Affording Our Debt

Let the vehicle wreckage begin! Cold temps, faulty door handles, plastic pieces that just seem to fall off. Are all newer vehicles pieces of shit? And by new, I mean 2008 and 2003! The car wouldn’t start Friday after work. Silly me, I just thought it was the starter. Wouldn’t turn over, wouldn’t catch. Apparently there is no compression? I don’t know what that means but it sounds expensive. Did an explosion happen while I was driving to work that day?  This is a definite possibility. Usually, the music is cranked so loud that I can’t even hear my own voice let alone the engine.

Did I mention that hubby was laid off from work just before Christmas? This didn’t bother me when I heard the news. We knew it was going to happen at some point.We can afford our debt. I am actually very good with money. It would be nice to have him home more.

So I didn’t freak out then, but I am totally freaking out now! It would have been way better if the mechanic phoned this morning and said “Your vehicle is toast. You need a new one.” This period of not knowing is going to drive me nuts! Of all the financial revamping I did in my mind, buying a vehicle/ expensive repairs did not enter into the equation, at all.

 

Posted on Posted in LifeTagged , , , ,

40 thoughts on “Affording Our Debt”

  1. Agh! I am on the same boat as you! My husband’s car needs a new transmission (amongst other things) and they quoted him 3k. We’re looking to purchase a car for him because it’s difficult with two kids and one car for two adults (doable but difficult). I wasn’t looking to buy a car used or new…so it may be back to the priority drawing board for me. 😩

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I understand! And then it becomes difficult to search for a car because you need something big enough for the kids, safe and reliable. The cheap junker don’t apply any more. Good luck with your decision making/ car buying. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yup, just as you said, “The cheap junkers don’t apply anymore.” Children change EVERYTHING. Something to take us from point A to point B used to be enough…now we need something to take us from A to B to possible X, Y, and Z.
        Thank you! And same to you!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. Thank you! I did stop by your site for a visit and I noticed that your comments were turned off in your posts. Normally I wouldn’t question it, but in the first post I read you asked us to leave our stories in the comments only the comments were disabled…You have a lovely way of writing and I was sorry to hear that life had dealt you such hardships. But the lessons you learned and the character you have become…quite the positive outcome.

      Like

      Reply

  3. While it’s not good news about your car, but it could have been worse, hey 🙂 Given the season and climate where you are, maybe it’s better that you’d arrived at work and found the problem at the end of the day. At least whatever it is didn’t happen mid-journey! However well nailed down our contingency plans are, sod’s law always has the unexpected to throw at it… sorry to hear you’ve had these misfortunes Kelly. Very best wishes to you and hope things get sorted 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. IS it to much to ask for us to just turn it on and it works….I hate cars…..or any other device that could possible not work if I touch it…buying this old home…well everything we touch doesn’t work after we touch it…LOL its a little frustrating but once its fixed it will work for a long time…sorry about your car…luckily I am married to a mechanic..so the cars generally start and run just fine….and yes even the new cars are pieces of crap unless you can afford the luxury ones….and even then some are lemons…I test drove tons of brands before I settled on a Kia Soul…comfortable, some pep and great gas mileage and so far the little beggar has started every time…fingers crossed…hope you got your car back without breaking the bank…kat

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Here’s hoping it’s an inexpensive fix. I don’t think most cars are really made for this climate. Things wear out even faster in this cold. (It got up to a grand old high of -17C here today. Even the snow under my boots sounds different. The slam of the car door is brittle. The extension cord won’t coil neatly. All of it.) Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I agree! None of this stuff happens in the summer. I don’t yank on the door handles because I think it must be kinda frozen and so it breaks. Also all major car repairs occur in the winter for me. C’est la vie! I think I am more annoyed because they don’t have an answer. I feel like I am sitting in the dark waiting for the boogeyman to come get me. I can deal with the answer, not knowing drives me nuts!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I thought about you on the way home from work yesterday when three of my power windows were frozen shut. I was enraged; this is a brand-new car (2014 Yaris which I picked up new last February). I was working myself up into a fury until I realised that my big clumsy mittened hands had accidentally child-locked the windows when I was trying to hit the door locks.

        Why was I trying to open the windows in a Winnipeg January, you might be asking yourself? Well, some kinds of bass make the back windows rattle in their frames (worse in winter, of course). Opening the windows about 1 cm mitigates the rattle, thus providing a better audio experience. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  7. Ugh, I hate that feeling of not being in control. We’ve been trying to establish more savings for those unexpected emergencies — especially cars! — but seems like every time we build it up to a decent amount, it gets wiped out with one car repair and then we’re back at the beginning, saving up again.
    Hope it works out for you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Oh no. Car troubles are one of the most distressing things, but even more so when it might be costly. I had car problems right before Thanksgiving and it ended up being less than I thought it would be, so I’m passing on my “luck” to you! Here’s hoping the fix is easy and more importantly, inexpensive!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Oh my hang in there I liked not to Like put to say I feel the same. Had to about laugh our 94 you have to Know how to get into it…..darn doors. 2001 they broke window to get in when we sold that ha.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hey that was super awesome of you to leave those links. Now, at least, I have a better understanding. Thank you! And you might laugh at this, but there is a can of that stuff floating around in the trunk…we just never put it in! The irony of it all…☺

      Like

      Reply

  12. I feel you. Yes, I think cars are crap now, the lot of them. Everything has become so disposable, it’s planned obsolescence. I hope things get better for you right quick.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. New cars sometimes have something called an interference engine which relies on the timing belt to keep the piston rods from punching through the cylinder walls. If your timing belt broke and you tried to drive or start it, a rod probably punched through, resulting in a loss of compression. If you have not had the belt replaced at (usually 60,000 miles), I would say this is the likely cause. If you have…this may be under some kind of warranty.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That’s actually good news because after I blew the timing belt in my last car, I made damn sure this one was replaced. If it is covered under some warranty, I don’t know… Seriously, thank you. Knowing the possibility that this may be it is better than all of the horrible scenarios that were running through my head.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment