Tell about a frustrating experience you have had with a car.
Now here's a question I can relate too. I've had junk cars most of my life... The only problem is trying to pick just one. My first car had no reverse. That was frustrating but I dealt with it. So I think I'll talk about the one experience that just seemed to never end.
I had moved to Cali, and it just wasn't working out there. I didn't own a car when I had finally decided to move back home. I had a little money saved ... and I mean little so buying a car was going to be tricky. I looked for weeks. Now I have to tell this part because it's just a funny part of this. One night I was getting so sick of looking for a car that would get us back to MN yet something we could afford. Before I went to sleep that night I prayed, "Please help me find a car, and I don't even care if it's green anymore" (I don't like the color green, I always said I would never own a green car, green is bad luck) The next morning I'm going through the paper and there is a new add for a car.. runs, only $500. So I went to look at it. I pulled up and there sat this ugly GREEN car. I talked the guy down to 350 and it was mine. I took it as a sign. HAHA .. Before we even made it out of California, the back tire blew. All right that's minor I'm thinking. We stop, NO SPARE.. okay no problem, we make it to this garage, he is working on the tire and comes to us and tells us, "Well your rim is welded on, I can't get the tire off" Of coarse then there is more work involved and he has to break the thing off. So he needs new bolts or whatever they are called. It's Sunday everything is closed. Well, he's a pretty cool guy and sneaks into the junk yard and gets them for us. So we get to Reno. The front tire blows RIGHT on the strip. Try to find help there!! So I'm walking down the strip hoping to find a place to buy fix-a-flat. because we still have no spare and no jack. Finally after walking and walking I find a store, get it, and get back to the car... we use the stuff and head on our way. We make it one more day, and the radiator starts to over heat. Seems the thing is plugged. We stop again, we have to get it flushed. Flushing turned into needing it replaced. It seemed to have unplugged whatever was plugging the holes. We get a hotel for the night and start out the next day. We make it through the whole day without any problems ... I can just smell home!! Then we start losing power, our lights are dimming. Yep the alternator is going out. ANOTHER stop. At this point we are fighting. It's been a long long trip. With one bad thing after another. After stopping for the night and getting that fixed the next morning... we are trying to start the car, STARTER!! At this point I'm am actually beating the crap out of this car, kicking it, yelling at it. My boyfriend (at the time) finally gets me in the car. We make it to Iowa and we are frustrated, tired, out of money, and let me tell you hating each other AND that car. We have people wire us money and we get a room for the night. In the morning.. No, not more car problems. My mama cat takes off .. leaving her 8 babies behind. Yes, we were traveling with a mother and 8 babies. I'm crying saying I'm not leaving until she comes back. Well, we looked for about an hour and my boyfriend says "you know we are very close to home... shouldn't we get there before the car falls apart?" We head home. What finally happened to that car? Transmission went out but we were already home safe. I'll tell you, NEVER a green car again!!
Skyebluelight at Still Learning thanks for joining the journal jar
Also Courtenay has a new link check her out at COURTENAY'S CANISTER
40 comments:
My first car was a 1973 Dodge Dart which had a habitual problem with the torsion bar going out on it. Basically, the car sits lopsided when this happens. My girlfriend and I were going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show (we wanted to experience one of those late night cult parties) and I drove all the way there, doing about 25 miles an hour (mind you this is metro Detroit) in this lopsided car. LOL! Try to look cool in that! Later that year, the car was totalled by someone running a red light. Thank goodness I only suffered a concussion. Car after that was a 1978 'vette...as in CHEVette! LOL! Had no floorboards on the driver's side, just a piece of sheet metal over the hole. The dealership sold it to us like that and never said a word! Anyhow, I got mad at my mom one winter and stormed out of the house. As I went raging down the street, I hit a slushy spot on the pavement and all of this snow and slush pushed through the sheet metal covering the hole and I was knee high in snow. Talk about cooling off!!! Hugs, Sheila
Hi!! You're back!!! I'll get mine caught up soon....there's alot going on around ny neck o' the woods, so it'll be a few days, but I hope you're feeling better and more optimistic? Hugs, Penny
Hhhhmmmmm... so many....have to think about that one...
