only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
Archive for the ‘Cars’ Category
I hardly ever drive my car anymore. Jesse usually has it which means I must drive the Honda if I have someplace to go. Poor me! HAHAHAHA!
The only problem with not driving my own car is that when it needs repaired, I don’t always know it. I did have my car over the weekend and noticed a grinding noise when I hit the brakes. Not good. Luckily, though, we did buy brakes with a lifetime warranty so I need to pay only for labor. My mechanic, Rich, fixed the problem and now there’s no more grinding when I slow down.
Oh, but that doesn’t mean the car is fine. No, we’ve found a new problem. My car seems to be very sluggish. It’s as if it’s not getting any gas. I don’t know if the problem is in the fuel pump or some other car part but I’m sure one of my sons or my mechanic will figure it out.
On the plus side, Malibu parts are not that expensive. Jesse’s car is another story! I guess it has something to do with sports cars. Whether it’s s2000 or Ferrari parts, they’re definitely higher priced than my old Chevy.
Let’s just hope that whatever is wrong this time is a quick, easy and inexpensive fix.
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Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. Other times, you get hit with a tsunami. Like now. Seriously, I am thisclose to running away and never coming back. I’ve already checked prices on hotels in las vegas, phoenix, the Keys and even Mexico. I really need a vacation. Oh, but wait! I can’t afford that because every machine in my life is plotting against me.
The Honda will be repaired. For now, though, we can’t drive it. That leaves us with Brian’s truck, which he uses for work and gets about 10 mpg, Nick’s car and my car. Except now we don’t have my car.
Jesse drove my car to work this morning because he needed to leave early to go to his friend’s graduation. He and his dad both pulled in at the gas station and filled up. Brian left while Jesse was still paying inside. When Jesse got in the car, it wouldn’t start. Nothing. Dead.
He pushed the car to the mechanic across the street then called my oldest son’s fiance for a ride. Jump ahead to this afternoon. The mechanic claims the problem is a fuel pump and the charge to fix it is going to be (are you ready for this?) $630!!!!
Yeah, like I’m going to pay that.
So I called AAA to tow my car to my regular mechanic who also happens to be my own personal Car Angel, Rich from R&S Automotive on Main Street in Weirton. He’s going to do the work for about half what the thieving mechanic quoted. Of course, I still have to pay for the diagnosis: $58 plus tax. What a racket.
A few thoughts are bouncing around in my head right now. Like, if you have a kid who doesn’t want to go to college but loves working on cars, by all means encourage him to work on cars. This world needs honest mechanics.
Also, if you have a good mechanic like Rich at R & S Automotive in Weirton, treat him well. Those ones are priceless.
Finally, is Mars bouncing off the walls of my fourth House or something? Apparently something is happening to turn all our vehicles against us.
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File this under “Can we rewind and do this day over?”
Some of you may remember seeing pictures of my pretty sports car here. It’s lots of fun to drive but it really isn’t practical for me right now. Last year I put less than 450 miles on it. So we sold the car to my son, Jesse. Of course, he paid less for it than the blue book price, but it was still a hefty amount. When Jesse returned from Hawaii, we had the title transferred over to him and within a few days he was driving his car.
Whenever he wasn’t driving it, he’d hand me the keys and tell me to go ahead and take it if I needed to go anywhere. I kept thinking that I would do that but hadn’t yet. And now it will be a long time before I get to take it out at all.
You see, Jesse has issues with deer. And we have a huge deer population in West Virginia. People have actually died in car accidents involving deer around here. Jesse has had three run-ins with deer.
Okay, make that four.
Jesse had been out and was driving up our hill when a deer ran out into the road. Jesse swerved which is a good choice given the size of Jesse’s car in comparison to the size of the deer. Unfortunately, the car sits low, the drop off is at least 8 inches and then dips even farther into a ravine and Jesse’s beautiful S2000 got sucked toward the hillside. And landed like this:
I’m not sure if you can appreciate the angle at which that car is resting. That’s at least a 45 degree slope. (Tammie? If you’re reading this, what would your estimate be?) Understand also that there are parts of this two-lane STATE road that have no guardrail on the opposite side where the road drops completely off for a hundred feet or so. This would explain why we’re just so grateful that Jesse swerved toward the hill instead of toward the side that drops way way down. Anyway, here’s another shot from the other direction, so you can see how he landed.
Someone from our local government drove by and noted that the state, after repaving the road, did not properly grade that side. An 8 inch drop is dangerous. Several people have suggested we contact a car and truck accident lawyer to find out if the state is liable for any of the damages. Jesse’s insurance adjuster has been notified and will look at the road when he comes to inspect the car. We’ll see what he says.
Oh, and you can be sure I’ll be giving a full review of Jesse’s insurance company. So far, they’ve been responsive and helpful. We’ll see if they come through with putting Jesse car back to the mint condition it had been. Or at least nearly so.
For now, I’m so glad my son is okay. I’m glad that the Brooke County deputy who responded was helpful, noted that Jesse was sober and assisted us as much as he did. I’m also glad that after pulling the car from the ravine, Jesse was able to drive it the 1/4 mile to our house rather than having to have it towed. We’re hoping that the frame is solid and the car can be repaired. Please send good thoughts our way.
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In less than a year, I’ll have my car paid off. That means that in less than a year, I’ll be able to drop the auto insurance on that vehicle to just liability. YAY!
