Great Birthday!!

New car! New car! New car!  That was one of my presents from the hubby for my birthday (the others were a camera and riding lessons).

The car was really unexpected, but it is the one I have wanted for a few years now - right color, brand new, under warranty, with a rear entertainment system for the kids and built-in computer system that I can talk to in order to change the station, bring up the navigation system, etc.  It will even make phone calls hands-free and read texts that come into my phone when I'm in the car. I definitely got REALLY spoiled this year.

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Safety on the Road

You are a mom out driving with your kids and you have car problems that prevent you from driving the car any further.  What do you do?  Do you belong to a roadside assistance club that you can call for help? Do you call a friend or spouse? Do you start walking with your children?

I think about this a lot because my husband's work schedule makes him being of much help impossible and I have no family in the area I can call.  I am chauffeur to my children for their various activities on a daily basis.  If we had car problems, it'd be up to me to figure it out.  I have my fingers crossed that I won't have to figure it out on my own.

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Cheap Auto Insurance Rates

I received a letter today about saving a few hundred dollars a year on car insurance rates.  With us living check to check right now due to reduced hours the last year, and falling behind, saving a few hundred dollars a year would be nice.

I've not shopped around for automobile insurance rates in years, which is bad when I think about it.  It just becomes so easy to pay that monthly auto insurance bill without thinking too much about it when you've been running after six kids. 

With the economy down the drain right now, it's forcing us to think about how and where to cut back on what we can and save on what is necessary.  Our cars are a necessity for work so car insurance is a must.

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Repair Pal: Great Auto Repair Estimate Site

We're trying to plan another vacation in July to visit family and I have my fingers crossed that my transmission will make it to and through that vacation because we're driving.  Besides the rumbling being plain annoying, I hope it doesn't give out during the drive to or from.  That would really stink.  They initially thought it was a wheel bearing but I paid to replace that and guess what?  Still rumbling and shaking!  They told me to drive it until it goes, unless I'm ready to spend $2,000-$3,000 to replace the transmission, so I'm driving it.

I'm never sure if I'm overpaying, especially being a woman.  I did pretty good negotiating the brakes and rotors I needed this past winter but sometimes, mechanics make me wonder how much they are trying to get away with because of my gender.  I found this great site to get approximate estimates for different car repairs.  It's called Repair Pal.  For instance, if you are looking for Chicago auto repair for a water pump for your Toyota Corolla, you enter that search criteria and it gives you repair estimates for your area.  I used it to see if I overpaid on my brake pad and rotor replacement and it was within the range, on the lower end, which makes sense for our rural area.  I did good with that negotiation!

This is a pretty cool site.  One I will bookmark for future reference.

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Moms Can't Get Sick

I am so behind with everthing since getting sick this past month.  I have to get caught up on balancing the budget, paying bills, doing paperwork and filing, and so much more.  I forgot that our auto insurance is due tomorrow and I haven't paid that yet either.  Mom gets sick and it all goes to heck, lol. 

I should get another auto insurance quote while I am thinking about it too. We've been with the same auto insurance company for 15-20 years now. I wonder if there are less expensive options out there. I guess I'll just add one more thing to my "to do" list.

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Car Transmission Problems

My car might be dropping its transmission on me.  Like I can afford $2,000 to fix it!  All this stress is going to give me an ulcer. At the very least, zits galore.  I'll need the best acne treatment AND a new transmission!

What I would like is a new car actually but that's not going to happen.  I'd love to get a Honda Pilot that seats eight.  That makes it perfect to fit our six kids.  I was dreaming today and looked it up online.  At $700/month, yeah, that is NEVER happening.  It's too expensive but it's nice to dream.

Have a nice weekend everybody!

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Bang! Bang! Down the Expressway

So we are driving down the expressway the other day and something starts hitting the passenger door of my SUV. It's hitting so loudly that I'm afraid there is going to be paint damage and dings in my door. It turns out that the rubber mat that is supposed to be adhered to the running boards has come up, leaving half of it flapping in the wind! We ended up having to pull it off completely so we could get home without any damage. Now I am on the search for Mopar parts to replace the rubber mat without having to replace the running board.