Robyn :)
Whew! Made on time today. :)~
http://www.blogigo.co.uk/MattelMichele/entry/31920
-Michele
Hmm.....Oh yes I certainly have. My first car was what I call a rust bucket! It was not expensive to buy, nor should it have been either. It`s breaks were failing and it had problems with the gears and just about every part of it. In fact it cost me three times what I paid for it just to get it roadworthy! One day I was driving down the road and the bonnet ( hood) flew open and I couldn`t see a thing. I went and bought a new bonnet and could only get a blue one, which would have been okay, but my car was white. It did attract a lot of attention after that ! I learned from all that and waited until I could afford a much newer car before I bought another
Sandra xxx
Answered it in my journal.... :)
I used to live in Virginia and had to get to Florida as soon as possible,( the reason why escapes me now ) but my car was on it's last leg, and I had a terrible time getting it started, so drove the whole way to Florida without ever turning it off. It was quite a challenge to pump gas with the car running since everyone tried to make me turn it car off. I would run in get food or go to a rest stop and hope no one would steal my car.. but made it to Florida, and bought a new car while I was there for the trip back home.
I hear ya, Promise...so many junk cars, so little time! ~*Annie*~
http://journals.aol.com/neemom1977/MyJournalJar/entries/1194
Its a beautiful summer afternoon, I am driving to my girl freinds house to pick her up. We have 5th row tickets to see Bruce Springsteen (The River Tour) 1983-84 ?
My car starts making a funny noise on the way to her apartment. So when I get there I mention it. She says, "lets take my car, I just filled it with gas".
So Im thinking, excellent. We have plenty of time to get to the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago to see the concert (which is about 80 miles from where I live).
So we head on down the highway. The afternoon turns to early evening, the sun is still setting bright in the sky, we are sweating from the warm heat. But irs ok, cause we are going to see "The Boss" from 5th row.
About halfway there, I felt a pull in the engine when I excelerated. So, I turned down the music on the cassette player as I am driving. The noise is quite loud.
I start to panic. Then smoke begins to roll out of the engine compartment. I pull the car over. Shut it off. Open the hood, there is steam, smoke rolling off the engine. I call triple a to tow it to a station. While we are waiting all these people are pulling into the toll booth, while jamming to Springsteen.
We towed the car to a shop. Busted engine block. We leave the car for her Dad
to make a decision on. I call a freind from our hometown to come get us.
By the time he gets there and picks us up, the concert is over. The bright summer night has turned dark. And on the way home in my buddies car, the radio station is broadcasting live from back stage, and they interview everyone that says it was the best Springsteen concert they have ever been to.
I HATE CARS..................................
lol!! Like you said there are to many to choose from.
Lets see here is one.
It is a datsun station wagon.I payed 100.00 for it .Lifters were ticking away no biggie just noise.haha .
This car just feel apart I lived 30 mils from work and Evryday this car would die in the same spot ..I mean just die and then wouldnt start.
I would either walk the rest pf the way or call my boss,(mostley walk )Wich ment I was late alot.
eventully I was adding 4 quarts of oil to it by the time the car stoped.evryday .
Oh I forgot to say when I went to get the thing it started right up.
One day it did fool me it died and I was out of oil to so I walked up the freeway to get some more oil It started snowing that morning and I took a telephone cord around the wipers and thought I could manually work the wipers..Sounded good but didnt work the best lol,.
As I was saying the car had stoped and when I got backA highway safty car stoped to help (he was relly nice and I was greatfull)
He asked if I wanted a ride and I said yes,but let me see if it will start aging .
