Friday Fails – My $5 Car
Almost six years ago before my senior year of college, I bought my first (brand new) car. Actually, my dad bought it and made the payments until I graduated and started working. {Thanks Dad!}
I love my car. Surely I’m not the only woman who develops a relationship with her car, right? She (yes, my car is a girl, of course!) is incredibly reliable, drinks gas in moderation and is quite cute. Or was.
The destruction of my car began when I said, “I do.”
During our wedding reception, family and friends plastered my car in ranch dressing, vegetables, toilet paper, cans and worst of all, lipstick. Yes, they wrote in lipstick on the windows. Ever tried to get dried lipstick off of a car window before? It doesn’t come off. Four years later, the cloudy residue reminds me of that fateful day.
After a few months of marriage, my hubs decided, when he saw the sign for “Free Puppies”, that “we” would love to have a dog. We named him Beauregard. Beau was so cute. Then he grew up. For some reason, (probably because he kept pulling his chain out of the ground) my hubs tied Beau in the carport.
In that moment, Beauregard decided that he needed to leave his mark on my car. And I’m not talking about lifting his leg. Ha!
I was devastated that my car had been so defaced. Did we get it fixed right away? No, it’s still there today reminding me of our first dog. Fail.
But then about two years later, after my sweet hubs pumped the gas, the gas tank door went missing. Sigh. We’ve meant to order a new one, but have we? No. Fail.
Do you want to guess how many people have asked, “Myra, did you know your gas tank door is missing?” Exactly 1,000,001!
I won’t bother to mention that I’ve already had the windshield repaired, then replaced and now I need to replace it again. All that drama is thanks to interstate driving every day for three years before I had Ridley.
As if, all of this isn’t enough to give my car a complex, the driver’s door lock decided to fall in between the exterior and interior panels. In my hubs’ diligent attempt to fix the lock, he had to take the door completely apart and when putting it back together, he…ahem, “forced” it a bit too much. (snicker) Two clips broke off, so my car had to visit the mechanic to be put back together again.
A little bit like Humpty Dumpty, except there were no king’s horses or king’s men involved.
In all the broken door hulabaloo, a little piece from around the lock got lost. So my car’s cosmetic complex has only gotten worse.
Or maybe it’s my complex, not hers.
Lovely. {sarcasm} In my grief for my quickly deteriorating car, I tweeted this:
Nice. My car is going to be worth exactly $5 when we finally decide to sell it. Hubs is on the way to the mechanic’s b/c he broke…the interior part of the door while trying to fix the lock that had fallen down inside the door. I’m choosing to laugh instead of cry! 🙂
And Cheryl replied this:
@blessedlife2You may have a $5 car but your blog is priceless! I see a great #FridayFail in your future 🙂
She totally made my day!!
So, I have a $5 car. Sigh. Maybe the next car won’t have to endure such FAILS!
For now, I’m proudly driving a “paid for” junker. Thanks Alyssa!
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LOL.. when I am done with DH’s car it won’t be worth a thing LOL.. I threaten him (the car) everyday that if he doesn’t stop being a pain.. I was going to push him down the mountain and not look back LOL 🙂
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..My Best Friend =-.
Cute, your car has character!! I wish my car problems were only cosmetic! My car is still at the car doctor. I miss her!
.-= Kimberly´s last blog ..$0.24 flour at Fareway!!! =-.
@Kimberly, Awww, I hope your car is better soon!
So my brother in law was so kind to fix an oil leak my car was having with my husband. Super nice. Well they couldn’t find a clip when they put it back together, but didn’t think it’d be a big deal and didn’t know what else to do. Well the clip ended up being really important apparently because stuff (I know nothing about cars) is falling out now and breaking other parts. Now it’s going to take $850 to fix, dang!! I went two weeks without having a car while they looked for a clip. I really don’t know how some people only have one car! Going without has made me REALLY appreciated it when I have it.
.-= Kimberly´s last blog ..$0.24 flour at Fareway!!! =-.