They were too expensive to have installed. I can't believe the mat came up! It's been too long to get it covered under any type of warranty so it'll be our expense. There always seems to be some expense ready and waiting for us.

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Driving Pet Peeves

I don't have road rage. I don't get THAT mad while driving. What would be the point? Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't get irritated enough to let slip a few bad words when other people's driving irritates me.

Last week, two cars coming in the opposite direction passed a garbage truck in front of them - and they didn't care that they almost caused a head-on collision (with us!). That elicited more than just a few bad words from me (think finger gestures). They deserved it!

Other things that irritate me:

• Tailgating.
• When people don't turn on their turn signal until right when they turn or not at all.
• When lights are out so braking is a big surprise to you when all of a sudden, the car in front of you is a lot closer than it should be. 
• How about when the car in front of you passes illegally on the right hand side of the road because the person in front of them is stopped to turn, leaving you little notice that there is a car stopped right in front of you? That really gripes!
• Another irritation is about cars and not driving specifically. The heavy bass beat that kids seem to think is awesome to hear half a dozen cars away? It hurts my ears! My ears are sensitive - they can't take heavy bass like that (nor can they take the high-pitched dog trainers that aren't supposed to be heard by humans. Yes, those hurt my ears too). I can't imagine what that bass is doing to that car's passengers' ears.

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Texting While Driving

Did you know that texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving? According to a study by Car and Driver...that's what they say.

The Obama administration is bringing together individuals next month (reports call it a summit) to discuss what to do about this. Hope it's better than the beer summit he just had (which I thought was really stupid). In one study of truckers, the risk of collision was 23 times greater if texting. Dialing a cell phone or reaching for an electronic device put the risk at 6 times greater.

I hope teenaged drivers aren't doing this (they're probably the biggest group that would?). Combining new driving skills, texting, and the erroneous thinking that you're going to live forever is a bit scary to me. I wouldn't let my teenaged stepdaughter (with the new driver's permit) drive my Durango before...now that I realize texting is a major issue (and she's a huge texter), that just put her chances at driving my truck even further away.

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Chrysler Closing Almost 800 Dealerships

The list came out today of dealerships that Chrysler wants to close, filed in a motion in Bankruptcy Court. They have about 3,200 dealerships but they plan to close 789 of them (39 in my home state of Michigan). That's about 25%. The planned date to have them closed by is June 9th. That's only a few weeks away. The court has to approve Chrysler's motion still, which is slated for June 3. Because of that, I've seen it written that some dealerships, who received the letter today telling them whether their dealership would be closed or not, are only considering this a temporary list.

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Do All Auto Mechanics Think Women Are Stupid & Mousy?

Why do some automotive mechanics try to rip you off? After spending almost $700 getting my bald and bulging tires replaced on my SUV (god did that hurt to give that money to them, lol), we took my husband's car in for an exhaust system and hood latch. It'd been sitting in the driveway for about six months waiting for us to get money (aka income tax, lol) to fix it. It was going to cost $150 for an exhaust system for it. OK. We can do that so we took it to them and then picked it up from them after their closing hours.

They charged us $150 and only replaced the muffler...not the pipes. WTH? So, I made a phone call to get some back up on muffler prices from other repair places. I called another muffler place and they said they would have charged $84.72 for just the muffler and labor. Back to the phone to the idiots who fixed the exhaust...I told them what was supposed to have been done (muffler and pipes) and what was done (just muffler). He offered to give us a break on another car repair. No, I want the price we were quoted to include what was quoted! Geez! (It's not like I will ever take our trucks back to them again after that anyway!). I reminded him of the price we'd just paid them for my SUV tires (hint hint...I have 30 days to change my mind and return them to you so do you REALLY want me to do that, lol). "We're so sorry. I can get the pipes in tomorrow and get it on for you. That price should have included the pipes." Ya think?

I may not have the same body part the mechanic man did and that may think that entitles them to try to take advantage, but it doesn't. What it did was made them lose all future business. Did they think because I was female, that I would just quietly accept it? They don't know me very well.

