My Misadventures in Car Shopping.

Why do I always have such misadventures in almost everything I do? Nothing can ever be simple for me.

I am sure everyone has seen my poor car that I drive around. I have to say she is very reliable and makes sure I get home safely in all kinds of weather. Driving home at night, I have seen a truck spin around like a top on the 169 while the old girl puts along getting me through the hazardous roads. She likes me and I feel safe within her walls. We have gotten to know each other so well that I know when she needs oil even before it shows on the gage. I know every ping and pang she makes. I know when she’s not feeling well and I know when she wants to race that little sports car driving next to me.

Yep she’s a good old gal. So why am I car shopping?

Well even though I love her she has hinted that she was tired and driving 40 miles a day to go to work was getting hard on her and I should look for something else. I had no intensions on getting rid of her. Even though she has a bad case of mange, I did intend to slowly have her fixed up as I could afford it. But she would be a great car to go shopping in or short trips. I paid 500 dollars for her and had her for 4 years with very little repairs on her. I think I got my money’s worth.

I figured with the way things are going today I should be able to pick up a fairly nice car for about a thousand dollars. Well that’s what I thought until I started looking for a car. I found cars that don’t even run for over a thousand dollars. I found cars with huge amount of miles on it for over a thousand dollars. I cringed, who would pay that for a used car that might not last to the end of the driveway?

When I did find what I thought was a descent car at a dealer with low mileages, and I questioned them about it, I found out the for some reason the speedometer wasn’t working and even though it showed low mileages it may not be so.

Every so often I would find a car that did fit my requirements but when I would travel all the way over there the car would be gone, and I would hear the first come first serve thing.

I finally ran into one guy( Jeff from J A Service) who repairs cars for a living and sells them also on the side. Well the car I wanted to look at was gone but he said he is always getting in cars to sell and he would keep an eye out for one for me. The he asked me why I was getting rid of my car. I explained to him I wasn’t but the car was tired and I needed a car with fewer miles on it. He looked at my car and he made me an offer I could not refuse. He offered to put in a rebuilt engine that had fewer miles on it and fix up the leaks I had in the transmission and a few other things for about a thousand dollars. I was skeptical. I had dealings with mechanics in the past in New York and once they see a woman coming they jack up the prices and do a bad job, was it the same here in Minnesota?

I talked it over with Joe and he said you love the car go ahead and have it done. I call the mechanic and I told him that I would accept his offer. While he worked on my car he gave me a loner. I was happy that my car was getting fixed with an engine that had half the miles on it. He checked out the car completely to make sure it would be worth fixing, and replaced the rotors for me because they were so worn out. He also changed all the juices in the car and checked the transmission to make sure it was still good and a bunch of other stuff. I have to say he went the whole 9 yards for me and he guarantees his work. He wants to see me when I put in 500 miles on the car to check it out and make sure everything is as it should be. I am so pleased with his work.

I got the old girl back and she runs great. I can feel that she is running differently. A good differently. Now this spring I will fix her mange and she will be as good as new. So if you see a car with mange putting down 169, that’s me and yes I am proud of my old girl.