It started I was shocked.we got around the corner and i was using this cord to do the wipers and this guy was falling me to make sure I made it to work(im sure laughing to )
As I turned the corner It died aging so I left it and he gave me a ride .
when I got to work.My boss gave me a raise for showing up ..
He said I do what ever it takes to make it to work no matter what and he knows that I do what I can..(I got alot of raises before this car went to its resting ground)
Ironically the last breath this car took was where it always died it dumped oil on the ground as fast as I could but it in ! It was done for.
It took the wreakers three weeks to pick it up off the side of the road(It was that ugly)
NOones car would sit that long .
Thats my car trouble(just one of them)
First off, engine in your living room, green cars? You`ve led quite a life so far haven`t you! As far as cars go, I have the worst luck ever with cars, honest to God, I`m afraid to talk about cuz I might jinx myself. Here goes nothing. A couple months ago , we had to get a new transmission in our car, while it was in the shop the engine in my van blew, as soon as I got the van back, the sidewalls of one of the tires blew! These are fairly new vehicles. I once had a brand new Malibu, the starter went out in the first week! About a week after that the brakes were shot.....in a brand new car! About a year later I totalled it on the way to work one morning.
My first car had no reverse too!! haha!!
~Tarah
Great Journal...I posted my answer on my journal as well as the link to this one.
i travel for my job and frequently get flats or even blow out tires. my first car- spot- named that because there was only one "spot" on the car that WASN'T rust- drove that car into the ground. we have totalled two cars since i've been married. recently blew the engine on our van-that was expensive!! i guess because i drive so much for work, i have a real apreciation for a car that runs well- you'd think for all the money that we pay for these vehicles they might run a little more smoothly!!
javascript:location.hash='Entry487'; void 0 my new entry...Erica
http://journals.aol.com/ericalynn2583/Shutterbabe...sorry..pasted wrong thing...Erica
http://journals.aol.com/megzie212/MegsAOLJournal/
:-):-)
love, meg
Hi! Here is my link: journals.aol.com/beckieramos/BeckiesBrightBeginnings
OKAY! I'm back! :) Updated, all the way to Question#24 :) Woot Woo!
http://journals.aol.com/heathyrxmarie/EverythingYouWantedToKnow/
Catch up!
Hugs,
xo
Heather
This might be one of your funniest entries. I was riding right along with you and feeling pretty exhausted til we got to the missing mother...I wanted to cry too....you are quite a storyteller and should be published. Thank you for this jar.I love your entries and grow from others perspectives as well. This is definitely group therapy for me!
love, Courtenay
A lil late but I made it! lol
http://journals.aol.com/demandnlilchit/LifeasIliveit/entries/854
OMG!!!!!! you made the editors pick !!!!!!! GREAT !!!! Promise you deserve it girlfriend wtg !!!! ......................Diane
http://journals.aol.com/clean1096/TheRollercoaster/
When I ran across your jnl several weeks ago I knew you were going to be a top pick! Congrats!
Many years ago my husband and I worked a few blocks away from each other in the Chicago Loop. We drove and parked within walking distance of both places. We bought a brand spanking new Cutlass. It was really beautiful. It had velvet seats and state of the arts everything. We drove it for years before we finally drove it into the ground. Anyway, it had one flaw. The float in the gas tank didn't register properly. We pretty much had to guess when we needed gas. We figured that out one morning when driving to work. We were on the Dan Ryan Express, which is considered one of the busiest expressways in the world. We were driving in the far left lane. It was bumper to bumper for miles. Wouldn't you know, we ran out of gas. Somehow we got it onto the left shoulder, where we sat until help came. In Chicago, you know better than to try and cross an expressway. It's deadly nearly 100% of the time. The first person to stop got out of his/her car and made his/her way over to us. Bill got out of our car to talk. This person was about six, six, had high heals, tall hairdo, and a mini shirt on. As they talked, this person latched onto Bill's arm, and seemed to be trying to pull him back to his/her car. My husband thanked the person but sent him/her on. The person pulled out into traffic again by cutting off someone else. I asked Bill when he got back into our car why he didn't take her help. "Weird feeling," he said. "I don't think that was a she. He had hair sticking out of his bra and he talked with a deep voice. He was insistant that I get in without you, and he'd drive to a gas station." Considering my husband is 5'9", I don't blame him. This person was twice his size. Not five minutes later, one of Bill's coworkers pulled over and helped us.
