Automotive Issues

These cars are driving me up the wall. I so wish that Jon would get hired somewhere so that we can get a new car - maybe even two!

The starter went out on his car about two weeks ago. It just won't start. At this point, it's more of an inconvenience than anything else, because he's not working so it's not as if he has to go anywhere. If he really needs a car, all he has to do is take me to work and he can use mine.

Then mine decided to act up. First, it suddenly got extremely loud, as if the exhaust system is falling apart (it's not impossible). Then, the latch mechanism on the driver's side decided to break. At this exact moment, the door will not open AT ALL. I bought a new latch mechanism today, but I won't be able to get it into the car if we can't get the door open.
Additionally, the passenger's side door handle has been broken since late August. For a short time, both door handles were broken (it's a lousy design, but was all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s because it looks "cool" - yeah, it's real cool to have broken door handles every year or so). We fixed the driver's side door handle not long after I got out of the hospital, because once I started driving again, I had to be able to easily get in and out of my car.
We had to shimmy the passenger door open with a coat hanger to get into the car this morning. It was not fun, and caused a lot of what I call "quiet yelling" at each other. We were snippy and probably would have been yelling, but our landlord was here trimming the bushes out front, so we didn't want her to overhear us arguing. It was not fun, and I did too much straining trying to help Jon get the door open. I've been sore ever since, and I haven't been this sore in a couple of weeks. I actually took a Vicodin earlier.

This evening, I'm going to my uncle's house to have him help me with my car. He likes working on cars and has tricks for things now and then. Hopefully, he'll have a trick for this door latch thing.