My new “OLD” car.

Who knew that buying some new tires for my son’s car would be such a satisfying experience?  The ‘new tire’ smell in our garage is almost as heady as a ‘new car’ smell.  I like it that my son is grinning ear to ear as well.

These tires were WAY overdue to be replaced.  I started having nightmares about my son in a ditch somewhere and being woken up with the dreaded 1:00 am phone call from the police.  I do feel somewhat guilty that I put this off for as long as I did, but coughing up $1,300 for tires just hasn’t been an easy task.  If I had known I would have felt this good buying expensive tires a few months ago, I would have forgone by food budget in order to buy them.

My children mean everything to me.  They have grown up having to deal with life threatening allergies, so sleepless nights (and worrisome days) are not new.  I bought the car that my son drives when I could least afford it.  I reasoned that my son needed to be reasonably safe in a well built car with all wheel drive, navigation, good brakes, etc, etc…  My father said to me, “You paid that much for a FORD?…a FORD???”  Well, it is a cute FORD, I told him.

Well, this car has been an ownership disaster.  Everything (except the engine) has been worked on under warranty.  EVERYTHING.  I have been silently (and sometimes, not so silently) very angry with this purchase I supposedly made in the best interest of my son’s safety. My son has not made any of this any easier for me either.  Almost every day there seems to be something wrong with this car and I have to hear about it.  We have gone through four (count ‘em 4!) FORD Dealerships during the last three years.  Each dealership promising better work than the last…each one telling me they were fixing shoddy work that someone did at the last FORD dealership.  All 4 brakes have been replaced (bad from the factory), ball bearings replaced, hatchback gate not opening/closing, moon roof parts falling on my Son’s head on I-25, moon roof not properly opening/closing, rear bumper not properly installed, blinkers quitting, the rear window washer squirting washer fluid on the front floor, 2 rear end accidents, a teenage friend “accidentally’ putting a large dent in the driver side door with his fist, entire interior roof replaced twice,  the dashboard coming lose, two wheels destroyed from riding up a curb from sliding on the ice, navigation system needing repair AND a new battery.  WHEW!  This car has been in the shop more than it has been driven.

When I walked into my garage this morning and caught the scent of new tires I decided to pretend that what I really smelled was ‘new car’.  I realized that this car, after 36,000 miles and countless times in the shop, is now out of warranty but essentially a brand new car to me.  Almost everything that could be covered under warranty has been fixed AND I have new tires. 

Now I just have to cross my fingers that the Ford engine doesn’t quit and strand my Son somewhere out in the boonies where the wild things are.

Yours,

Catherine