Our vacation is definitely OFF!!!!!

[JDarling]

I feel your pain. Same thing happened to me last year but, with a FORD. I had to use the money to get a new car. But hey I'm back in the saddle and on my way again to Disney in April.

Remember Disney will be there when you get back in the saddle.

My 2000 Ford Focus keeps costing us a ton of money too. In feb alone, it cost $1500 in "matinence" - new tires (only got 35,000 out of them - according to tire guy, it's a 1st model Ford Focus problem, they all wear that bad), new front brakes (and now the rear ones are starting to squeel, they've both lasted just about a year), new platinum spark plugs and wires (that was the CHEAP part), and a new clutch ($700 just for that alone!). We even talked about trading it in for a Honda. I had a 20 year old honda that didn't die on me. I sold it!

We're a 1 car family too, so it's a BIG problem when my little (paid off) car craps out. DH needs it to get to work (w/o it, a 15 minute commute turns into 2 hours 1 way by bus). I walk the mile and 1/2 to my work every morning (hey! At least I need the excersize! I keep saying I'm just warming up for WDW). AND we didn't get a vacation last year (it was vacation or get out of living with roomies and buy our own condo - condo won).

BUt thankfully - Disney is still there!
I just hope we don't have a catastrophe this year - but we will if DH doesn't STOP SPENDING MONEY!

 

[Liz]

I'm so sorry! One of our cars died just a couple of months ago. It was awful. We'd had it so long I cried! It was like losing a member of the family! Silly huh?!

I hope things get back on track for you soon and you can get another WDW trip in the works!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

We just found out yesterday that DH's '97 Outback will need $1600 worth of work! We were hoping to get another 18 months out of it before purchasing a new car, so this was not in our plans. But we're going ahead with our plans for WDW anyway since most of it is already paid for.

I'm sorry that you'll have to delay your trip. I know that it must be very disappointing to you. Like you said, with your twins being a little older, it may end up costing you more but it will be easier to make that trip. Think about how you won't have to lug diapers for 3 kids around! That alone would be a BIG day-brightener for me!

Good luck in your hunt for a new vehicle. I hope you find a reliable one that suits your needs.

 

[Alicia Gist]

Go buy a new car!! Just kidding. My husband is a car salesman and sales are down so bad we don't know if we'll get to go to Disney!! I guess you could say it's the "Circle of Life". We need cars to break down where people buy new ones and you don't need yours to break down.

 

[Gymbomom]

Don't you hate spending money on cars??? I grew up in a family where we drove all old cars and dad fixed them because they used the money to take us to Disney every other year and put us in private school.
So I do not have an ego when it comes to cars.
We bought a Lexxus a '91 six years ago, for $9,500 from his dad who works at a car lease. The ONLY thing that has gone wrong with it is the AC about a year after we had it ($1,000). It has 125,000 miles, which is amazing since it is 14 years old.
My hubby is looking at new cars for me, and I just DO NOT want to buy one. My car is "nice", runs, goes from A to B, I drive only around town, have a cell phone if I break down....
He also wants me to get a SUV, but they are SO expensive. I told him, put the money in the bank for the downpayment on a car, or a used car to be able to pay most of it. That way if my car dies then we have the money there.
I want to run this car into the ground....

 

[tammy]

 

[jenr812]

I'm so sorry

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I"m in the same boat as you.
DH's truck started squealing 2 weekends ago. The mechanic said the ball joints on his Dodge truck need replaced. It's no longer under warranty. We were shocked to not only be told the 4 ball joints cost $1000, but the parts are on national backorder... there's no telling when or if we'll get the parts. This is a nice truck, too. How can Dodge not make replacement parts for this particular year?

Anyway, DH started having to take my car to work. It's been out of warranty for 2 weeks. Sure enough it made a noise. I had to get the tire rod replaced plus 2 tires replaced. The cost of this work we had done on Tuesday was $350.

DH was on layoff for a while, and then was back to work but at cut back hours. Unless we get really lucky we're not going to WDW this year. I don't want to do that whole ebay income tax filing crap, so unless I can do really well at our yard sale we're not going.

I feel for you. I like cars, but sometimes they stink.

If the ball joints are on national back order there probably is a problem. I have a Chrysler and DH has a Jeep, both bought new in 2000. 6 months ago, BOTH of our power door locks blew out (8 locks in total). Jeep is made by Chrysler, so the part are the same parts.

