Sooooooo, I got another call from Saturn yesterday. Apparently they ran a few more tests to make sure it was actually the camshafts and found that the upper part of my engine was not getting oil. Know what happens to engine parts when they are not lubricated with oil? DEATH
So they are not sure exactly what all they would have to replace because they cannot crack open my engine without my permission ( or my warranty companies permission), but they told me they were looking at a close to $3,000 for the repairs to the engine from no oil. Now, before you call me an idiot for letting the car run out of oil -- it didn't. I get my oil changed -- probably not as regularly as I should but I check it regularly so I KNEW it had oil. And the service guy (his name is Earl) said there was plenty of oil in the engine, it just was not getting to the top and they couldn't tell me why unless they cracked it open (it's a sealed engine -- whatever that means). So we are looking at 3,000 for the engine, PLUS the $925 for the timing chain and camshafts... So we're looking at close to $4000 in car repairs. He told me that if it was him, and he didn't know what I still owe on the car, but if it was him he'd look at just getting a new car.
ARG!! My goal for the past six years was to NOT have a car payment... that is why I bought a car instead of leasing it.
Well, I don't owe anything on it, so that's a plus at least I don't have to make payments on a bunk car.
But I still don't have a car. I looked up the Kelly Blue Book price of my car. In fair condition, which with the motor issues, even with low mileage would be the MOST I could get for it, I can get tops $4465, and that's if I can get it running again. I would be able to get at most $2700 in a trade in -- again, only if I can get it running again... So right now I'd put more $ into fixing it that it's worth to me.
So, I will either be carless for the near future OR I will be car shopping. I think this time -- considering I don't drive much and my commute is less than 1 mile round trip -- I'll lease a car if I get one.
So anyway, I get all this fantastic news first thing Monday morning... ruined my day. I'm upset that I can't get my car back. I'm upset that I can't afford the $4000 to get it fixed and I'm upset that even fixed it's worth less than $5,000. Why the heck does anyone buy a car, ever? Having it in the end is not big bargain to me... it's just a mess I have to clean up. But I was pretty upset all day about it... I was just getting to a great place financially and now I'm in the toilet again. I was even looking at cruises and tropical locations so I could actually take a real vacation for the first time in my life... Not going to happen with a car payment again... DAMN IT!
THEN after this depressing day I get home... Jess ran me to the grocery store so we walk in with a few bags of groceries and go to close the door and it won't close.. it was stuck on my draft stopper so I get it un-stuck and go to close it and it won't close all the way. I do everything I can to figure it out and cannot for the life of me figure out why my door won't close.. it will pull to but won't latch or lock... AND it's snowing and windy and cold outside... I about had a melt down... I did EVERYTHING.. I checked the hinges, for blocks in the door crease, checked the locks to make sure they were both in the unlock position.. everything and cannot figure out why the door won't close. Seriously, I screamed in frustration at one point and scared my dog... I needed a drink...
So I called my landlady and told her the situation and she said she'd see if she could get someone out to look at it. So she calls back about five minutes later and says that Hot Handyman David (my term for him, not her's) will be out when he gets off work from his real job at 9pm. So, I use the chain to lock the door and put a chair in front of it to keep it closed from the wind. Then I sit under a blankets freezing because the door is still partway open...
David gets there at 9pm and is there for a total of two minutes when he figured out what was wrong.. one of the screws on the strike plate for my deadbolt had come out 1/10 of a millimeter... and it was hitting against the metal of the deadbolt and keeping it open. So freaking simple, but I totally didn't see it. So that made me feel better... and I talked to my parents about everything and that made me feel even better.
I told my folks that I think I want to lease instead of buy, thinking they would be against that because I'd have nothing to show for it at the end. HA I was wrong.. they had been discussing the very same thing a dinner and agree with me that I should probably lease my next car. Awesome!!
The only reason I bought in the first place is because everyone (dad, Heather, Adam) convinced me that leasing was pointless because you had nothing to show for it in the end... AH.. I still have nothing to show for buying in the end except a hunk of junk I can't afford to fix because my warranty company punked out by filing for bankruptcy and the bastard company that took it over created clauses like "Any operation of the vehicle that results in further damage related to the original mechanical breakdown or failure, shall be considered negligence on your part and failure to protect the vehicle, which damage shall not be covered under the VSC." Which basically means that driving my car in for repairs voids my warranty (especially when lack of oil was the issue even if I didn't know it) -- ASSHOLES.
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