Car Rant

This is kind of a long story but I will try to make it short. I went home last Wednesday for thanksgiving and my dad insisted that I take my car in to get the breaks replaced and some suspension work done because winter was coming and I live in a VERY hilly part of Wisconsin so breaks are a good thing to have especially if we have a winter like last year when we got about 90-100 inches of snow.

Anyway I had to drive my mom's car back on Friday because my car was understandably not done yet but was told that by early this week it would be done. I drive a 1998 GMC Jimmy, the thing is a beast in the snow and ice and I wanted it back asap because this is the time of year when we start getting a lot of snow and ice and I have a 15 minute commute though the hills and valleys to work and its very easy to go into a ditch along those roads. My moms car is a crappy Toyota with breaks and somewhat decent traction but not like my car. But i've managed with it(thankfully haven't had to go anywhere with the snow now on the ground).

Dad calls yesterday and says he's heading up with my car today and that I should leave the key in the door to my apartment just in case I'm not here when I make the switch. I was estatic because tomorrow were supposed to get a snow/ice storm and I work until midnight Wednesday night(guess that would be thursday morning). I go out and spent 30 minutes scrapping my moms car off last night so my dad doesn't have to do it this morning(she has this smallest scraper I have ever seen...that really ticked me off) and I also got all of my crap out of it. Managed to slip a few times on the ice in to lot as well but I didn't care because I was getting my car back.

Dad calles this morning at 7:15 AM and says that my car's heating system isnt' working so he can't make the swap. He says that my mom didn't notice that it was working durring the hour drive back from the mechanics. HOW THE HECK DO YOU NOT NOTICE something like that...I know she can be a little...dence but really. It was 15 degree's out last night when she drove home how do you not notice. Anyway he's all annoyed because he got up at 3 AM to get it here and get my mom's car back to her before he goes to work.

So its back at the mechanics getting looked at and I look up the weather...and the snow/ice storm is supposed to start tonight and not end until Thursday. There expecting less than an inch of snow which means lots of ice. And I'm driving a car I'm not used to with crappy breaks...driving to work tomorrow night should be fun.

I have half a mind to jump in my car after I work this morning(don't have any classes today) and drive the 7 hour drive(there and back) to pick up my car if its done today. It should be a relitivly quick fix so should be done today. My dad said he can't make it out here until the weekend and with the weather starting tomorrow I am really thinking it would be worth the 7 hour drive.

Anyway I'm done ranting. I need vibes that either my car is done and I make it savely down to Chicago and back today before the storm starts(if I decide thats what i want to do) or that I make it savely to work tomorrow with my moms car. I might try to find a straighter alternitive route to work but...the road I take is a 4 lane highway which I would think would be salted and plowed regularly, so I might be okay.

I don't envy you at all; my car is 'garage-bound' a lot in the winter because it just doesn't handle well on snow, let alone ice.
I guess if it was me, I'd head for Chicago to pick up my own car. I hate being responsible for someone else's car when the weather's good, I'm scared to death when I have to drive DH's SUV during the winter.
Sending loads of vibes that your car's heater is a quick fix and you can get it back today. Be careful!

Originally Posted by algebrapro18

I know she can be a little...dence but really.

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That's the woman who carried you for 9 month's, then had to endure sheer agony for you to call her dence.

Please, for once, show her some respect on a public forum.

I think you should wait for the weekend, save your Dad the trip and drive to your parents to exchange cars and to visit with them

I live in Winnipeg and we get a whole lot of snow here too, and not everyone drives "Jimmy's", so you will survive I used to drive a little 2 seater Fiat Spider convertible, and while I did occasionally get stuck, that's what shovels and muscles are for.

Be nice to your parents because they sound so awesome to me. By the sounds of things, they go out of their way to help you when they can. You should do the same in return.

Dense.

At least you don't have to walk.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I used to drive a little 2 seater Fiat Spider convertible...

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You USED to? You got rid of it?!?!

Originally Posted by Keycube

You got rid of it?!?!

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Well, not really.