That is so funny! If it makes you feel any better, I backed into a rebar, half buried in the snow at my bank’s parking lot and cracked my bumper…4 years ago. We never fixed it (blush). I’m so glad I could help cheer you up. Thanks so much for the link! xoxoxo
.-= Cheryl@SomewhatCrunchy´s last blog ..31 Days to a Somewhat Crunchy YOU – Day 4 :Keep Cloth Bags Handy =-.
Don’t feel bad-I’m sure you already know that you sleep better at night since you don’t have to worry about a car payment that you may not be able to make. My own car is 17 years old–YEP, older than my middle child! But it’s paid for, and we are debt free, and I don’t ever want to be in debt again!
Thanks for sharing!
Let me tell you about my new car…I got a brand new car in Nov 2006. It was a beautiful 2007 Corolla and I love it! They let me “test” drive it for a week while the papers were getting worked out and all that jazz. The day I got it in my name, the insurance and the paper plates…I drove to my sisters and hit a dog that ran out in front of me going 60 miles an hour. I couldn’t slow down. I couldn’t switch lanes. The only thing I could do was pray that I wouldn’t hit it and unfortunately, I did. The front driver side bumper got ripped off. Then 5 days later I was rear ended. It has been a love hate relationship ever since.
On my wedding day, we were driving home from the ceremony to get ready for our reception that would happen later that evening and something flew off an 18 wheeler giving us two flat tires in my little car. We were on the side of the road for about 2 hours!
I could go on! I know exactly how you feel!
@Kimberly, You totally made me laugh! I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time though. 🙂
Thanks for your sweet comment!
I agree with Josanne, at least it’s paid for. The only thing that can beat that is a brand new, PAID OFF, car. Oh, my first car was a 1981 Datsun (yes, there is such a make) and I drove that thing until it stopped running, :).
Myra,
That is HILARIOUS!! The car is totally yours and today is such a great day to hear about car issues. My transmission went out, but all I could think was that I don’t have a car payment and a new transmission is still cheaper than a new car! 🙂
I choose to be thankful even though my poor van {that I love dearly!} is broken down. God is always faithful. The transmission died at home when I put the van in reverse and God has already provided the money to fix it! Amen!!!
BTW, did you know that you are missing a gas tank door.
.-= Charissa @ MiMi’s Babies´s last blog ..Crochet Cupcake Purse – Great for your Toddler or Little Girl – Pink Lemonade with White Sprinkles =-.
@Charissa @ MiMi’s Babies, I know you’re relieved that the your van broke down at home! Hope it gets fixed really soon! 🙂
Well I always say, count your blessings! At least she still runs. So you can always put a little lipstick on her and she will look fine! She is just like the rest of us women who slowly start to show our age! Without a full face lift we are all bound to have a few wrinkles here and there!
Hugs,
Joanne
@Joanne Kennedy, You are so right! 🙂
This is so funny and something I can completely relate too! My luck with cars is like the worst ever for some reason. (like the time I had a wreck ON THE WAY to turn in a leased one!) I’ve finally given up on the idea of having one that didn’t have scratches and dents of some kind on it. And thankfully my van is almost paid off and I fully intend to drive it until it falls apart…which knowing me will be literally one day! lol
Love your Friday Fails, Myra. They always make me smile. 🙂
Tyra (have you noticed our names rhyme…we should’ve been twins! haha)
.-= Tyra´s last blog ..Winter Wonderland…in March! =-.
@Tyra, I guess since we live in an imperfect world, we might as well be happy with having a car that runs even though it might look rough! Thanks for your comment sweet friend. I hope you’re feeling a little better today. 🙂
It’s so nice to hear that I am not the only one driving a beat up albeit paid for car. 🙂 Have a good weekend.
.-= Mellisa´s last blog ..Roasted Chicken with Veggies Fail =-.
@Mellisa, You are definitely NOT alone! 😉
Oh this is too funny! I too am driving a $5 car too. Two fo the windows won’t roll down, missing a hubcap, the radio doesn’t work but at 35 mpg, the ol’ girl still ticks!
