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weirdmom Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 5:26 PM |
The car my hubby was driving was pretty old (1994 Mazda Protege) and we were probably going to need to replace it within a year or so. My dad was getting a new car in November and very kindly gave us his old one for free. It was still older (1998) but in better condition than the one my husband was driving. We were very thankful and appreciative.
Though it wasn't much we sold our old one for basically nothing to our neighbors, who had no car at all (quite challenging in a city with crap bus routes).
Well last night the car our dad gave us died. The mechanic just called and the whole engine is shot and the cost to repair it is more than the car is worth.
So today we have to go get another car with money that we don't have!!
Yeah!!!!!! |
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Monica Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 5:28 PM |
| That sucks, Anne :( |
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ricv64 Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 5:37 PM |
| I just had a expensive nightmare passing the smog test on my 15 year old ride |
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Nikki Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 5:50 PM |
| That stinks. What kind of car was the '98 one your dad gave you? |
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ricv64 Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 5:58 PM |
Nikki wrote: That stinks. What kind of car was the '98 one your dad gave you?
this kind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G81xwG4xQU |
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weirdmom Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 6:10 PM |
I only wish. It was a Chevy Malibu. |
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Nikki Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 6:16 PM |
My lease is up soon. I'm so excited to get a new ride. We get a Chrysler discount so it's either a Dodge Avenger or Chrysler Sebring for me. I'd like a Jeep, but can't afford it and don't want to waste $$$$ on gas.
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spid Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 6:17 PM |
| Bad luck - bad karma! |
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ricv64 Posted Sat 02 Feb, 2008 7:16 PM |
weirdmominaustin wrote:
I only wish. It was a Chevy Malibu.
i'd like a 67 Malibu , serious !
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weirdmom Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 2:20 AM |
I didn't find a '67 Malibu but my broken heart is soothed by what we did get:
Sorry it's such a massive image but that is the same color we got. We went to CarMax (a huge used car place that locations in most states. We got a 2007 that only had 2400 miles on it. It was a demo car at a Mazda dealership so really it's never been owned.
It's like a mini-minivan (but I think it looks less minivan in person than this pic). Brian is excited because the third row folds down so he can finally fit his drums in our car without having to take the car seats out.
We've never had a new car so even though it stinks we now have a car payment I am just going to enjoy the snot out of having a nice car that has a warranty for five years and all sorts of snazzy things.
Oh and I found out the engine in the Malibu *exploded*. Apparently something got lose in the engine and acted like a hand grenade. We would have had to buy a whole new engine. Just that costs $5,000. They said Malibus are known for this problem and it was just bad luck , nothing we did or didn't do. |
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Nikki Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 5:22 AM |
| Cool Anne!! Mazdas are really cute now. I test drove a few of their crossovers for road reports at the old job. They were pretty groovy I must say. :) |
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mili Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 9:20 AM |
weirdmominaustin wrote:
Oh and I found out the engine in the Malibu *exploded*. Apparently something got lose in the engine and acted like a hand grenade. We would have had to buy a whole new engine. Just that costs $5,000. They said Malibus are known for this problem and it was just bad luck , nothing we did or didn't do.
At least it didn't explode when you were driving it?
I'm happy that I live in a city where public transport and bicycle routes are so good that we don't need a car. I take the kids to their hobbies by bus and they walk to school.
It's not a big decision really, since cars are expensive here, parking would be a nightmare and insurance costs are skyhigh. Not to mention the fact that you have to change tyres twice a year.
Just took our bikes for their yearly maintenance ;^) |
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Scottish Dubliner Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 1:07 PM |
It is diificult to go wrong with a Japanese Car, they may not be as stylish or as comfortable at times but...reliability!! Japaese engines are the best in the world, as long as you keep them topped up with water an oil they will run forever.
Dubz
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weirdmom Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 2:40 PM |
mili wrote: At least it didn't explode when you were driving it?
Actually my husband was driving it but he said it just stalled at a stop sign. We thought it was the starter or the timing belt because it still had power (radio, lights). So we were really surprised.
This all happened during rush hour and he was on a street very near an entrance to the freeway so there was lots of honking since he was blocking a lane. Someone came out of their house and helped him coast to a place off the side of the road and then invited him in for a glass of wine with his family!
They got to talking and these people are really into architecture and my husband is a structural engineer (he designs the structure so the crazy designed architects come up with don't fall down) so they had lots to talk about. He told them he worked on a house in that neighborhood that won some awards last year and they were very impressed (which, frankly, doesn't happen very much when you're an engineer!)
They even invited him to eat but by then the tow truck showed up. So instead of sitting in his car for a hour getting honked at, he met some nice people and had a glass of wine. I was expecting to pick up a grumpy bear from the mechanic but he was pretty happy considering. |
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ricv64 Posted Sun 03 Feb, 2008 2:52 PM |
turtlenecks' car ? |
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