Here is a picture of what the car looked like. Mine was chocolate brown with a black top and black Italian leather interior with a 6" Italian leather padded racing steering wheel.

http://www.smagula.net/kinney/fiat/fiat-Images/2.jpg

http://www.cruisintime.com/photogall...79/76fiatA.jpg

Long story short, my ex-fiance conned me out of it, and I was too naive at the time to realize what he was doing.

He had an accident with his car and it was totaled, and he needed a car for work, but we didn't have the funds to buy another one and he told me that Autopac wouldn't give him the value of the car for some reason or another. I forgot why. In the end I found out that this was a lie. He did get money from the insurance but didn't tell me.

I offered to let him use mine until he could get another one. He claimed that he couldn't because the insurance was wrong on it. Apparently it was insured as "pleasure vehicle" and he said he needed it specifically insured for "work". So I told him to have the insurance changed. He said that he couldn't because it was my car. So I said that I would. He said that I couldn't because it has to be insured under the name of the person using the car for work.

I didn't know about stuff like that. I was 19 or 20 years old, and I was in love and didn't even consider checking to see if what he was saying to me was true or not.

He told me that the only way for him to insure the car would be to transfer the ownership "in name only" to him. He did up a receipt saying that I was transferring the car to him for the sum of $1.00. So far as I was concerned the way he explained it the car was still mine, but he needed the piece of paper saying it was his in order to get work insurance on it.

A year or so later we broke up and I went to get my car back only to find out that he had sold it! And there was nothing I could do about it because I had willingly given him a "bill of sale" for $1.00 signing it over to him.

I also found out that the car had been insured as "all purpose" and was perfectly acceptable for using for work, and that there was no such thing as just "work insurance" for the car.

Thanks for the vibes. Unfortunatly according to my dad, the heater isn't a simple fix and will require the car staying in Chicago until Sunday at the earliest. So it looks like maybe after the Packer game on Sunday I will be driving down and getting my car back.

You guys made a good point, it really isn't my mom's fault that the heater went out and I shouldn't take it out on her. I was just a little mad that I don't have my car. She was nice enough to give me her's, which she needs for work this week and really my parents juggled there scheduals so I could have the car. Thats why I think I'm going to meet my dad at home to give my mom the car back, the 7 hour drive is the least I can do to help them. I also spent 30 minutes last night scraping all the ice and snow off if it so he wouldn't have to if he would have came this morning.

I just hope its done on Sunday and I get to keep it for a while because its really inconvenient for everyone to have to put up with this setup. My dad or brother now have to drive my mom to work every day, or she has to drive one of them to work and then take there cars which isn't easy on them.

So I just need vibes now to get to work save tomorrow night and get home safe at midnight. I figure that since I take a 4 lane highway to work that semi's drive on it should be plowed and salted well...I hope. The salting/plowing last year was terrible.

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

That's the woman who carried you for 9 month's, then had to endure sheer agony for you to call her dence.

Please, for once, show her some respect on a public forum.

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The patience and loving care your parents extend to you are astounding. You have no idea how lucky you are.

I hate when people can't appreciate what they have.

Your parents gave you a car to use, and are probably paying for yours to be fixed right? That's more than alot of young people get...

What if the heat was working okay when your mom drove it home, and only went out in the morning when your dad got in; did either of you think about that possibility before getting mad about it? even that aside to call her dense is rude; I don't care what the circumstance...she's your mother.

Before you go driving 7 hours to get a car you don't know is going to be fixed or not, think about the situation; 7 hours, or 15 minutes...Hmmm...I think you could wait til the weekend to get your vehicle, especially if there is a storm coming. You don't like driving your mom's car for 15 minutes, in 'bad weather' what makes you think you'll 'enjoy' driving it 3 hours...and what if you get there, and your car is still in the shop? You have to come all the way back in your mom's not so great wintery car.

My advice, chill out, wait for your dad to return your car, and thank him when he does, and in the mean time just slow down a bit when the weather is bad...my geuss is that the reason you like your SUV is that you don't like slowing down in the winter...either way, it might just be a wise idea...don't let that 4 wheel drive fool you into thinking you can't hit that ditch; you can, and when you do, it'll be much worse than with that little car, cause you won't be expecting it!