Thursday, April 12, 2012

A big {SIGH}...more on the car

Well yesterday I drove five minutes down the road and the car broke down again {{SIGH}}  The theft light came on and the car stopped.  I was in the valley where there is no cell phone reception, so had to knock on someones door to ask to use their phone.

Called CAA and was going to get the car towed.  Went outside to the car and tried to start it again and it went???  So drove it home all the time crossing my fingers it would get there, cancelled the CAA and called the garage in Barrie to tell them what happened.

As I pointed out to them Barrie is over a 30 minute drive from our house and there was no way I wanted to drive on the highway and break down again.  So they suggested I take it to my nearest Ford dealership, which I did, without it breaking down again.

They drove me home and I left it with them.  As of Thursday morning it is still in the garage and they are now going to change the ignition thingy, as they think the ignition thingy isn't reading the keys and it thinks I am still stealing the car.

The technician has seen this happen before on my model of car, and as the computer doesn't show anything else wrong with the car (other than it's chirping) this is what they are going to do.  The cost  another $350, but it's no good to me or anyone at the moment as it is. 

The thing is I have lost faith in this car now, I am terrified it will break down if I drive it anywhere.  I am trying to persuade dh to get me a new car, but that means we will have to finance it, and we are stretched money wise as it is at the moment.  Also other than the mortgage we have no debt, and we like it that way...........  I want a new car, as I want the full warranty etc, without any of the problems.  Both me and dh are in agreement with this, as with everything being computerized on cars nowadays, dh can only do minimum maintenance on the car as it is.

I still have to deal with the garage in Barrie yet, as I want some money back from them, as I think they overcharged me the day before and they should have picked this up, as the technician in the garage where it's at now, said they should have done this first before changing my keys over.

In answer to John D question from yesterday, the battery is fine, it's been tested, plus all the lights are working etc.

So there you are my day yesterday.  I am very stressed about all of this, plus there are a few other things happening at the moment, but I think one issue per day is all you should have to deal with, my dear readers, don't you.....LOL                        

I bet you all wish I would take another blogging break!!!

18 comments:

Mysti said...

Oh my friend...don't do what I did and keep pouring money into a sinking ship. I was so desperate to not have a car payment, I probably spent several thousand dollars on a hunk of junk. That would have been like a year of car payments.

I would start looking for a new car. Just in case.

simplicityinthemaking said...

FORD stands for "Found ON Road Dead!!!" I feel your whoos though as I too have a dead van at present and with 300,000Km and 11 years on it not sure I want to fork $1000. for repairs. Sounds like a good farm vehicle to me. What do you think?

Kaisievic said...

Sounds like it is time for a new car - it will be too stressful worrying all the time about whether this one is going to stop on you.

Good luck.

hugs, Kaye xoxox

Jackie McGuinness said...

What is it lately? I've been spending all my time nursing DH through various trials and tribulations, nothing serious TG, just a pinched nerve, dental surgery and him worrying about his doctor tests which now turn out to be absolutely fine just a misread ultrasound (again) that lead to further consultations!!

CARS!! That's why I don't drive! Living on a subway line is great.

DEBT - we don't want anymore either!

Colleen said...

We use to call Ford's...Fixed Or Repaired Daily...LOL. Of course, my father worked for General Motors so we didn't like Ford too much :)

I don't know how many miles you rack up in a year but, since we are retired, we opted last year to lease a vehicle since we only put on about 7,000 miles a year. Our payment is very low and we get great gas mileage. Leasing isn't for everyone but we needed a new vehicle and it works for us.

I can't believe your DH would put more $$$ into this vehicle and let you drive around in an unpredictable car :)

Northern Living Allowance said...

Oh dear! Hopefully the dealership will be able to repair the problem and at least get that sorted out. I agree with Mysti - there's only so long you can be willing to pour money into an old car (or a newer one that isn't up to snuff). I would start looking around for a new one. You can likely get some sort of trade-in price for your current one, which will help defray some of the costs. Good luck! x

Rose said...

Oh, I do feel for you...been there done that. We have sure had our share of lemons...we bought a used toyota camry with 56,000 on it and it went to over 100,000 before anything wore out...and it was something that should have been changed in regular maintenance at around 60 or60,000 miles...can't remember just how many. We drove it till it had 150,000....husband sold it to his cousin and he is still driving it.

I now have a Toyota Rav4...I like it but wish it were bigger....but couldn't afford the next size up. Around town it gets 24 miles to the gallon...and on the highway 27+ per gallon...

Almost everything else we have had in recent years was one trip after another to the garage, but not near as expensive as what you are getting...yet everything is so much more expensive.

Stella Jones said...

Hmmm cars are a pain. I don't have one so I don't have the problems but that's an advantage of living in England (most of the time). There are times though!!! Hope you get yours sorted soon.

Evelyn said...

I financed a car as I was tired of pouring money into my old one, it is so nice to feel secure while driving it, sure I have monthly payments but can budget for it as opposed to a 1000 here and there in unexpected repairs

Unknown said...

You poor thing!

Sft x

that british woman s brother said...

time to buy an older car - one with no mod cons - less gadjets to go wrong
says me with my 32 year old beast
nick

ChrisJ said...

Yup! Thought it would be a computer problem. Gone are the days when a handy mechanic could fix things. Everything's computerized now and you know the love-hate relationship we all have with our computers.

Anonymous said...

Last summer I was 320 km from home and my key simply would not start the car. It didn't even have a microchip - it turns out the key had literally worn out! I had a choice of staying two days out of town until the dealership opened, and then another couple of days until they ordered me a key and it came in - or getting my car towed home 320 km and picking up my own extra key! Which is what I did. Unreal!

Cathy said...

Oh dear dear me Gill - sounds like its time to go shopping whether you want to or not. Throwing good money after bad is not the way to go.
Easy for us to say I know but I'm sure you'll agree in the end
Take care
Cathy

Debby said...

Oh, sorry for all the trouble you are having with the car. Maybe this time they will get it fixed right!! My car has almost 200,000 miles on it, figure the repairs are a lot less than a new one so I try and take care of the old girl

beagleAnnie said...

Sorry for your troublesome car, Gill. It sounds stressful to worry about your car while driving. It's time to get a new car.

Karine said...

Oh dear, I'm sorry your car seems to be giving up the ghost! I would go in for a new one if you no longer trust it!

Jane said...

Can you please tell me the model and year of your car so I NEVER BUY ONE!! Aaaaaaaccccck! Time to bring back the horse and buggy! That's "horsepower" you can count on!

{{{SIGH}}}

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