I forgot about that story. Thanks for the memory.
Jude http://journals.aol.com/jmorancoyle/MyWay
Congratulations on being an Editor's Pick!
http://journals.aol.com/shelt28/MyLife
Congrats on being an Editors Choice other wise I might never have found your journal. What a neat idea, a jar of questions.
Boy I remember those junk cars always in the need of repair. Enjoyed my visit here today. Thanks, Dawn
what did u expect for 350 dollars doh
I just wanted to say congrats!!!!! For being the Editors Top Pick. Keep up the good work.
Hello. I wanted to link my journal, but not quit sure how to do it. If anyone knows, please email me at Tam6877@aol.com, or visit my journal. Thanks.
http://journals.aol.com/tam6877/WhatamIdoingwithmylife/
(that last entry I wrote, I put the wrong journal link in there. THis one is mine. SOrry!
This is an awesome journal! I started today with this first question. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful gift with all of us.
Here's my entry!
http://journals.aol.com/mommysquiettime/RedFlannelPajamas/entries/1178
Can't wait for tomorrow's! I want to be a regular participant! :-)
Micheyle
I bought my first car, a 1976 ford mustang stickshift, without knowing how to drive a stick! I can't tell you how many times I stalled that car, needed the battery jumped...etc etc while learning to drive that thing! But I was determined!
~JerseyGirl
www.jerseygirljournal.com
Right after I graduated high school, I bought my first car, a 1988 Ford Escort. (This was in 1990, so it was a relatively new car.) I paid $3600 for it, which my grandma helped pay for. Anyway, several weeks after buying it, everything started going wrong with it. I replaced so many parts, parts that usually don't need replaced until the car gets really old. It turns out that the car had been wrecked and the frame was bent. Now when a car frame gets bents, it throws the whole car into disalignment. I was so angry, because the guy who sold me the car knew it had been wrecked. I felt so taken advantage of. Fortunately, I traded in the car for a new one and got exactly what I paid for it (minus the repairs charges of course). That's when I first learned that women definitely get taken advantage of when it comes to cars!
Stupid me, I hit the browser back button on this question and posted my answer under the previous question about marriage, sorry, it was a blond moment what can I say??? Anyway, here is the answer again.
My husband is EXTREMELY mechanically inclined, thank God so I haven't ever had issues seeing how I have known him since I have owned cars, lol. I did have a seat in my second to last car (drivers at that, go figure) that would not lock into position so if you hit the gas, you flew into the backseat and if you hit the break you slammed into the steering wheel and took a bite!! lol. So there I was driving around town sliding back and forth, roflmao now. Can you imagine what the people on the roads were thinking. Look at that crazy B over there honey, meanwhile I am laughing like a maniac, hurting like hell from the constant whiplash, chest contusions, head concussions and everything else people started at me like I was a total job!! ha.
Comment from brandyp0509 - 5/5/05 4:45 PM
Got it finished.
http://journals.aol.com/unicornsteph80/Welcometomylife/entries/342
another green beater story, held together, barely. with rivets
Nothing like YOUR story!
Lori
http://journals.aol.com/helmswondermom/LorisJournalJar/entries/352
http://journals.aol.com/danielled1/DaniellesJournalJar/entries/649
~Danielle
http://journals.aol.com/quartrlyfecrysis/andthensome/entries/302
xoxo~Bernadette
http://journals.aol.com/devilletteinme/the-devilettes-journal-jar/entries/2006/11/18/car-trouble/547
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