

He looked at the dipstick and shook his head. “Baby,” he said, “You barely have enough oil to get to the gas station. You’re about five miles away from frying your engine. That would mean goodbye car.”

I thanked him profusely and drove nervously to the Mobil down the street. Once there, I stood dumbly in front of the motor oil.  

Yet again a stranger took pity on me. A friendly man in a mechanic’s uniform laughed at my dazed expression, had me point to my car and walked me through the process of filling up and checking my oil. Before I knew it, I had an extra carton of  10w30 in the trunk for emergencies and a car good to go for the road.

I learned a few things that day.

There are some very kind, patient people in the world. And, when we get out onto the road, we get a lot more than we bargain for.

If I had ignored the sound of my engine and just driven home, I would be taking the bus to school until 2012.

I realized that I had no idea how my car ran; what the various buttons and switches on my dashboard meant; what kind of motor oil to buy and where to refill my washer fluid.

Basically, I knew how to drive and that was about it.

Cars are machines like any other. If you don’t know how to use them and maintain them, you’ll end up doing them severe and costly damage.

So, I’ve made it my goal to spend some time figuring out some of the basic inner functions of my Saab.

Get informed before you get on the road, because there’s more to driving than just turning a wheel.