We took the cars to the dealer paid about $800 to get them fixed. then I call Chrysler customer service complained that there must be a defect out there, they mailed me back $600.

Lemondog -

I am feeling a little better now. Actually, we have 3 kids in carseats so I need a bigger car anyway (translation: minivan), because they are really wedged into my Explorer. So DH can have the Explorer and I'll drive the minivan. Oh God, I never thought I'd become a minivan mom!

Don't do it - Don't go over to the other side......stay here with us.

 

[speedyf]

My 94 Nissan Sentra is still kickin'....

Never had a lick of trouble with it....just general maintenance (new tires, oil change every 5k, brakes) but no mechanical problems.

Gotta love American Built foreign cars. My Sentra is from Tennessee....my Camry is from Kentucky.

I agree with Gymbomom...I'm not into fancy, new cars. Just get me from Point A to Point B.

I especially like to pull up to a pump near a Surburban that is already pumping gas....completely fill up my car for about $22...and leave the pump as the Surburban continues to pump away....$50....$60....$70....

I guess everyone has their own thing....some people like big new cars....some people are ok with smaller, older cars. Some people like a trip to Disney every year (me!)....others look at us obsessed DISers like we are crazy!

To each their own....

speed

 

[ryan840]

I"m in the same boat as you.
DH's truck started squealing 2 weekends ago. The mechanic said the ball joints on his Dodge truck need replaced. It's no longer under warranty. We were shocked to not only be told the 4 ball joints cost $1000, but the parts are on national backorder... there's no telling when or if we'll get the parts. This is a nice truck, too. How can Dodge not make replacement parts for this particular year?

Anyway, DH started having to take my car to work. It's been out of warranty for 2 weeks. Sure enough it made a noise. I had to get the tire rod replaced plus 2 tires replaced. The cost of this work we had done on Tuesday was $350.

DH was on layoff for a while, and then was back to work but at cut back hours. Unless we get really lucky we're not going to WDW this year. I don't want to do that whole ebay income tax filing crap, so unless I can do really well at our yard sale we're not going.

I feel for you. I like cars, but sometimes they stink.

I think that there is a recall for the ball joints, you might want to check it out. My dad had his done too and then found about it.

ETA- I forgot to mention how sorry I am about your vacation!

 

[jdk5672]

Sorry about the bad luck.

If it makes you feel any better, I swore I would never drive a mini-van. However, I wound up with one temporarily 7 years ago and absolutely refuse to give it up until it falls apart. I simply love it. It has been dependable, suited every situation, handles all the kid/sport needs, gets good mileage, and since my ego isn't wrapped up in it, I don't mind if there are some crumbs and dog hair on the seats! It's been a faithful friend.

 

[jlw29]

SO sorry about your car and it's consequences to your vacation. I can feel your pain. My transmission died Thursday in my 2000 Chevy Tracker (with 99,892 miles) as I was pulling into the parking garage at work. I went to turn it around, put it into reverse, and the car went forward! After a fight with AAA (who had me down as basic, not plus -- and I had to have it towed 40 miles home!) I got it to the mechanic and found out it will be $4000+ for a new one or $2400 for a rebuilt (guess which we're going with!). This car has to last me 2 more years until I'm done with residency. A new tranny is cheaper than a new car, and if it's replaced now, I know my car will last the 2 yrs I need. Even if the engine blows up, a new engine will still be cheaper than a new car.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Yup, must be the car repairs gremlin is on the loose. I'd told the kids last summer that we'd either buy a house or a new car. A great house came along, so when the entire exhaust system on our 1993 (!) Escort Wagon went kaput last fall, I replaced it. Then it was all the brakes and tires - paid over $400 just for those tires, too (mom persuaded me that I needed the 80K mile tires ). When the transmission died, I got a rebuilt one as I'd already put so much money into the car. Of course, within a month of having the transmission replaced the head gasket blew. There's almost no chance I could have gotten decent financing on a newer car, and the down payment for the house had wiped out our savings, so I cashed in part of my retirement and picked up a used Chrysler Grand Voyager. I have to say, though, I can't really gripe about that old Escort - it had 200K miles on it and had never given me a bit of trouble until the poor thing just wore itself out.

 

[lemondog]

Thanks everyone! I am sorry the car demon has been hitting a lot of us lately.

We were able to get a really nice minivan. It's a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country and even though I never thought I'd drive a minivan, I have to say it is by far the nicest, most luxurious car I have ever owned. The brand new versions of this model were just way too expensive ($35,000+), even with low or no interest we could never have done it. Plus, on principle I have a hard time buying a brand new car. But we got a good deal on this one, so I am glad. Of course, writing that down payment check HURT!!! I had visions of a little Mickey head going up in smoke.

