fix my car

It was worth not taking the dealers advice. They were asking thousands of dollars for something that didn’t really need to be fixed because it was in the same spot as the things that really did need to fixed. I’m happy with my new and close to my house mechanic. They were fair, upfront, and honest enough (I needed a new tire and they plugged it instead of changing it, do you really think the dealer would have done that?). Now I just need to get my car legal.

The mechanic called. He says the control arms look fine and that the cost to replace the tie rods and plug the tire (found a screw), plus tire balancing will be, ready for this? ONLY $435! The dealership wanted $2000 for this mess. I won’t know if they did a great job for awhile but for the price, I kinda don’t care at this point as long as it doesn’t break done while we’re trying to get back on our feet. It’s safe, it’s fixed, it didn’t cost me my soul. I’m happy.

Found a local mechanic and taking the Audi back in today. Hope it only costs me an arm this time. Next the truck has to go in. Sigh. It’s always something.

I went ahead and called the dealership to give them the go ahead replacing the serpentine belt, water pump, and timing belt. I also apologized to the tech for getting so emotional. At least it will get us to Massachusetts. I’ll deal with the rest later. And as for the second car, we’re supposed to pick up a used Toyota tonight. It’s old but I hope the repairs won’t be too bad, it’s only $4700 and it has about 80,000 miles but we did our research. It’s a 4 runner so it will be good in the snow, the dog can ride in it and it should last way over 100,000 miles. There is a possibility that the head gasket may need to be replaced but we factored that in. Plus they are putting in new brakes and new rotors. Since it’s used it’s bound to need some upkeep but after having realized that the internet is incredibly useful for seeing this in advance I’m feeling okay with this decision if not completely sold. I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable buying a car. This will work for now until we’re back on our feet. By then my DH will most likely lease a new Tacoma and though it’s not financially responsible I think that is a fair goal for him to have.

The Audi dealership called and said it would be $5600 to fix completely. I actually started crying on the phone. After researching online the outlook isn’t looking to good. I can’t sell it or trade it in, and still $10,000 on it. I think my plan is to sink $2000 into it so it’s at least in running condition, buy our second vehicle this week and drive the Audi at a minimum until we can take care of the repairs over time. The car is a good family car, safe and solid, but soooooo expensive to fix. I wish I had know that before I bought it. I feel like I’m flipping a house, except it’s a car and I will have to keep it. I’m also a bit frustrated because my husband has been driving it for the past 6 months since we’ve had to down grade to one vehicle, and he drives it like its a truck. He’s already messed up the bumper pulling out of a parking space (it’s much lower than he’s used to.) I’m mad that he doesn’t take care of it, I’m mad that I didn’t do the research before buying it, and I’m mad that it’s happening the week of our move. I’m scared to make the wrong decision again. I just want to hole up somewhere with a book. Adulthood hasn’t been kind to me these past two years :(

I knew this car would be expensive to fix and bought it anyways. When I moved to Upstate NY I wasn’t ready for a truck/SUV and wanted a car I could drive in bad weather. I felt this car provided that. Little did I know it would depreciate so quickly in just 2 years. I can’t sell it, I have a big loan still left on it, and I can’t even trade it in. I’m stuck with it.

Well, Sunday on our way home to NYC from upstate NY about 30 minutes into our trip, the car died. We lost power steering and then while we were on the side of the road the battery died as well. Realizing that we couldn’t drive the car home and that we might have to deal with this car and possibly needing a second car sooner than later on top of all the stress with the move I almost lost it. I could feel the tears building up. I’d never been in this position before (broken down on the side of the road) and now it’s happening at the worst time, baby and dog in the backseat, husband needing to go back to work. The DH then remembers his insurance covers towing so I push back the tears and get on the phone. A state trooper comes before I reach them and gets the tow truck for us which is just as well since it was getting cold. Trying to stay calm, cool, and collected the DH and I are forced to make decisions fast (I could vent about the DH’s decision making for hours but I’m over it for now). I decide since we don’t know any other mechanic and it’s a Sunday, to have it towed to the Audi dealership about 5 miles away. I may regret this later but it had to be done. Fortunately the DH was able to get a friend to come pick us up since we had the dog and no cabs would. We ended up going back to the same hotel we stayed at and spent another night and rented a car for the next week. $500 later in rental and hotel fees, I still don’t know how much the car is gonna cost but at least we’re all safe and had the available credit. I’m not sure what we would have done otherwise. I’m so stressed about the move, our massive debt, and the fact that our debt keeps growing on pretty much a daily basis. The DH is getting a bonus from the company but if he leaves before 2 years we have to pay most of it plus the taxes back (been there done that, which is part of what our original current debt was from). Now I’m scared to use it since I don’t know how the job is going to work out which brings me back to the trouble of paying this massive debt down. I hate that I made a bad decision buying this Audi and for charging things I probably didn’t need. Honestly I think out of all the crappy emotions I’m going through right now, disappointment in my poor decision making is what’s making me feel the worst. I just have to keep reminding myself- what’s done is done and try, try again. So enough ranting and back to planning. sigh.

Car is back. They just balanced the tires which hopefully can keep me from buying a new rim for a few more months. Oil change and it’s goo to go for now.

got an appointment tomorrow. Needs oil change, inspection, registration renewal, new rim, possibly control arms, and leaky seal, has a shaky problem and shocks are squeaky. sigh. Unfortunately i owe too much to get rid of it.

omg rims are so expensive and I really only need just one but I’m suspecting I may have to buy all four. : (

I had the recall stuff fixed, then had to replace brake pads cause stupid midas put in wrong ones, then something about a purge valve which all totaled way more than I wanted to spend. sigh. I still need to take it back for control arm stuff and tie rods (all worn?)Oh and a transmission seal, leaky? The dealership is so expensive but I’m not sure where else to go next time. used cars stink.