What kind of car is it?

It's an Olds Alero. Do you think I should take it in today? I can probably call the place back for an appointment today and have a coworker follow me over there.

Do you think I should take it in today?

Well, I would say "soon." You're at work now? How far is home? Also, maybe someone at work can check the power steering fluid for you. You can buy power steering fluid at any auto parts or hardware store or even pharmacy. If that's the only problem you can save yourself some trouble in taking your car in.

eta: If it turns out to be lack of power steering fluid, there might be a leak that will need attending to. But if the leak's small you can just keep adding fluid and postpone the repair for a while if you want to.

Home is 13 miles. There's a Checker about 5 miles from here, the same area as the Firestone. I'll see if one of the guys I work with can help me check the fluid level.

Looks like I'm nearly out of fluid. One of the guys is going to run to the store on break and pick me up a bottle. I'm still going to take it in to Firestone tomorrow, though. I need to make sure there's no leak. If it costs me $30-40 to do it, it's at least peace of mind.

I think that's a good idea, Sail. Yay for helpful co-workers. If tommy with with you, he could MacGyver it with some bubble gum and a paper clip.

One of the guys is going to run to the store on break and pick me up a bottle.

That's good.

You could also just check it every day for a while to see if it's leaking or not. If you're not losing any noticeable amount then you could just check it whenever you add gas or something.

Older cars will sometimes just develop slow leaks of stuff like that, so you need to check fluid levels more often and top them off when needed, but you generally don't need to have a mechanic look at it unless the leak gets bad. Or if you're gonna take a long trip. Or for peace of mind too. So if you feel you need to have it checked for peace of mind, do it, but otherwise you might not have to just yet. If you have an old car and are low on money, certain repairs can be put off for a while. Also, if the power steering fails completely that would be bad, but it wouldn't leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Also, do you trust the mechanic to tell you, "You don't need to fix this just yet"? Some mechanics will just try to get you to replace the part even if you don't need to.

I hope I'm not coming across as condescending. If you own an older car, it's good to know some stuff like this - it can help save you money.

House-ma, Sue!

If you have an old car and are low on money, certain repairs can be put off for a while

It's only 6 years old, I don't think that qualifies as older, which is why I'm a little more concerned. I take the car in for oil changes every three months and they're supposed to check all the fluid levels and such. So, I don't know if it's something that's developed in the last three months or if they've been skimping on the courtesy checks they advertise. I'll try to keep an eye on it myself, but it doesn't have a dipstick, I have to eyeball it. Not quite as accurate!

ETA:

I hope I'm not coming across as condescending.

Not at all. I appreciate any and all advice from people in the know. That's what the hivemind is all about.

Also, house~ma, Sue!

It's only 6 years old, I don't think that qualifies as older,

Heh. Back in the old days ('70s), the average car only lasted about 6 years. Also, back then it was a big deal if your car lasted long enough to get to 100,000 miles. Now cars do last so much longer.

My '59 Lincoln only has about 65,000 miles on it and it might possibly need major engine repair.

But you know, I still think old cars are cool....

My Jetta is only 4 years old, and yet it has 110,000 miles on it. The 8 year old van has about 180,000. I still love them and they still serve me well. The new shiny red truck is a youngster with only 35,000.