Oh well...we did use all our vacation money, but it did lower our car payments quite a bit so that's worthwhile. It hurts to have a car payment because we have not had one in so long, but I guess for reliable transportation it's worth it. I was just too scared to pay cash for a clunker like before, for fear of the same thing happening again.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!

 

[kpk89]

I was just reading all the posts and thinking how much of a nuisance cars are! I'm glad that you got a fairly new one -- really smart, since brand new cars depreciate like mad as soon as you drive them off the lot. Better to get a pretty recent model that may still be in warranty and not have the huge payment.

We've got a 2000 T&C and though, like you, I thought I'd NEVER drive a minivan, it's really great. I didn't want that minivan mama image (after always having driven "cute" little cars) but then I decided "With 3 kids 5 & under, and their friends to sometimes tote around, who the HECK am I kidding? I AM A MINIVAN MAMA."

Phew that feels better to finally come out of denial.

 

[maxaroni]

I can feel your pain. My story is not about needing a new car, but my DH has had his hours cut for the summer at work. He is a computer technician for a school district and gets paid hourly to prepare the schools for the next year's opening over the summer. This is the first year that the budget was completely cut so as of right now, he has no work for 2 1/2 months since there will be no money to buy new computers or software for him to install. To top it all off, I'm expecting a baby very soon and I was taken out of work in January and put on bedrest which ended my paychecks. We had reservations for the end of June. I can't see any way around cancelling them. I'm just thankful that I never told the kids we were planning a trip. I couldn't imagine having to explain all of that to them.

Don't know where you live and don't know if it's too late or not but if out of work due to being on bedrest for pregnancy, you can go on disibility. I did. I was put on bedrest at the end of my 1st trimester and remained there until the birth of my ds at week 37. I got pd state disiblility. It was less than my normal paycheck but it was money coming in.

 

[winniedapooh]

So sorry about that. A tip as ducklite said, when we went looking for our new van, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I wanted to pay. Found some good used ones- a year or so old just as I wanted, figured they depreciate so much taking them off the lot. When we figured out what a used one would cost vs a new one with all of the incentives, plus rebates for college grad, cdl license, where DH works, it was cheaper for us to buy a new one made to my specifications than to buy a used one and upgrade some stuff in it.

 

[Taja]

Glad you were able to get another vehicle. I know many people who have sworn they would never drive a minivan who have learned to love them!

If I hadn't totaled my 1986 Mazda in a 2001 accident, I would still be driving it! Since I wasn't planning to replace it for at least five years, I didn't have as much of a down payment as I wanted for a new car, so I drove a clunker with no air conditioning for two years. Quite uncomfortable when the temperature is 105+ degrees! Survived it though, and love my Toyota Corolla almost as much as my sadly departed Mazda!

Hope things improve for you soon!

 

[NMW]

We always make sure we have 2 car payments so that we never get used to not having one and spend the money on something else! We always buy new cars and never put any money down on them. We stick with Toyota, Nissan. We'd also buy a Honda. We just did our first lease on a 2005 Toyota Sienna minivan. It's a great car. My kids love the DVD player.
Since you're a SAHM, what about a lease? You could get one without money down very easily. Good luck!

 

[grlpwrd]

Thanks everyone! I am sorry the car demon has been hitting a lot of us lately.

We were able to get a really nice minivan. It's a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country and even though I never thought I'd drive a minivan, I have to say it is by far the nicest, most luxurious car I have ever owned. The brand new versions of this model were just way too expensive ($35,000+), even with low or no interest we could never have done it. Plus, on principle I have a hard time buying a brand new car. But we got a good deal on this one, so I am glad. Of course, writing that down payment check HURT!!! I had visions of a little Mickey head going up in smoke.

Oh well...we did use all our vacation money, but it did lower our car payments quite a bit so that's worthwhile. It hurts to have a car payment because we have not had one in so long, but I guess for reliable transportation it's worth it. I was just too scared to pay cash for a clunker like before, for fear of the same thing happening again.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!

I'm glad to hear it's working out for you all.

I would never encourage someone to get a new car even with 0% financing, especially under your circumstances.

Yes, you can't go without reliable transportation especially with kids, but you also can't go broke... You did well! In no time will you be posting about an upcoming trip to WDW and have even more fun.