The continuing story of why my car hates me
So M had a Scout buddy who works on Jaguars for a living, so we had him take a look at our car. Head gasket seals are weak, there is oil in the coolant, and that knock is a rod. So everyone we talked to was right, and we are definately in need of a new engine. It's common for the seals to weaken on older cars, and I'd kinda had a heads up about it a few years ago when I took my car in to Midas. We think it was driving around in the snow so much that caused it to all finally break.
So we figured we ought to ditch the car as quickly as possible. Mom is letting me drive her truck until then (as she's recovering from her histerectomy, she's not driving for awhile, and they have another vehicle [I think she just really likes her truck]). We went to the Saturn lot first, as they were good to me before, and might give me more for my trade in. This spaz of a guy comes out to help us. And as half of the town was flooded (including their lower lot) he didn't have all the cars that he normally would. After hearing, really, only what I was willing to spend ($5k is what I said), he had us sit in his office. Then we saw him get into a car and leave. Wtf?! He was running to the other lot to get a car he thought I might like. It was just really weird for him to leave without saying when he'd be back. We decided we were there to look at cars, not sit in an office of an absent salesman, even if it was super windy.
When he got back, he had a 2002 PT Cruiser. Great shape. Only 97k and only $6k. I liked driving it. M pointed out that it had buckles for a car seat (!!) and it is roomy in the back. It was pretty blue. I played it cool, even though I wanted it. We called the insurance company and got a quote. They ran a credit check to see if I could get a loan from them, but they wouldn't loan me $6k! I'm getting a letter in the mail soon, I guess. I was freaked out because I was sure I could just finance something like I had before. But with bad economy and my non-exacly-been-working-this-last-year status...well, it was grim. The sales guy offered to do a CUDL, which is where they ask a whole bunch of banks for money and it only dings my credit score once. We waited for over an hour in his office while he "rattled their cages". Eventually, the banks just closed, so we went home.
Next day, we went to a different lot my dad suggested. They clearly had, um, "low overhead" and the place looked really ghetto. But they had a lot of inexpensive cars. Sales guy took my info to run a credit thing, to see what I could finance. He was finally honest: if you don't make $1500 at one job, then they can't finance you. I don't think I make that much in a month, ever, let alone at one job. And isn't that why one has more than one job? To make more money? Oy. Well, he saved us a bunch of time. So I called First Bank of Mom and Dad.
Here's the new deal: my brother, who can fix cars, owes my mom a great deal of money. I wanted to borrow money from mom to get the car fixed. She says if bro fixes it, gets the parts and stuff, that he won't owe her any more. It's a great deal for me, because I don't have to pay for anything. Bro is worried about the time factor (since he is planning on moving soon, and he works in Everett). I just want my vehicle.
So that's where we stand on the car. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and advice during this freaky time. BTW, Mercury goes retrograde in Aquarius on the 17th, so be prepared to revisit some ideas!
So we figured we ought to ditch the car as quickly as possible. Mom is letting me drive her truck until then (as she's recovering from her histerectomy, she's not driving for awhile, and they have another vehicle [I think she just really likes her truck]). We went to the Saturn lot first, as they were good to me before, and might give me more for my trade in. This spaz of a guy comes out to help us. And as half of the town was flooded (including their lower lot) he didn't have all the cars that he normally would. After hearing, really, only what I was willing to spend ($5k is what I said), he had us sit in his office. Then we saw him get into a car and leave. Wtf?! He was running to the other lot to get a car he thought I might like. It was just really weird for him to leave without saying when he'd be back. We decided we were there to look at cars, not sit in an office of an absent salesman, even if it was super windy.
When he got back, he had a 2002 PT Cruiser. Great shape. Only 97k and only $6k. I liked driving it. M pointed out that it had buckles for a car seat (!!) and it is roomy in the back. It was pretty blue. I played it cool, even though I wanted it. We called the insurance company and got a quote. They ran a credit check to see if I could get a loan from them, but they wouldn't loan me $6k! I'm getting a letter in the mail soon, I guess. I was freaked out because I was sure I could just finance something like I had before. But with bad economy and my non-exacly-been-working-this-last-year status...well, it was grim. The sales guy offered to do a CUDL, which is where they ask a whole bunch of banks for money and it only dings my credit score once. We waited for over an hour in his office while he "rattled their cages". Eventually, the banks just closed, so we went home.
Next day, we went to a different lot my dad suggested. They clearly had, um, "low overhead" and the place looked really ghetto. But they had a lot of inexpensive cars. Sales guy took my info to run a credit thing, to see what I could finance. He was finally honest: if you don't make $1500 at one job, then they can't finance you. I don't think I make that much in a month, ever, let alone at one job. And isn't that why one has more than one job? To make more money? Oy. Well, he saved us a bunch of time. So I called First Bank of Mom and Dad.
Here's the new deal: my brother, who can fix cars, owes my mom a great deal of money. I wanted to borrow money from mom to get the car fixed. She says if bro fixes it, gets the parts and stuff, that he won't owe her any more. It's a great deal for me, because I don't have to pay for anything. Bro is worried about the time factor (since he is planning on moving soon, and he works in Everett). I just want my vehicle.
So that's where we stand on the car. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and advice during this freaky time. BTW, Mercury goes retrograde in Aquarius on the 17th, so be prepared to revisit some ideas!