A long day

Readers, the past 24 hours have tested me as the kids used to say big time…as I told someone right now I feel like I am dancing with the devil and that bitch is winning the contest. So what has BGIM so up in arms? Well if you read me on the regular, you know I strive to live within my means and that meant buying a car with cold hard cash a few days ago.

Well long story short, that lovely Volvo turned out to be a death trap. No, I didn’t get it independently inspected in part because the state of Maine requires that cars have to have an recent inspection sticker (other words its got to be road worthy and safe before you sell it if you are a dealer) and this car did indeed have a recent (45 days) inspection sticker.  So how did I discover it was a death trap? Well I smelled gas, lots of gas so much a car parked near me at the drug store was looking at me like are you trying to blow us up?

So I told the Spousal Unit to take the car to the shop where our mechanic said basically the loveliness of the car was an illusion. He told us go collect our cash back right away, he didn’t even want to attempt to fix it, just take it back. Thankfully the dealer who sold us the car gave us our cash back without too much complaint…though I admit I was getting ready to get gutter with him. I am feeling thankful that aside from the couple hundred I spent to get the car registered and pay the excise tax that all money was returned but it’s been a rough day to say the least.

It’s funny because a buddy told me they had this issue a few years ago and the dealer refused to give em their money back, so they were stuck with an unsafe vehicle as their only car for two years. I couldn’t help wondering the role class played as my buddy is younger, low income and has a lot of kids. On the other hand the Spousal Unit and I are college educated and had gone to an upscale community to buy our death trap…made me sad to think about folks who truly struggle financially and how they can be taken advantage of. Mind you before I even called this man, I had looked up the law and knew my rights, thankfully he didn’t make me put on my legal hat either.

So on the one hand while I am happy as hell it was a sobering thought that even a fucked up situation is so much worse if you lack means but as I am tired I don’t have the energy to properly explore that subject.

Well my next stop is probably a dealer selling a fairly new car, after much discussion this is looking like an area where I may have to spend more money to get a reliable ride. Neither I nor the man are car people, and if there is one thing I learned from my Pops who always drove old cars, in order to coast a whip that is older it helps if you can do some repairs yourself. We lack those skills and the idea of seeing our mechanic any more than we do now is just not a great idea…so sometimes spending money is unavoidable.

Here is hoping your Tuesday is better than mine.

6 thoughts on “A long day”

  1. Danielle, as a sista in the wilds of Maine…you know I was getting ready to go straight up crazy had he not given me my cash. I am very thankful we were able to resolve the matter without me getting nasty.

  2. Oh yeah…. I will make a note of this. Buying a care is soo much more than just the car. You should always have that thing inspected by an independent mechanic. I don’t have a care yet so…eh.

    Thank you for saying this:
    “I couldn’t help wondering the role class played as my buddy is younger, low income and has a lot of kids. On the other hand the Spousal Unit and I are college educated and had gone to an upscale community to buy our death trap…made me sad to think about folks who truly struggle financially and how they can be taken advantage of.”

    but you work in a field that requires you to think about those kinds of things. Wish more ppl would do that tho.

    too-da-loo!

  3. Fuck! All I can add is if you decide to get another car from a small dealer just take it to the another one that’s reliable like VIP and have them inspect it and put it on the diagnostic machine. Oh and he prolly thought you were going to turn into an Angry Black Woman on him. Good luck sweetie. I know its hard to find a new car.

  4. Oh, dang. I am car-illiterate (I haven’t been behind the wheel in 15 years, and that was driver’s ed), but I empathize with you. Glad to hear you got out in one piece to get most of the money back, though. Best of luck to you in finding its replacement. 😐

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