I just had a request for an update on the dealership overcharge, so here it is:

I called them last monday morning and left a message basically stating that the loan paperwork didn't match the purchase agreement. I asked them to please pull the paperwork and call me back immediately to resolve the problem. I didn't give them any more details than that. Within an hour the finance guy called me back, apologizing profusely! He said I was absolutely right and that they didn't update the "board" so he didn't know the price had changed. He said they would send me a check for $495 to which I replied "What about the sales tax you overcharged me?" His response was "Oh." He said I should expect the check by the end of the week. Sure enough, a check for $519.75 arrived on friday. I consider this a done deal and I am happy with the way they handled it. It was entirely their fault, a simple administrative error, and they apologetically cleared it up. No hard feelings. As far as the dates on the paperwork: not sure why they're that way, but they don't appear to be an issue.

As for my mom - her surgery was friday and it went well. She called me a little after 2 pm and that was a surprise! I didn't think she'd feel up to calling me. So she's home resting and I'm not sure how long she'll be out of work. She'll be out with full salary, so that's a GREAT thing! She still has to fill out the paperwork at the hospital to see if she can get any financial assistance. She's already on the hook for $1500 and that only brings her through the surgery, no extras and we haven't even gotten to radiation yet. ANY aid she can get approved for would be greatly appreciated. She can't even get caught up on what she still owes for heat for last winter, and next winter will be here before we know it - and worse! She's still in the hole $350 and can't seem to get any savings built up for next winter. Medical bills are an impossibility right now!!

Went to the dealership today to get my paperwork, get the car inspected, and get it vac'd & shampooed - no one there to do it on the weekend. It was free, why not? Also needed a second key and remote - we can't share! They told me the other day it would be $10 for the key and they had a remote for me that just needed to be programmed. Of course they conveniently "forgot" to tell me it would cost $46.50 to program it to my car. No choice, needed a second one. It's still not the worst I've heard those things costing. I did make sure the sales guy knew I was not happy that he didn't disclose this to me the other day when I asked.

Thank you to everyone who shared similar feelings about giving up their old car and getting a new one. I'm glad to know it's not just me. Koppur - I found it really funny that you also owned 2 Jettas! It's my 2nd day driving the new car and I'm getting used to it. Fun, peppy little thing! Just now waiting for my payment info to arrive. I know how much, I'd just like to know "when".

As for my mom... well, I guess I'll just throw it out here cuz I'm having trouble telling most people. We found out a couple weeks ago that she has breast cancer. She goes for surgery on the 27th to remove the lump. I really don't know much else right now. She's scared to death and an emotional rollercoaster. I don't know if it hasn't sunk in with me or what, but I'm not having much emotion about this. Maybe it's because SOMEONE has to stay sane and for some reason it always has to be me? One of these days I'm going to just snap because of this. I'm under so much pressure at home running everything (DH has ADD *SIGH*)and under pressure at work(Could boss have ADD too? *SIGH*). Now I have to be the one who has to think a few weeks into the future and make sure my mom's bills get paid. It's a good thing I took control of things several months ago and I know how things stand. I can at least make sure the basics are covered. Don't think I can get any money to the fuel company as there isn't any money to send them. Then I'm going to have to worry about getting the medical bills paid. She has insurance, but it doesn't cover everything. I don't even know what sort of impact this will have. She just doesn't have any extra money!! Well, all this doesn't really give me a chance to get upset about what's going on. Not yet at least. It's all just a lot of stress right now.

Well, I threw a bunch of stuff in a baking dish and I'm hoping it comes out resembling chicken pot pie. Also hope it's edible... lol... Gotta run and check on it.

Well, I sadly said goodbye to the Jetta today. It was a tough decision but I've spent a lot of money on it lately and it only needed more and more work. After a bit of research, we decided that the Hyundai Elantra would be a good little car for me. So we brought home a "new" (17000 miles) 2007 regatta blue (metallic navy blue) Elantra today. Still need to take care of some paperwork and the inspection, but that should be all set by the end of the week. It's a fun little car and loaded with options - well, many more options than I had before!! Tons of air bags, power windows, roomier, more powerful engine, better sound system! It has an auxillary input for my ipod as well as an in-dash mp3 cd player. Sure is gonna take some getting used to because it's not a VW!! I didn't really have to adjust my driving style much on the test drive though. It's geared more like the Jetta than DH's car is, and the shifting configuration has reverse in the same place as a VW. I think I'll grow to like it once I get over mourning the Jetta. It will be nice driving a car that doesn't break down once a month, but the gas tank is on the wrong side!!!



I'm still struggling with this decision even though I know, in the long run, it was the right decision. I just wasn't ready to give up the jetta yet, not for a couple more months. BUT, I'm not sure I could have gotten through a couple more months. I really loved that little jetta, but I didn't feel safe driving it anymore. That's not good since I have a 60 mile round trip commute each day.

I did NOT enjoy the car buying process. Oh NO NO NO! Sales guy was great, finance guy was great, sales manager was a complete jerk and I made sure the sales guy knew that immediately. I wanted to walk out of there just because I didn't like how I was treated, but this car was a steal. Comparable cars at other dealerships had more miles and less options for the same price - or more! Too good of a deal to pass up.