@Stephanie Glidden, Hilarious comment! 🙂
Your car sounds perfect to me! My husband has been driving around with 2 windows duct taped up. The one door has the door panel off because, why put it back on just to have to take it off to fix the window!
My fail was Monday Fail locked out of the house this week.
tooo funny!!! I love the twitter response … $5 car – but priceless blog!! : )
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Caffeinated Randomness: The end zone… =-.
Girl, you drive that PAID FOR “junker” for as long as you can! Every single day we drive our van with 130,000+ miles is saving us big $$$ and that is worth WAY more than lookin’ pretty. 🙂
@Amy @ Finer Things, Driving a paid for junker is definitely a FINER THING! 🙂
I once drove an already used car for 11 years, during which the trim fell off on one side, the paint chipped (it had been pink; you know why), and it had been scraped by ungracious “parkers” on all four sides. Believe it or not, EVERYBODY knew Lumpy. We all reminisce about him from time to time. It got so I just needed to send $500 a month to the mechanic, so Lumpy went. Now I have Nelly, an upscale SUV like everybody else. I DO love her reliablility, but turns out I liked that junker car. Wept when I left him there, alone, at the dealers…he was not a Stepford car, and that was good.
Myra, your car sounds a lot like ours. Our Check Engine light has been on for over 3 years {before we even got married – it was mine first}. The only door that unlocks in cold weather is the passenger door. The gears are messed up on the dash, the driver’s seat doesn’t come up all the way {it is always leaned back too far for comfort}. I’m sure we need a paint job and a good ol’ wash ‘n wax.
I bought it from my mom and dad for $1 so I’m sure that’s how much it’s worth.
@Kristen, You just reminded me! My check engine light has been on for over a year. The timing belt broke one day and bent all 16 valves in the engine…ever since, the check engine light won’t go off!
Your $1 car. My $5 car. We’re all set! 🙂
Your car just has lots of character!! Sometimes $5 dollar cars are the best, because they are PAID FOR!!! What I wouldn’t give to not have my car payment, when it is paid for finally I will drive it till the wheels fall off.
.-= Jenna @ Newlyweds´s last blog ..A game of keep away =-.
When we first moved to FL, the starter in our Jeep died. And no one could take the darn thing off to replace it. So we pushed it EVERYDAY to get it started. Needless to say, we’ve made lots of friends with strangers helping us push that thing. And every parking lot we’d analyze the grade of the concrete to see if we’d be able to just roll out the lot! LOL! Finally someone literally had to saw it off into pieces to take it out and replace it. Those will be fond memories…one day, far away from now.
.-= FrugalFriend´s last blog ..Friday Fail: Printer Toner Low =-.
But it’s PAID for!
Your bit about the lipstick reminded me of one of our dear ID friends who wrote on my car with Rain-x at a bridal shower. My car proudly sported the message “Just Engaged” until I wrecked it a year later!
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car failure LOL oh sweetie.The stories could go on forever. We had to put our oldest dog down last week. Marks where she scratched my car up when she escaped during July 4th and tried to get in the car( she was “gun” shy)won’t ever be removed now. Older daughter’s Mazda, youngest daughter, Omi,middle son’s caddy,and don’t let us get started on hubby”s truck
.-= chefowings´s last blog ..In loving memory of Tashla Marie( Tashy) =-.
Luckily my car isn’t that bad (yet), but we’re planning to buy a Fiero this week (don’t ask) and that might be along those lines. It’ll definitely be nice to have two cars completely paid for! The biggest help for us has been doing our own repair work. I even learned how to change the clutch! Thank goodness we haven’t ended up with “extra” parts!!! 🙂
The car is an incredible comfort and isolation from other people, which is very important now! My husband and I are going on a weekend vacation and will not take the car with us, but we have already taken care to order a transfer https://www.azur-limousines.com/en/. Now it is a sin to neglect isolation from other people
Such a funny read. I remembered planning on changing our window tints but it’s just there. No actions and no efforts. My partner and I just left it on the checklist for 5 years now. Tomorrow marks the 6th year of that checklist 🙂
Dan Collins´s last blog post ..How to Cover Scratch on a White Car