We saved a fortune when we dropped full coverage from Brian’s truck. We saved even more when we paid off the Honda S2000 and knocked it down to liability. We sold that one to Jesse so now it’s his responsibility to get it insured when he comes home.
Two of my kids are waiting patiently for the Malibu to be paid off so they can get their licenses. I’ve learned from experience that having a brand new cars with full coverage is bad idea while you still have teenaged drivers at home, especially male teenaged drivers!. So it’s used cars for the next 7 years at least.
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I’ve mentioned before that I love cars. No, I don’t work on them. I just like them. I like fast cars and really enjoy our Honda S2000. Well, I did enjoy it. We sold the car to my son, Jesse, this past year. He’s single and has no kids so it really suits him better. Besides, I like muscle cars and the S2000 is a roadster.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted a Mustang. Since selling the S2000 to Jesse, I’ve been looking at them again. I know we probably can’t afford a brand new one right now but I have been looking at some used one. I figure if I get one that runs great and has a solid body, my son Nick can work on it to make it really shine.
I’ve done my homework and found a great site that sells popular Mustang parts at a great price. Even better, they offer free shipping. I’ve kind of got my eye on the sequential taillight kit. Of course, since I’d need to convince Nick to do the work, I may have to let him pick the first project.
I know, I need to slow down. I haven’t even gotten my husband to agree to any of this yet. He does have his dream truck, though. So it’s only fair that I should get my dream car, right? Yeah, that sounds reasonable.
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We were talking today about cars. Specifically we talked about our Honda and that we’ll be sending it to Hawaii, hopefully before the end of the month. We also talked about my car, getting it paid off and perhaps looking for a small used car that gets better gas milage.
I like my Malibu but I seldom have a full car so really, a smaller one would be better. A five speed would be nice. I really had been looking at the 2007 Mustang but that’s not practical or economical.
Anyone have an idea about what small used car would be the best on gas? Give me your ideas!
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For the second time this month, my Malibu died. This time I was in town with a trunk full of frozen food. I thought the car was fixed but apparently not. So I called my husband who had been napping and he came to rescue me.
Now I have to take my car in to get fixed. I’d trade it in but I still have two years of payments on the damn thing. AND it has over 120,000 miles on it already. I still can’t believe how much I’ve driven it.
When I take it in tomorrow (and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I make it) I’ll have them check the Auto air conditioning since that’s been feeling a little warm lately. Heck, may as well have them check for any funny leaks or odd noises, too. That car has to last me at least two more years.
I wonder how beat up it has to be to get those Pimp My Ride people to come and pimp my Malibu?
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Maybe it’s not so secret to those who read my blog regularly but most people in my real life don’t realize how much I love cars. I love to drive fast cars. I love to ride in fast cars. Yes, it scares me sometimes but it’s probably the only fear I enjoy.
Oh, and I love to look at fast cars.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had one favorite muscle car. Oh, sure, I drooled over the 69 Camaro and I envied Starsky and Hutch’s Gran Torino. But my heart never swayed far from my beloved Ford Mustang.
I’ve decorated my computers with backgrounds and screensavers reflecting all the things I love from dandelions and pit bulls to kids and cars. Now I’ve found a really great site with some fantastic Ford Wallpaers and Screensavers. And yes, that includes my dream Mustang. I’m downloading the wallpaper now and can’t wait to combine it with the screensaver. You think my husband will get the hint about what kind of car I want next?
Now maybe you’re not so much into the Mustang. Kind of hard for me to fathom that but okay, it might happen. Well, how about the Ford GT? No, really, is that not one of the most beautiful cars you’ve ever seen? Can you imagine how awesome your monitor would look with that as your background? I think I’d have trouble opening windows, I’d be so mesmerized by the lines of that machine.
Of course, there are other Ford wallpapers available. The Ford Edge is nice but the Iosis really caught my eye. Oh, and the best thing about these great wallpapers is that they’re all free! That’s right, they’re available at no cost to you. Just head on over there and download your favorite wallpaper or the great Ford screensaver. Go on, download one of them. You know you want to. And who knows, someone may just see it and decide to treat you to your dream car on your next birthday. That’s what I’m hoping for at least. 
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Every time I get into my car I want to scream. I never eat in my car. I no longer smoke so I don’t do that in there either. And yet, I have pop bottles and food wrappers and even empty cigarette packs everywhere in my Malibu. I’ve cleaned it out twice in the past two months and again it’s a mess. There is no reason it should look this way.
I’ve told all my kids that I’m no longer lending out my car or my driving services until my car is totally cleaned out, wiped out and spit shined. I even agreed to buy all of the Automotive detailing supplies that they’ll need. I just want my car back to the way it’s supposed to be. Let’s see how long before someone actually uses the cleaning stuff I’m buying.
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Did I mention that our Honda is finally paid off? YAY for us! It’s been a long five years and I’m so happy that payment is gone. Even better, I don’t have to carry full coverage on it anymore. I know, that isn’t a really good idea for a car that valuable. But we don’t drive very often and the money we’re saving is unbelievable. I’m still going to get at least one more car insurance quote to compare to the two others I have and the cost of my current policy. I’m really hoping to bring that amount down.
In the meantime, I can’t wait to get my Malibu paid off. Let’s just hope it lasts for at least 5 additional years after the payoff. Wouldn’t that be great?
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