to cost (someone) an arm and a leg

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 27 – Car Trouble.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 27. I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

In this episode, we're going to discuss having trouble with your car. Let's get started.

I was driving down the Santa Monica Freeway yesterday, headed toward downtown, when all of a sudden I saw my engine light come on. Needless to say, that's not the sort of thing one likes to see. So, I immediately pulled over to the side of the road and parked on the shoulder. I popped the hood and looked to see what the problem might be. I'm no mechanic – I barely know how to check the oil and the wiper fluid – but perhaps something would jump out at me.

The car didn't overheat, since there was no steam coming out of the radiator. I checked the battery cables, and the battery was definitely not dead. I didn't know quite what else to do, so