Suspicious minds

Over the last week, I've noticed that my car has been making odd little creaking noises when I slow down. Although the brake pads are several years old and probably need replacing, I don't think it's the brakes making the noise. Instead I suspect there's something going on in the car's suspension or front bushings, or what's sometimes described as one's front end going out. Argh. I hope my recent late-night drifting hasn't contributed. The car's handling doesn't seem affected by the creaking noises, but it's still going to drive me spare until I get it checked it.

However, I'm already dreading taking it in for diagnostics, particularly as I'll probably have to drop the car off instead of hanging around. I'd like to be there when they put the car up on the lift so I can see for myself what's going on. All it takes is one Chilton manual to turn an ordinary car owner into a serious pain in the ass. (At least where mechanics are concerned - my dad used to get horribly irritated with back-seat mechanics, or to describe them more accurately, comment over the shoulder mechanics.)