Well, I'm hoping after this week I'll be feeling better about this decision. I'll have driven the car for a few days and all the insurance/inspection paperwork will be complete. It's just a huge financial decision to make - not an easy one for me right now.

Got my car back yesterday - it runs and the A/C works! They said $850 and $850 it was. Actually, I got the work order back with a note and cash clipped to it. The note said: "sorry, I slipped a finger and charged you $852. here is the $2" Couldn't help but laugh over that! I really like this shop.

It was good to drive my car this morning! Curiously, my check engine light is gone. Not sure what that had to do with my A/C as it's throwing a fuel emissions code. I fully expect it to be back on by Sunday. There's nothing wrong with my car in this respect. The computer is just slightly confused.
Oh, my floor mat was also upside down - spiky side up. Can't figure out how you screw that up!

Glad not to have to carpool anymore. It wasn't so bad overall, but there are some "issues" at home and we both need some space. Four days of carpooling don't help that. It also doesn't help to feel trapped at home with no car. Although my only option if I want to get out of the house is to go shopping! That wont help either!

I requested some info to be mailed to me regarding a local support group that I feel might help me right now. I'm really nervous about that (not so great socially, though I'm not shy) but took the first step. Guess I wont think about it til the info arrives.
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In other news, my mother got paid today and now I have to convince her to hold back on spending for the next 2 weeks. She's still not seeing the whole picture and doesn't understand how spending now impacts things months from now. She still owes the fuel company $339 for her last fill up and owes me $350 for the one before that! Last time I asked her when she was going to pay me back she told me to stop crying about it. I think she was joking, but I couldn't really tell. Right now it's looking like she can pay me back in AUGUST if she cuts back her spending. Maybe sooner with her stimulus payment, but I fully expect whining about it. She only got $600 and that doesn't even cover these two debts. At the moment, it's sitting in her old checking account that isn't as easily accessible.

Well, I think I should go enjoy the rest of my lunch break!

When I get car problems, I get them good! I get so many of them that I send my car into the shop having already diagnosed the problem myself... lol... I play dumb when I send it there, but they always come back with the expected response.

This time it's my AC. Turned it on last week and it wasn't cold. That can't be good! I drive a 1998 VW Jetta and VWs shouldn't have AC problems. They are designed so the AC kicks in when you turn on the defrost - all year long. You never have an issue with it blowing warm air, but sure enough it was. This brought me back to the question whether to fix something so "trivial" or get a new car. I'm just not ready to get a new car though!

Well flash foward to Saturday and out running errands. We get in the car and it makes a horrible WHOOSH!! noise. Lasts for a few seconds and stops. Uh oh. Did it again on the next couple of start ups and a couple more times randomly. Ok, though, the car runs ok besides that occasional noise. It was determined I could take it to work today and we'd try to get it in the shop this week. Nope. Got almost to the interstate and the car started running rough, idling around 300. Back home and off to the shop it went.

Would you believe something is shorting out in my AC compressor and dragging the whole car down? $850 and I'll get the car back Weds or Thurs. Have no choice but to fix the AC - or the whole car wont run! What a fluke! The shop was able to duplicate the problem if they turned on the AC or the defrost. It was happening for me with no air running though. No work-around here, even temporarily.

Time to start putting some thought into my next vehicle I guess. Not going to rush this. Just needs to be a smaller, 4 door, 5 speed car. My VW is still getting 32 mpg!!

I kindly reminded my husband that we are supposed to leave for Thanksgiving (1000 mile drive) on the 20th and NEITHER car is currently up to the drive. My car needs the suspension replaced and he was having trouble with the transmission. We opted to wait a little longer on my suspension since we are sure we can find an affordable option given the time to order parts. So off to a transmission shop his car went yesterday. By the end of the day we had a $2400 estimate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, keep in mind this is a 2003 bottom of the line NEON. kbb.com estimates it at $2900 value. Too bad he still currently owes WAY more than that on the loan. He was upside down on his last car (that was about to die) and got a good deal on this one. Good enough that we were hoping it would get him out of this mess.

Well he told the guy we couldn't afford it and to just put the car back together. The guy countered with a cheaper clutch they found, knocked two hours off the labor, and applied a $100 coupon. Total now due = $1900. This really isn't TOO bad considering the transmission rebuild plus the clutch replacement. I'm still aggravated that this car is such a piece of junk. Apparently the transmission issues are quite common according to neons.org.

This is just a huge blow right now. I was thinking something wasn't right since things were starting to look up for us lately. The next phase of my salary adjustment is effective 12/01/07. By switching health insurance plans next year we'll save $2000 in premium costs for the year, and possibly more in out of pocket costs. I was finally feeling like we were starting to make progress on debt payments. I even was going to send double his car payment this week!!

As bad as it seems, my husband is really starting to see how things like this impact the household finances. He's in a very sorry state of mind right now, but unfortunately he needs these type of learning experiences. We can pay for the repair, it will just delay my plan to pay off one credit card. Yes I'm aware things aren't as bad as they could be.