All I want for Christmas are some brake pads

There are a lot of automobiles in Los Angeles that are in desperate need of pimping. Unfortunately, most Angelenos don't have Xzibit on their speed dial, so they have to do whatever it takes to keep their automobiles running. The freeways of the city are packed with cars that seem as though they are being held together with duct tape. And contrary to popular belief, most of the occupants aren't suburban teenagers who spend all of their time volunteering to help the homeless.

Keeping your car roadworthy becomes such a difficult task in Los Angeles simply because it is so damn easy to do...initially. The east coast and midwest can be particularly unforgiving to automobiles. If you don't give your car the proper attention it will rapidly fall victim to rust (thanks to the winter salted roads) and many other problems brought on by the weather. LA's moderate year round temperature makes it a lot easier to ignore the little problems in your car until they become pretty big. Compare that with the rapid build-up of mileage and you have the perfect recipe for hooptie stew.

For example, my car is not that old. I brought it new in 2001. But since I've been in LA (two years now), I've had more problems with that car than I ever had when I was back east. I blame myself. I've got 71,000 miles on it. I started skipping regular services. I see an indicator light on my dash, and I decide to wait a week or two to bring it in. It turns out the indicator was for my brake pads being worn out. Now the pads are gone, and its been eating into my rotors. What would have been a $150 job will now be a $650 job. Just like that.

There are some nice tradeoffs, or course. In New York you're stuck with either street parking (so long clean bumpers) or garage parking, and it seems like every garage in New York reeks of mildew. After a couple of months, the odor will definitely find its way into your car. The car I drove when I lived in Queens smelled after about a month of garage parking it. Most of my friends in NYC also garage their rides. Many people think New Yorkers are a car-free sort. I usually laugh at that one. Maybe if the person is from Manhattan. But everyone in Queens and Staten Island (and most of the natives in Brooklyn) own cars. I've written extensively about my mother's game of cat and mouse with neighborhood car thieves growing up. Her cars were stolen no fewer than three times. When she finally gave up and traded down from a Cadillac to a Plymouth Volare, they simply began to steal parts of the car (like the battery). All of my friends and relatives who are from New York currently own a car (even the ones now living in Manhattan). How do you think they get to Ikea? Just kidding.

Cars are pretty vandal-free here in LA though, which is nice. Almost everyone has a driveway, and those who park on the street don't have to worry about break-ins too much. However, recently a friend of mine had someone steal the registration sticker off of his license plate. Considering the cost of regisration fees here, I understand why.