Next time, I will crawl under the car to look while they are open though so I can complain right then and there instead of picking the car up after closing hours and having to complain to them later.

TO ALL MALE AUTO MECHANICS: Being female doesn't make me stupid. Dumb ass.

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Managing with income loss

My husband told me yesterday that his employer is cutting the automotive plant where he works down to three days a week. This is the first time this company has ever had to do anything like this (they've never had lay-offs either). So far, it doesn't affect him because his department has work but I worry it is just a matter of time until it does affect him. It has to trickle down to his area in the plant eventually I'd think.

So, I can't sleep because now I am worried about keeping a roof over my kids' head, transportation, and paying all the other bills we have. Merry Christmas eh?

I would imagine bankruptcy is becoming a very real option for a lot of people right now in this economy. I've heard the new laws make it harder to file now though.

So, I am working out in my head what bills would have to be eliminated "just in case" (I'd have to sell my horse which would tear my heart out...my eyes tear up just thinking about it now and it's not a reality yet). I can pay her bills now with what I make but if my husband's work situation changes, having a horse and riding lessons for my daughter would have to move to the back burner because shelter, food, utilities, etc. have to take precedence.

Where does credit card debt fall in line? We have plenty of it and if my husband's job hours get reduced to part-time, we can't pay any of that because the necessary bills have to come first. *sigh* This economy crap stinks.

So, all these thoughts are whirling around in my noggin - thoughts of bankruptcy, food stamps, creditors coming after us, losing my girl, etc. I am "hoping" that reducing hours to part-time doesn't mean a loss in medical insurance. We shall see.

My husband's child support bill would stay the same. That bill gets paid regardless of what our household loses, what my own kids lose, unless hubby actually gets laid off. In that case (lay-off), then it'd be reduced per court order. Reducing hours isn't being laid off so we can forget about that expense being reduced. My kids' needs will take the hit on that one, like it always has, before the "first kids" needs do. First kids (two) are more important than the second ones (four) in the family court's eyes...unless I were to divorce their dad which would get the state government kick backs from the federal government so my kids would then become important to them. Stupid eh? Did I ever say how much I dislike Michigan's family court? Well, I do. We could lose our home and they wouldn't care. It'd probably give the ex a big laugh too.

Anyway, just some upbeat thoughts in my head to bring into the holiday season. Cripes!

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If the Big Three Automakers Get A Bailout...

...then I believe we should be able to refinance BOTH of our Chrysler vehicles at 0% interest instead of what we are paying in interest now. After all, it'd be our tax dollars bailing them out.

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Car Woes

I had car problems today. After the car died on me at the stable this morning, stranding me until I could get a jump from a friend, we thought that was all it was (well, hoped anyway). It was funny watching this. We didn't know how to jump a vehicle (it's been 15 years since I learned how and my memory must suck because I couldn't remember what went first with the positive and negatives and what not to touch, etc.). So, we have my friend's husband on cell phone speakerphone walking her through how to do it. It was funny. She got it started and home I went.

However, when I went out at lunch to check my car, all I hear was "click-click-click" again. So, hubby jumps me again (well, my car; not me) but it won't stay running now at all. Take your foot off the accelerator and the car dies. **picture me banging my head against my car here thinking about another bill we didn't need and can't afford right now** Hubby drove it up to the shop all the while keeping his foot on the accelerator, alternating between neutral and drive (kind of reminded me of my high school days when I used to take my parents' minivan and do brake torques until I burned their brakes up:)

Anyway, they tested it and it was the battery. The charge is good but the battery is bad so I get a new battery and homeward bound we go. I got 75,000 miles off that battery (it's the original...6-1/2 years old) so I guess it was time for a new one;)

Hopefully, this is all because if I get stranded tomorrow morning driving my daughter to school 20 minutes away, I am not going to be a happy camper.

Oh yeah, hubby's car is still sitting in the driveway with the exhaust hanging on it. His is going to cost $200 to fix so it is going to sit there for awhile. Cars are great...when they run right. I would like my car back to myself totally since hubby doesn't smell all purdy when he gets out of work and it lingers in my car but whatcha gonna do?

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