Layout:
Home > Car Tales

Car Tales

April 3rd, 2010 at 04:43 pm

Brrrrr. I flipped on the heat to be nice to my family as I took off at dawn, for work. I thought I was being whimpy but saw it was 62 degrees inside. No wonder it felt so nippy. I don't remmeber when last we turned on the heat - probably February. Of course, if I were home more I would probably have turned it on a bit this past month. Generally when I get home in the p.m., the little boys are running around in their underwear. Dh is barely wearing more. I pile on the flannel. The sad thing is I have the most meat on my bones, but those *insane* metabolsims must keep them all warm. I think today they may have wanted some heat. (Well, the truth is I didn't want to freeze my butt off when I got home)!

Oh yes, and of course Easter looks like it will be rained out. Boo! But we will still look forward to stuffing ourselves with food, and seeing the family.

-----------------------------------------------------

Did I ever mention that I HATE car dealerships? Big Grin Why so much hate? Being treated like crap so many times - seeing friends treated with crap. I've got some stories.

SO, against our better judgement, we recently drug our minivan to the car dealership for a repair. Our trusted/awesome mechanic, was stumped, and though it was a long shot, he told me technically the repair should be under some state emissions warranty law. Well, okay then. (We all knew the dealership wasn't going to honor the warranty, but was worth a try - though now I am not so sure).

They did fix it reasonably, which is fine. But we had to drive way out to the middle of nowhere to the dealership, and their customer service was just horrendous. As usual, don't see the draw.

SO, because of that, we got on their mailing list. We actually bought the car at a more mom and pop dealership which I never really had any issue with (amazingly enough!). But they have since shut down. Which is why, we had to drag the vehicle out to this far off dealership for a repair.

{Note to self - look harder for a non-dealer alternative, next time}.

So, we get this thing in the mail. Based on your estimate mileage of (75k?), your car is due for a "major maintenance." I should have kept the thing. I forgot the wording they used, but it said something like, "Major maintenance," all over the thing. Dh and I both looked at it, and laughed. Could they be more vague and intimidating? "Your car needs major maintenance because the odometer got a little higher." Whatever!

I am not doing the letter justice because I forget the exact wording. It was just laughable though. I am sure I will get another one soon - I will share when I do.

------------------------------------------------------
In other news, if you wonder where I get my extreme frugal car leanings, look no further than my parents.

I was doing their taxes and was surprised to see their vehicles were 1995 and 2000 Fords, respectively. I just hadn't really realized how old my mom's vehicle had gotten.

Actually, my mom has car shopped on and off, the last few years, but doesn't really like anything out there. I can identify. I would go buy dh's car all over again, today, if they still made anything like it.

So yeah, I understand.

My mom bought the "$45k for new," luxury car, for $20k cash as a barely used vehicle, in 1996. Since she doesn't like anything else, she recently decided to get some new tires and fix some little things that had been bothering her. She mentions to this to her friends one day, how she just got new tires, and her friend asks, "HOw old is that car???" To which my mom replies, "It's a '95." OF course her friend admonished her for putting any money into such an old car. Oh, the humanity! The irony is there is NOTHING wrong with the car, and looks about like new. Not that the looks matter, but to the look conscious, it's not as horrid as it sounds.

Oh, I've had similar conversations before. I can relate.

2 Responses to “Car Tales”

  1. baselle Says:
    1270348741

    As in a lot of things, if something does what you want, isn't illegal to use and isn't broken, why this insane cultural need to replace it, no matter how old? I see this a bit with the electronics - every so I often I get the replace my MP3 player itch - and its full of "I'm on my 4th iPod in 3 years, and I love it" reviews. To each his own, I guess, but when you snicker at what I use, I get to snicker at the smallness of your bank account.

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    1270393279

    True - I identify with the electronics - for sure. I know a lot of people can't fathom how we have so much electronics. Whereas I own things I bought over TWENTY years ago. If I replaced everything every couple of years - certainly I couldn't afford everything I own.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]